Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes
On what John Fulkerson needs to do to increase his minutes and if he is better suited to come off the bench…
“Consistency. I think he knows that we need him to bring the energy, which he will. I still think he is getting back from getting COVID over Christmas. What we need out of this time of the year is going to be based on production and the guys that are getting it done at that point and time will be the guys that play. He is working hard to play the role he has to be, and John has always been a terrific teammate. Uros (Plavsic) has gone in and brought a lot of energy to it and we’re hoping that John will continue to do it. I thought John the other night did a good job, but we’re going to play the guys that are getting it done at that point and time.”
On what has been impressive on Zakai Zeigler…
“His toughness. He’s resilient, has a short memory, and is very competitive. He’s extremely competitive and not going to back away from a challenge. He’s a good teammate, aggressive on both ends, and is probably a guy that has had to buck up his whole life. He’s thinking to himself ‘I’m going to play and get in this game.’ He’s probably not going to be the first guy you pick on your team based on looks, but after you see him play one time, he will be that guy you’d pick first. He’s always been a fighter and that is how he plays the game.”
On how Josiah-Jordan James has shot the ball better from the 3-point line the past few games…
“He’s a little more selective on where he shoots shots. As a team, we’re better when we play inside out because that’s the way we practice. We’ve seen him shoot the ball extremely well and as long as he takes the shots that he practices and at the speed and tempo, he’ll be fine shooting the ball.”
On how well the defense has played since playing Kentucky…
“For the most part, we’ve been a sound defensive team. We’ve had some breakdowns but had a terrific game against LSU. Later in the game, we gave up three straight layups late in the game which was a communication breakdown. Overall, our defense has been good, and excited that we picked up some charges the other night. If you look around the country and the SEC, there’s a lot of teams playing great defense and if you don’t play any, then you won’t give yourself much of a chance to win. If you play defense on a night where you struggle to score which I see a lot of teams that are struggling to score, it makes for long nights.”
On Uros Plavsic’s presence…
“He definitely brings a high level of physicality to our team, he does. I think he helps guys. People would not expect this, but when you really watch Santi on tape, Santi is a very physical player. People probably don’t realize it as much unless they watch him and how hard he works, get through his screens and dribble handoffs. He really works hard to get through them, but Uros brings that to us, he does. We need more of that really from Olivier (Nkamhoua) and Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) because those guys have the bodies to do it. I’m hoping that will be something they can learn from Uros that they can add and do that will help us.”
On Justin Powell’s playing rhythm…
“I think what Justin has done the last couple of games is something that I think helps you shoot the ball better—he’s done a much better job on the defensive end. You can tell he has been much more locked in on that end of the court really trying to stick with our game plan and what we’re doing. I say this all the time, if you just play the game and let the offense come to you if you’re a good shooter, you’re going to be a good shooter. If you’re a good driver, you’re going to be a good driver. If you’re a good offensive rebounder, you’re going to be a good offensive rebounder. It’s when guys start concentrating or getting anxious on the offensive end where I think that really affects everything else. If you’ll just go into the game, I tell them all the time I think one of the hardest things to do is they have to make shots. You need to make shots, but you’re not going to make them all. Really in college, very few guys make over half of them when they shoot, especially perimeter players. With that said, get lost in the game, play the game, play it on both ends, and impact the game when you’re not making shots. If you get that mindset, the guys that we recruit, they’ll be fine in all the other things, I think, if they buy into that.”
On finding a rotation that sticks…
“Well it’s important and again, separation is what gives you a chance to get some kind of rotation. If you can get guys where you know from night to night what they’re going to produce and the reliability of what they’re going to be able to do on both ends of the court, it helps you a lot. I think it helps them. The last couple games I do think we have been able to get a little bit more rotation in our mind in terms of what we’re trying to do. Different games can change it dictated by foul trouble and things like that. The last two games we’ve played started out with Uros and Olivier together and we have gone with John and Brandon together. Some youth and experience and Brandon obviously being a bigger body and can bang against certain guys better than John possibly inside. Then foul trouble can change that around. Then we obviously feel on the front line when we need to get Josiah at the four. We get better in some areas there offensively and the way he’s rebounding the ball. When he’s rebounding the ball the way he’s capable of that’s when we become quicker, faster on our transition game. Because he can come out of there with it quicker. Again, it’s consistency in terms of what we know we’re going to get and it does help players know about what time of the game they’re going to go into it.”
On Kennedy Chandler playing with more consistency…
“He’s done it consistently. When he’s done it consistently, he’s been very effective with it. But it’s different angles you’re trying to get him to come in from. Teams knows he’s going to bring it from the middle part of the floor all the time. And then they break the court down into thirds, they know he’s attacking from here, and they can sit on it—that’s why we try to get him to move more. I think a big thing we’re helping him with is introducing him to the fact that you have to learn to move without the ball and by getting to the sides, it gives a chance now to come in from a different angle. A really nice play the other night, Santi (Vescovi) came off the baseline, took one dribble to the middle, Kennedy was up top, and he made a great cut down, he showed his explosiveness moving without the ball. The more he grasps moving without the ball and getting himself in different areas of the court, the more effective he’s going to become without the ball. And because he is so fast, you know when he gets running, and he can catch it on the run and somebody gets him a pass, he’s been doing a nice job getting it where he needs to get it. But that’s the fun part about it, coaching guys that when they come in you hope to expand their game. Again, once he grasps that part of it consistently…Santi does a good job of that, you know moving, giving it up, moving and it’s just going to add to his game. And I would say the same thing about Zakai. Zakai needs to pass it some and get moving and get away like he got lost the other night, that was a big three he hit. But he got lost, he passed, moved. The more movement we get, the better we’re going to be. And I would say that for any team, I just think you get movement, you get ball movement and player movement, it’s hard to guard.”
