Tennessee basketball head coach Rick Barnes met with the media on Monday morning over Zoom to preview the Vols 2020-21 campaign.
On Tennessee hosting Kansas and hosting basketball in Thompson-Boling:
“Well, we’re excited about having a chance to play Kansas again. We had a really good game against them a year ago. I guess my disappointment is that they won’t be able to get the full Thompson Boling experience where it would be sold out as we normally expect it to be. At this point, we haven’t figured out the issues yet and we don’t know at this point what we’re going to be allowed to do with our arena. We obviously don’t feel like it’s going to be anywhere near what we know Thompson Boling to be like, but as time goes on who knows what will happen.”
On the non-conference schedule:
“That’s a great question. Really and truly, we thought we had it down a couple times, but it’s changed. I think now we’re still going to wait. We want to get it done. Like I said, we thought we had it done but some things came up. Other teams couldn’t do some things and we had to readjust. We’re still doing that. We haven’t got it totally finalized yet. We’re close. Everyday something seems to pop up where it makes us have to adjust. We’re waiting on some info that we’re hoping to get here in the next couple days and once we get it, hopefully we will be able to get some information out to you guys.”
On improvement in the team’s rebounding and the addition of E.J. Anosike:
“Well there’s an emphasis on that with our staff. We weren’t very good in that area a year ago, and it’s something we’ve really made a conscious effort on to know that we have to be better there. E.J. will help us and he does a great job in that area. It’s not just going to be him though. As a group we have to improve in that area and take care of the basketball.”
On the season opening opponent:
“We don’t yet. We think we do but we don’t have it official yet because there are some things that we have to get squared away in the next couple days. Hopefully we will be able to put it all together. Like I said, we’ve thought that we had it together a couple times, but things have come up. We’re not in a position to say that anything is official yet because nothing is.”
On what the team has done well in practice so far:
“The effort. I do think we’ve got a group of guys that blend well. I think our older guys have done a really nice job with the younger guys, and like everyone we are having to deal with the contact tracing on our team. We’ve had stop and go points where we haven’t had our whole team there and we still haven’t had our whole team out on the court yet. The fact is, I do like the effort and intensity. We probably are a little bit behind in terms of scrimmaging. Normally we would be really close to scrimmaging a team like Davidson. But we’re not ready for that right now for certain, but I just like how these guys have come in and approached practice every day.”
On Santiago Vescovi’s recent performances in practice:
“He’s better. He’s in better shape. He’s leaned out even though he wasn’t with us this summer. He was one of the later ones getting back along with Uros (Plavsic). I think he got back in August. He came back and you could tell he had taken the time away very seriously. He played a lot of ball while he was at home. He’s better and he has worked on a lot of things that he knows he needs to do to get better. I think it’s been really good for him to have Keon (Johnson), V.J. (Victor Bailey Jr.) and Jaden (Springer) when they’re there. There’s a lot of competition that’s going to help all of them.”
On playing aggressive defense with the current roster:
“We do. We think that we’ve got a chance to guard the ball better than we have in the past. We have some guys that really good on-ball defenders. We actually, on the other end, have some guys that can create their own shots more than we ever have before. Defensively, we think that we have a chance to be a really good defensive team. We have to continue to get there obviously, but we do think that this is one of the better teams that we’ve had since we’ve been here.”
On how COVID-19 has affected team bonding and preparation:
“In terms of team bonding, I think we have a close group of guys that look out for each other. I really believe, with my whole heart, that I don’t know if anybody could do it in better in terms of doing what we’ve been told to do. We’ve been slowed down, there’s no doubt. We’ve had periods where we had to stop. We’ve had to stop twice. We actually backed up our season. We didn’t start like everybody else on the 14th. We backed it up two days to try and get everybody out there at once. In terms of the bonding, I don’t think we’ve been hurt there at all. We have a group of guys that really do like each other. The chemistry is really good. That’s another thing that I would say I look forward to everyday with these guys. Just being able to see how much they are helping each other. They know we are in different times. You can tell just by the way our facility is set up and the way we’re doing things. They know the importance of doing what we need to do. I think us being behind is the norm. Everything that we have to deal with is a good thing. One day this past week, we only had 8 scholarship players on the court and I think that’s good. We might be put in this situation sometime in the next couple months. Whatever we have out there every day to practice with, is what we have to deal with. We have to go with what we’ve got and make it work. All the reps that certain guys are getting is great. The older guys don’t need as much as the younger guys. The younger guys are the ones right now that need the most attention. We need to get that done for them.”
On raising Tennessee basketball’s profile nationally:
“Well again, that game is a long way off. I’ve always enjoyed competing against Bill’s teams. They play hard and they’re well coached. We were hoping a year ago when we left Kansas that we would get to play them again. We wish they could get the full experience of Thompson-Boling arena. I think when a team like that comes in, I don’t think there’s any better arena in the country. I think anytime you go out, you have the chance to do something for your program one way or the other. We want to be in those games. We want to play one of the best schedules in the country. We will play anybody. It’s a challenge, but those are the kind of challenges that you look forward to.”
