Head Coach Rick Barnes
On the win at Vanderbilt last month being this season’s turning point for Tennessee…
“I think we’re a different team and I think they’re a different team too. They’ve been able to get some guys back that they had out, and we’ve gone through some different situations ourselves. This time of the year—I think any coach would tell you—this the time of year if there is not a turning point, things normally don’t end up well for you. We have a chance to continue to get better and we have to do that. For certain players I think individually—like Josiah James the last four games, he has been a different player. He is scoring at all different levels as opposed to stand behind the arc for the majority of his shots. Probably three-quarters of his shots or more were coming from behind the arc, and now he’s giving us the ability, or giving himself the ability to score at all three levels which is important. I think our ball movement has been better. I think player movement has been better. I don’t know that I’d pinpoint one game, but overall, I have seen where different guys have got a little bit more comfortable with the role that they know we need them to play.”
On Jonas Aidoo had a bigger impact than he expected…
“It was. Watching him on tape, offensively what he did, the way he spaced the floor. He worked behind the rim and the basket. He worked the baseline area that we call it the porch. The way he stayed active back there. He stepped out and set some nice hammer screens on the back side. He did. I think the first shot they shot (with Aidoo in), I think we all were surprised that he didn’t get it because he was there. He did affect a couple things.
“We were happy with his movement and that has been one of the big things, getting him to play with the speed that we know he has to play at here. Jonas can shoot the ball now. That shot he shot, I will tell you everybody on the team thought that shot was going in. He is a really good shooter. Jonas shot threes when he was in high school and shot them pretty effectively. He is not at that point yet where we need that from him. What we need from him is his length because he does give us that dimension. We see it in practice. We have been waiting to see it more consistently. The biggest thing the last two weeks has been his movement. He is moving just so much better than he was earlier.”
On upcoming strength of schedule…
“You go back, I thought we had a tough opening SEC schedule. When you think about, we had to go to Alabama, we had to go to LSU, two teams I think were picked in the top four or five in the league and at Kentucky early, I thought it was tougher early. I think it’s a testament to our league and how good this league is right now in terms of that fact that Arkansas is playing terrific basketball, arguably as good as anybody in the country. I think everything we do is about getting better. I think that this time of year there’s a fine line you walk where you’ve got the get guys to get better as individuals. We have guys that are playing 30-some minutes a game, we have to make sure they stay fresh, and we give them a chance to recover with that part of the game. I think anything we do from here on out is preparation for the next game. I don’t think we can think ahead to anything other than the fact that we have a really good basketball team coming in here Saturday, that’s an in-state rival game. I think they’ve won three of their last four games and we’ve got to focus there and whatever happens we go from there and get ready for the next one.”
On preparing for the Vanderbilt game…
“Jerry Stackhouse is a terrific basketball coach. He’s done a good job. Every time we’ve been against them, we’ve been fortunate to come out on top of these games. They have all been very, very close games, even a year ago when we went over there during COVID. They had two of their guys, two of their leading scorers didn’t play. That was a rock fight. It went right to the end, and I think a lot of that goes to him and his staff. Because one they’ve done a terrific job of developing players and put them in position where they can be successful. We know that they can really get going from behind the arch. They did that to us; they’ve done it is seems like every game that they can go there. They have size where they’ve got more of a balanced team I think where they really can go inside and score. I think he has done a terrific job; I really do. I look at how his teams play and how they compete again it’s a real credit to he and his staff.”
On Josiah-Jordan James being a leader…
“I think when you talk about leadership, it comes in all different shapes in forms, and Josiah from the time he’s walked on campus has shown leadership abilities. He’s a guy that’s been a big part of getting recruits to come to our program, but also is a leader on the court as well. Josiah, Santi, Oliver, and Uros have all grown tremendously together. Those four have been tremendous on the defensive end in terms of helping call things and knowing what is coming. Josiah has matured as a leader on the defensive end, making sure the guys take it seriously. He’s worked so hard to become the shooter he is, but also had to deal with some injuries because every time he got going, it seemed like something would pop up. He’s always responded well because even when he couldn’t practice, he never let up on doing anything and everything he could do, to help his teammates. It’s been neat that Olivier did that the other night when he called the guys and told them what they needed to do. Jo has been a leader in so many ways since he’s been here, and you expect it from him since he’s been here for three years.”
On why the “Donate Life” game is important to him…
“It’s important because it saves lives and when I got here, Tom Satkowiak was waiting for a liver transplant. Watching what he went through for a couple of years, it was almost like he had to get sicker and sicker before he could be a candidate for that. Seeing how he has come back and made a positive influence in our family, there’s a story like Tom’s everywhere. The fact that when someone is willing to donate to give someone a life when their life is over is remarkable that we have a program in place where people can do that.”
On the keys to getting off to a hot start…
“I don’t think I can pinpoint one thing other than playing at the speed that we like to play at. We had a couple of possessions in the game the other day where we made four or five passes within seven seconds of the shot clock. We like to get the ball going from side to side, have player movement, and play with some speed on and off the ball. There are a lot of nights when you don’t play well, you make shots, and it looks good and there are some nights where you play well but don’t make shots. What we like is that we’ve gotten better shots in terms of shots that we’ve practiced as opposed to guys that are rushing shots.”
On what he saw from Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and if he will start again…
“You would expect Brandon to be a little jittery starting for the first time, but he handled himself well. He had a terrific pass that he caught from Josiah early in the game and banked one in off the glass while looking very comfortable shooting that. He must continue to understand the defensive side of things at a high level, being able to move from play to play. Most freshmen start to understand things at the end of January, but the fact is that all of them showed signs, but now is the time for consistency. Some guys can pick it up quicker than others, some can understand what it takes to win at a high level, and other guys can’t get out of their way thinking they have to do this and that. The quicker guys buy in and understand the exact role they must play, it gets better for them and everybody. I think Brandon is understanding that more and more right now.”
On how Rodney Chatman changes Vanderbilt as a team…
“His experience. He gives them another guard that can do something and has altered what they can do. He has probably helped Scotty Pippen Jr. more than anybody because they have another guy out there that gets a lot of focus. They put a team on the floor where they have a lot of different guys that can hurt you, but I do think he has altered their team.”
Freshman Forward Jonas Aidoo
On talking to Olivier Nkamhoua before the game on Wednesday…
“It helped a lot. He’s been a starter for us since the beginning of the year. I needed someone to talk to before the game because I have just been sitting and watching—he told me to just play. He said, ‘You play basketball, do what you do.’ He told me just do what you do in practice, and it’ll come to you.”
On what he thinks he can do to help the team the next few games…
“Whatever coach asks me to do. Whether that’s altering shots or protecting the rim. If he tells me to block a shot, I’m going to block a shot.”
On what the biggest adjustment has been to playing in the SEC…
“I would say the mental side of the game. There is so much to learn at the college level and it’s a big difference from high school to college. You can’t compare high school to college because they’re so much different.”
On how things have been clicking the last few weeks and how good of a shooter he is…
“I like to think I’m a pretty good shooter. From the mental side of it, I’ve been talking to my parents and coaches back home and getting advice from them. They’ve been telling me I can do this and your time is going to come.”
On how he played the other night and what to expect tomorrow night…
“I think I played pretty well filling in for Olivier. I felt that I moved well without the ball and tried rebound, block shots, and every time I’m on the court I’m going to give it my all.”
On how much he has improved since he’s gotten to Tennessee…
“I think I’ve improved in every possible way: as a person, player, mentally, and my relationship with everybody here. I’m very grateful for everyone here.”
-UT Athletics