On Kennedy Chandler struggling from the free throw line…
“Yeah, he falls back, and he has to get up there and stay on the line and shoot the ball. He’s a good shooter, but you know what, it’s concentration. You know, he stays every after practice every day and he’ll make 94/95 out of 100 but he gets in a game and he doesn’t concentrate. People think that’s an easy shot, it’s not as easy as everybody thinks. You’re running up and down the floor, you’re playing hard, you’re playing defense and you’re cutting off screens and then all at once the game just comes to a total stop. And you have to be able to really get your concentration, get your breathing right and get into where you’re really concentrating as opposed to just throwing it up there. But all his shots this year, you look at them from the free throw line, he’s backing up even before the ball is even halfway to the rim, he’s already dropped his arms down to his side and walking backwards and he’s just got to go toward the rim and follow through. I mean, he can make shots, he’s a shooter. It’s just concentration.”
On Florida…
“Well, Florida, Mike White, what can you say? I mean, again, he’s lost a valuable player (Colin Castleton) and won a big game at home against Mississippi State. A key guy went down, and they got another tough win Saturday, they had a tough week. They have Mississippi tonight, then they’re here. Mike’s back to doing the things that I always remember his teams doing. Changing defenses, a lot like what we faced here Saturday, you know 2-2-1, can fall back, can run and double at any time or throw a 1-3-1 at you, can mix up some zones in there with man and he’s doing that. As you would expect the last two games they’ve shot a few more threes since they don’t have their post guy, they normally throw it in to. Obviously playing through their guards even more. But Mike, he does a great job, he’s taken what he’s gotten, it’s a testament to him, hasn’t complained about any of it. I do think his team has great confidence in him because they have followed his lead to the hilt and they can put numbers on you if you don’t guard them, they can turn you over if you don’t take care of the basketball.”
Tennessee Super Senior Forward John Fulkerson
On if he is still working his way back from COVID…
“I think all of last year really took a toll on everybody. It just takes a while to get back, really with your conditioning, timing, and rhythm, coming back from something like that.”
On having a different mindset coming off the bench as opposed to starting…
“Not really, but it has been a while. It is different, I like it, but definitely different. I think I still have the same mindset with just doing whatever I can to help my team. I think our roles as everyone is still the same, just doing what coach asks us to do.”
On how important it was to bounce back defensively against Vanderbilt and LSU following the loss to Kentucky…
“I think that’s something that we have to do every single night. Something that we really have to hang our hats on is defense because regardless of if we are making shots or not, it has to be something that we are able to travel with and have at every home game. Something that we have every single game is our defense because that does not really take skill, just takes effort and energy. This helps us on the offensive end when our defense is clicking when it’s really good which definitely translates to the offensive end.”
On why he likes coming off bench and if it helps him see what the opponent is doing better…
“It does yes, the way I look at it is I told my teammates that are out there to go as hard as they can and that makes the opponents go hard as they can, then they get tired. So when I come in, I’m fresh and they are tired, so that is kind of the way I look at it. Hopefully when I come in, I’m ready to go with energy and hopefully the other team is a little winded from the first group.”
On the conversation with coach Barnes about coming off the bench…
“I think it was something that needed to be done. Coach has been doing this a long time and he knows what is best for his team and his players. He is going to put us all in the right position and in the best position to win. I trust whatever coach is doing, in whatever he says and whatever he wants us to do. I trust him in everything, whatever he wants from any of us we are all willing to do it.”
On why the move to the bench needed to be done…
“Just to switch things up and try to get some different lineups in there. Different looks from teams and just trusting coach Barnes’ game plan to whatever he thinks will be most successful.”
On if was easy for you making the transition from starting to bench…
“I mean it was different for sure, I can’t say I was expecting it. But I think you just have to trust coach with whatever he has for us. I trust coach that he knows what is best for me and our team which will put us in the best position to win.”
On Uros Plavsic’s physicality in games and how he has personally evolved his physicality over the years…
“I would say I have definitely become more physical over my time here. If you guys watched the last game, you definitely saw that Uros can be physical. He can bring a lot to our team and really being that glue guy for him. Bringing us together and being that energetic guy. He has done a great job while he has been in there.”
On coach Barnes bringing him and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield off the bench together, matching an experienced player with an inexperienced player…
“I think that we play well together. I want to say that I play well with all of my teammates. No offense to anyone, no good or bad feelings toward my teammates. I like playing with them all but I think that is a great way to look at that. I can use my experience to help a freshman player like Brandon. And that we can both be in there at the same time and be productive.”
On Uros Plavsic showing emotions on the floor and rewatching tape back…
“It is actually pretty funny. Our game was showing on SEC Network just now and seeing the pregame and halftime stuff and everything in the game, you aren’t lacking for words when you say he shows emotion, but that is great for our team. We need that, we need all of the energy. We all can feed off of that.”
-UT Athletics
