Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes Transcript

On what Tennessee learned from playing Kentucky at Rupp Arena…
“The way we turned the ball over and allowed them to score a lot off turnovers, you’re not going to win basketball games anywhere doing that. Transition defense is also important because they play as fast as any team does in the country. If you’re late getting back or not on edge, they’re going to score quickly, so we have to do a better job of taking care of the basketball.”

On what he wants from Tennessee’s post players…
“Consistency is what we want even though some nights the numbers will be a little bit different. What we want more than anything from our bigs is consistent defense, especially our ball-screen coverage. What we are more concerned about them playing good basketball and taking care of the details for us.”

On how different the leadership has been since the Kentucky game…
“It’s different, we’re a different team in terms of our leadership. It’s been fun watching our guys the past few weeks—watching them talk to each other, coach each other, and accept each other’s coaching has been good for us. We’ve talked about that for a long time and it’s neat watching that part of our program development.”

On Oscar Tshiebwe…
“You can’t talk about national player of the year without bringing his name up; the numbers that he is putting up are incredible, and the consistency with which he does it with. The fact that he does it when every coach before the game is trying to slow him down; no one has found a way to do that. John (Calipari) and his staff have done a great job putting him in areas to be successful and Tshiebwe has responded well to that. Again, you can’t mention national player of the year candidate without mentioning his name.”

On how Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has played thus far and what he needs to do to earn more minutes late in games…
“It would be consistency more so on the defensive end where he understands lunging and reaching will get him in trouble more times than not. Instinctively he has good hands, but you can’t take your body out of position going for steals. Like all young players, he needs to understand to keep moving from play to play. Offensively, he needs to be more consistent because he’s taken some shots that he would say are tough shots to make. The biggest thing is consistency, whether he starts or comes off the bench so it’s about consistency and being productive.”

On what makes Oscar Tshiebwe a great rebounder…
“He has really good instincts and he’s going to fight off your first block out, so you have to stay with him. He gets his hands up well, he’s quick to the ball, and if he misses his shot, he has that quick jump to go up and get the ball. He has terrific instincts in terms of being in the right position to get the rebound.”

On Kennedy Chandler’s versatility…
“Kennedy has a 6’7 wingspan and the fact is that he is just getting started on how good he can be. He can impact a game in a lot of different ways, but the biggest thing is that he continues to have the mindset of getting better each day and gets locked in on what he needs to do each game.”

On Tennessee committing a lot of turnovers against Kentucky…
“Careless passes. In that game, both teams shot over 52 percent but you can’t give turn the ball over 20 times. I’m not taking anything away from Kentucky, but we made some plays that you absolutely can’t make against a team that is terrific at capitalizing on mistakes. We weren’t in a position where we got better moving the ball, it was too much one-on-one and guys taking quick shots. You must give them credit because you can say they put us in that situation, but we have to do a better job in that area.”

On Victor Bailey Jr. and Justin Powell as players, not shooters…
“We don’t want people to think they’re good shooters, we want them to be players. They want to be more than shooters because they want to be known as guys that can impact games whether they’re making shots or not. We want them to shoot and take good shots but we’re going to play the guys that can consistently get it done on the defensive end. If you don’t defend in this league, teams can score on you every time down the floor; we have to get every guy thinking with a defensive mentality.”

On Zakai Zeigler and how he gets so many steals…
“I think when you have played the game as long as he has and you have worked at it as long as he is, it’s in his DNA. I think he knows at his height to be an effective player at this level then he has got to be a tenacious defender. He has to be a very aggressive-minded person, and I think when you are a six-foot guard and want to be successful, you have got to be willing to be very aggressive on your defensive end, you have got to want to go up and guard the basketball, you have to be able to be off the ball and be able to use your quickness and speed to come up with steals and give yourself a chance to get out in the open court and play. I look at him and what everybody sees in games, we see him do it every day in practice. With that said, I think it is really a part of his DNA and who he is.”

On whom has stepped up into a leadership role since the loss at Kentucky…
“You expect it to be the older guys that play in terms of, Santi and Josiah and certainly, Uros and Olivier, they were all trending that way. I think overall it’s been a group effort, but certainly, Josiah and Santi. We have so many more guys that are locked in on the defensive end with our game plan. Leadership, concentration, whatever you want to call it, but when they are able to coach and talk about themselves and coach themselves, that’s when you have a chance to be a good basketball team.”

On his relationship with Tony White…
“It was really a blessing for me. I actually had a chance to see Tony and I kid to him about when I was an assistant at Alabama, Tennessee was playing Vanderbilt over there and I actually scouted him that game for Alabama at the time. Getting here and getting to know Tony, through Chris (Low), I can think of the times Chris and I would go to the hospital to see him. As much as he was going through, he’s a fighter. When I think of Tony, that is what I think of. He has a great personality, a great zest for life, and he loves the Lord. Coach Fulmer went with us one time to visit, and the entire conversation was that he was going to fight as hard as he could and that he was never going to give up. He comes by practice now some and every time he comes in here, I think I wish our guys had a chance to see him play, because he was a special player. He would put 51 points on anyone, but again, it’s been a gift for me to get to know Tony.”

On how Tennessee’s offense flows better when John Fulkerson is active…
“It gives a whole different part of offense when we know we can get him going or he can get himself going through what we try to do. He’s playing much quicker and much faster. He’s a guy that we’ve seen him in the past do some really great things on that end, and again it just goes back to consistency. Coming down the stretch here with this team, we are going to need them all to give us everything that they got.”

Junior Guard Josiah-Jordan James Quotables

On the rivalry between Tennessee and Kentucky and how big Tuesday’s game is…
“I think it’s really big. It is huge for both programs. We definitely go out each and every game trying to win every game but this one is especially special just because of the rivalry and history that we have between these two programs. It is always good when we get to meet up either here at Thompson-Boling or at Rupp Arena, it’s always special.”

On how he feels his leadership has changed since the loss to Kentucky…
“I would say just being more consistent in what I do, and what I say, and holding others accountable. You can’t hold other people accountable if you are making the same mistakes that they are. I think I have grown more with my consistency day in and day out, with holding the highest standard of this team.”

On how big of a test Tennessee has this week with facing two top-25 teams…
“This is a really big week. Every next game is our biggest game of our season. I would have said that about Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, or any other game that we have had this year. The next game against Kentucky is the biggest game of our season and then looking forward against Arkansas this weekend, it will be another really big test. Us three, us, Arkansas, and Kentucky, are really fighting for that second-place spot right now, so we will see who comes out top in the end.”

On making a positive impact on the game even when shots aren’t falling…
“Yes, for sure. The game of basketball is more than just putting the ball in the hole and scoring points. I think that on nights when I’m struggling, I still have to find ways to impact the game on the defensive end and still on the offensive end, with getting my teammates involved, even if my shots aren’t falling for me specifically. It’s not like that for everybody, so find the hot hand and get the ball to people who are shooting well on a particular night. With my leadership, my defensive leadership, those things carry, so you can bring those night in and night out no matter what you are doing on offense.”

-UT Athletics