Chippiness at Headband U.

There was an interesting exchange yesterday between Tennessee players Wayne Chism and J.P. Prince during their team’s 83-68 victory over Ohio in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

With 6:15 left, Chism picked up his dribble in the Tennessee frontcourt near his bench. Prince called for the ball, but instead of passing it to him, Chism simply held it out in a “Come and get it” manner. Prince walked up and snatched the ball, and within seconds he turned it over.

At the next time out, Chism and Prince actually had words, with Chism getting so pissed off that he tore off his beloved headband on the bench. And this was all out it in the open, it was noticeable enough that announcer Bill Raftery commented on the surreal scene.

I don’t expect every player on a team to hold hands around a campfire and then make gooey smores together. But it’ll be interesting to see what kind of interactions there are in the Volunteer locker room once this team gets eliminated.