His game is at 8pm. Probably not a good idea. Too many variables out of his control, like traffic. Game is at Fort Valley State, too, which is easily 1.5 hours south of Atlanta, and roughly 5 hours from Knoxville.
Even if he could make it happen logistically, it probably is just best that he stay with his teammates and ride the bus with them as part of the team. He’ll never get those experiences back, and it probably isn’t a good look for him to ditch them at such a big moment for a rushed visit to Knoxville, and then show up last minute to play.
Hopefully he makes it in some other time.