On the SEC conference schedule:
“The difference will be that we’re starting a week early, to give us some chances if games need to be made up. That will be the biggest difference. I think there’s a lot of things that we’re still working through. I think we’re all concerned about the contact tracing, not only for our players, but the referees involved and the people that work the games. There’s a lot that goes into this that we’re working through. The SEC has made it clear how they expect it to be done. They’ve given us great guidelines to go by and get our arena set up. Our arenas will be different. Each one will be different in some way, somehow. There’s a lot still going in place to make sure we’re following every part of the protocol, the way it should be, to protect everyone that’s involved in the game and everyone that’s going to be there to see the game. Where it’s going to be different, there’s different rules that could happen this year within a game. They’re talking about when a team is lined up to shoot two shots, do the guys lineup right away? Do they step back and not gather there until the second shot? Those are the kinds of little things like that, that are still being worked through. With all of those things in mind, we’re trying to assimilate as much of that as we can when we are in practice, in terms of the way we’re trying to do things. We’ll continue to do that as we continue to get the guidelines that are going to be given to us.”
On if he is still expecting to play the games against Memphis, Wisconsin and Gonzaga this season:
“As of right now, I don’t think we will have any of the neutral site games, because it just doesn’t make sense. The Gonzaga game is still on. Mark (Few) and I have talked about playing that game, some way, somehow. With the Wisconsin game, we tried. That was our opener and we just haven’t been able to make it work, with what they have to deal with, with their league games and where the flow of the schedule comes in. Of those three games, the one that I think is going to get worked out will be the Gonzaga game. Again, that actually depends on some other games and if the bubble situation works out. That’s as honest as I can be because that’s all I know right now.”
On if he expects the team to play in a bubble in Orlando at some point:
‘We’re counting on it, but it’s not set in concrete yet. We’re hoping it is, to be quite frank, but we’re not there yet and won’t be until we get all of the guidelines that we need to know how everything’s going to be done there. That’s something that we’re counting on, but it’s not set in stone yet.”
On what has basketball learned by watching football navigate COVID-19:
“I think what we’ve learned is what we’ve seen – the unpredictability of it. When the COVID-19 hits somewhere, how do you work through it? I will still say that, it’s a moot point, but I still think we should have started on November 10, to give us more of a runway. But, we are making up some time to have at the end of the year with our conference schedule for if something comes up. What we’ve learned from football is that something will probably come up, unless something happens with the COVID-19 itself. I think that we’ve learned, if you’ve kept up with football programs when they’ve had to stop and go, it’s happened to us in our preseason practice just like it did with them. As I mentioned earlier, you learn that, that’s the way it is. That’s the new normal right now. You’ve got to be ready and be prepared to play with a group of guys that you maybe didn’t think you would earlier. It’s so important that you’re getting different guys ready for different situations because of the unknown. The fact is it can work if everybody does their job. Even with everybody doing their job though, you could still get hit with something unexpectedly. That’s what I was alluding to. I think we’ve done everything we could to do our job as a University and as a basketball program, certainly, with what we see every day. The way Mary-Carter (Eggert) and Chad Newman have done things in Pratt Pavilion. We’ve still been hit, but you just work through it. I don’t think we’re any different than anybody else in the country. I think we’ve all been hit in some way.”
On how pleased he has been with the play of the team’s point guards:
“We’ve been pleased. We’ve been slowed down there a little bit. That’s the one area that I will say we’ve been slowed down in. We think we’ve got four or five guys that can play there and do the things that we want done, especially in transition. We feel good about that spot because Santi (Vescovi) is still learning a lot of what he wasn’t able to learn a year ago. Keon (Johnson) and Jaden (Springer) have proven that they are more than capable of learning it and playing it. Josiah (-Jordan James) understands it and VJ Bailey (Victor Bailey Jr.) has had to play it just because of the contact tracing. He’s probably put more time in there than he has anywhere else on the court, because of our situation. We’re doing some different things with our post guys that we like to implement in transition. We think it will not only help those guards but will help us as a team.”
On is he still expects the SEC schedule to remain a Tuesday/Wednesday game and a Saturday game each week:
“I think it’s going to be two games a week. That’s the way I understand it. I would assume it would play like that. Two games a week is what we’ll have. I think it will stay like that.”
On if the team will be hungrier to compete after seeing last season cut short:
“I think we all want to play. I’ve said that from the beginning. I’ve always said that I thought we’d have a college basketball season, even way back then. Our guys are excited. There’s no doubt. Would they like to be ready to scrimmage somebody in a week? There’s no doubt they would. Because of COVID-19, we’re not where we would be. We would do it, obviously and it would help us, but the fact is that all teams are excited. I think the one thing that we all know is that there’s a lot of unknown in terms of what can happen. When we’ve been hit with it, it’s been in about as innocent of a situation as you could imagine with our guys. I know it’s bothered them because they feel like they’ve done everything right. With that said, they’re all excited about playing. We just hope that we can get through what we’ve got to get through and have the best team we can have on the court every night we go out. I think that’s what they want to see too.”
