Tennessee basketball is at its best when Jonas Aidoo is on. He was elite at Arkansas.

Josiah-Jordan James beamed as he approached Jonas Aidoo.

Aidoo steadied himself and clapped his hands as he spun back toward the court, where James was the first of his Tennessee basketball teammates eager to greet him.

The seconds that preceded James’ joy featured Zakai Zeigler rifling a post feed to Aidoo, who took a single hard dribble to set up a spin to his left. He got the Arkansas defender in the air. Then he dunked it through Razorbacks forward Makhi Mitchell, the first act of a three-point play.

“Jonas played a heck of a game for us tonight,” Vols coach Rick Barnes said.

File that quote as an understatement. 

Aidoo played a phenomenal game throughout No. 9 Tennessee’s 92-63 thrashing of Arkansas (12-12, 3-8 SEC) at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The 23-point, 12-rebound showing was the type of game the junior forward gave the Vols (18-6, 8-3) routinely early in SEC play. It was the type of game that harkened the reality that the Vols are at their best when Aidoo is at his best — and their ceiling will be tied in large part to their tallest player.

Jonas Aidoo elevates Tennessee basketball’s ceiling

Dalton Knecht is Tennessee’s best player. Zakai Zeigler is the heart and soul. Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James are the backbone. 

But it is Aidoo who might matter most for these Vols to reach their potential because, as Barnes believes, he can be as good as any big in the nation. They have to have him be that player on a game-by-game basis. Simply, Tennessee is a guard-heavy team with a lot of scoring threats on the perimeter. Aidoo is their unique post weapon, a 6-foot-11 forward who spent his first two seasons known for his defense. His offensive game and potent scoring ability took him to an All-SEC level.

“I think he is one of the most improved players that our league has,” Arkansas coach Eric Musselman said. “He is a big who rebounds the ball and plays really, really hard.”

Aidoo emphatically showed that during a five-game tear to start SEC play that featured three double-doubles. He averaged 16.2 points and 8.8 rebounds in that five-game spurt. He tailed off in the past five games before Wednesday. He had the same stat line in UT’s losses to South Carolina and Texas A&M: six points and five rebounds.

Barnes couldn’t explain Aidoo’s issues against USC. He knew UT needed more from Aidoo against the Aggies. Why? Because Tennessee cannot be at its best without Aidoo being his best.

How Jonas Aidoo dominated Arkansas

Aidoo got going with a dunk Wednesday. He had a putback dunk. He made a midrange jumper. He made a left-handed layup running to the rim and bouncing off contact. He got another putback dunk. 

He terrorized Arkansas from start to finish as Tennessee had its way at the rim — and Aidoo had his way everywhere. 

“I thought he looked relaxed shooting his little 15-footers,” Barnes said. “What he did at the rim and his rebounding in the second half was really big. He came up with a lot of plays in there. His length affects things around the rim when he gets himself in position.”

Aidoo had five rebounds in each of UT’s past two games as it was beaten on the glass by LSU and Texas A&M. He owned it at Arkansas, doing everything well.

Barnes spent the month of November preaching to Aidoo that he can be as good as any post player in the nation. Those affirmations came after UT faced three of the best in Purdue’s Zach Edey, Kansas’ Hunter Dickinson and North Carolina’s Armando Bacot.

Aidoo’s name should be alongside those three, Barnes believed then and still does. He also needs it to be true.

Tennessee was the best version of itself Wednesday. Aidoo was, too. Those facts have been paired before and will be paired again. They have to be for the Vols to have their best season.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.