BY JOSH PATE
UTSports.com
February 7, 2011
It's just a tiny patch with a black `V' and an orange flame bursting through the top. From the stands, you can't make out the image. On television, the only chance to see what it might be is during a foul shot close-up. Even then, it's a tiny patch on the chest of the Tennessee's basketball jersey.
Only, not everybody has one.
"It means a lot," said freshman guard Trae Golden. "It's a little patch, but it really means a lot to us."
That `Vol Scholar' patch is an outward display of academic success, and it's only awarded to student-athletes who achieve a 3.0 grade point average or higher during the semester. The Vols have eight players who earned a patch this spring.
For Golden, he earned it on his first try.
"You go to class Monday through Friday and you really work hard to try and get good grades and stay on top of things on the basketball court," Golden said about his adjustment to the challenging balance of college academics and athletics. "To get that patch and say you've got above a 3.0 really means a lot."
Joining Golden on the Vol Scholar list from the fall semester were Josh Bone, John Fields, Michael Hubert, Jordan McRae, Rob Murphy, Steven Pearl and Tyler Summitt.