On if he is surprised at how far the team has come, despite setbacks from COVID-19:
“It’s not a normal summer and fall. I wish we could have had it for our freshmen, more than anybody. I think they would be further along than they are right now in a lot of areas, individually. I think they would be further along physically. I think they would be further along skill-wise. With that said, it goes back to the what I’ve really liked about this freshmen group of guys. There’s been no sense of entitlement, whatsoever. They jumped right in and I think that’s a great compliment to our older guys. I think they learned quickly that they thought they understood what working hard was, what commitment was, but I think when they watch John Fulkerson on his own in the gym and they watch Yves Pons, they saw quickly that this is different. Their expectations changed quickly in terms of, ‘we’ve got to go harder than we’ve ever gone.’ There were some days when we’ve laughed about it – just running simple sprints, how they fell out and threw up. They laugh about it now, but that’s where they’ve made the most progression, in terms of understanding that the physical side is much tougher than they thought. The mental side is much more of a grind than they could ever imagine. The best part is that they’ve come in everyday wanting to get better. Even on days when we haven’t had the whole team and when we’ve had to make do with just staying in the half court. We’ve had days where we couldn’t go up and down the court, because of numbers. The chemistry has never, ever wavered from the time that these guys got here. I think we’ve got a really good group of guys that like each other and pull for each other. They want to help each other get better.”
On adapting to an empty arena:
“I do think so, that’s why we were hoping that we could maybe even get a game on the road in a situation that was more like what conference play was going to be like. It’s hard for us to get that done but we were hoping for that. I do think it’s going to be different. I would assume people will pipe in the music like they do for football. I’ve had so many people tell me they have gone to games and they tell me they don’t like the piped in music, but I’m sure it will be there. Some places will be louder than they’ve ever been before, I can tell you that. We’ll have to play around with it once we get going, we’ll pipe in some music in practice and try to simulate those types of things. It’s going to be different in practice, we met yesterday about how we’re going to have to change coming into the arena, how the other team comes into the arena, how they leave the arena, how we do it, the number of basketballs, etc. I think the teams are going be on opposite score tables, those type things. We’re trying to do everything we can to keep everything safe within the boundaries of the court, yet not affect the arena so much where people are so far away. We were going through that yesterday, and how we’re going to try and do it the right way and make it work for everybody, with safety being the first concern.”
On versatility at the Point Guard position:
“Yes, absolutely, because of what could happen we know how important that position on the court is. That’s where it’s been good to have a guy like John Fulkerson around, he understands the point position, not that he would actually play the point, but he can orchestrate a lot from where he is. A lot like what Grant Williams did back in the day to help Jordan Bone through it, we think Fulky can do a lot of that and he has done a lot of that to help these young guys. That’s another area that we want to be prepared for, but the fact we do have more depth at that spot; it’s been a long time since we’ve had four or five guys that can play that spot. Obviously some are further along than others, but they’re going to get there.”
On an extra year of eligibility for some athletes:
“Oh yeah that was my first recruiting call that day, I got over here and I said ‘man you’re gonna be a lifer.’ I’ve said it before I would have loved to have a guy like Kevin Durant forever, and I will say the same thing about Fulky. Those guys will have to explore at the end of the year where they might be in terms of their future, but I don’t think it’s going to hurt anybody, there’s not a guy on this team who wouldn’t benefit by being in our program another year.”
On exploring hosting four-team events:
“We have and we still are, we thought we’ve had it done twice and we haven’t. We still have time explore a lot of different things and we hope here in the next couple days we can get some news that we can get it nailed down but, we still have yet to go that way. We might not, but we could.”
On Yves and Fulky evolving as leaders and seniors:
“Fulky is much better, and the guys look up to him and Yves. They aren’t the ra-ra types of guys which is fine by me, I don’t want anything to be funny about anybody. Those guys are very authentic in the way they lead, and you can lead a lot of different ways, and they lead by the way they walk and the way they talk and the way they go about their business every single day. I do think we’ll have leadership, I do. Will it be a different kind? Yeah I think every year there’s different ways and different kinds of leadership. I’m not concerned there right now because I know this, if we tell those guys we want something done they get it done. If we walk out of practice today and told John Fulkerson and Yves Pons ‘this is what we wanna see done,’ they would get it done.
On offseason communication with players:
“As a staff we make the effort to be in touch with them weekly, and more than that I don’t think there’s a better coaching staff in the country than what I have with me, and those guys do an incredible job with the relationship first with our players. I think our players know good and well that we love them, not just as Basketball players but as people, but we did stay in constant contact with them and we told them what they needed to work on. We went through our exit meetings like we would at the end of every year and talked about it and told them what we wanted to see done. I can tell you most all of them, the Freshman obviously haven’t been here and we talked to them about the things we felt they needed to be doing. I think they did that but the older guys, I think there’s not one guy that didn’t come back better than when they left, which is a complement to them. But again I can’t say enough about my staff because they really did the job of staying in touch with them.”
-UT Athletics
