Head Coach Rick Barnes
On the SEC changing its forfeit rule when it comes to teams not being able to compete due to COVID…
“I still think really right when you think about it, if you have enough guys—that number is probably seven or eight—that you can play a game, I think you should go play. I think it speaks volumes to your team when you know that, ‘hey yeah, we might not ever full deck with us, but we believe in you guys, you’re on scholarship and so we will always try with everything that we do to go play a game, whether it’s here or on the road. That’s how we feel about it. I just think that if you have enough, I think you owe it to everybody involved to do the right thing, for one people that bought tickets for the games. I’ve seen enough in my lifetime in this sport to know that anything can happen during a basketball game. But it goes back, mainly to the fact that if you have enough, you owe it to them to go play.”
On what he’s seen from Alabama on film…
“Obviously they’re an outstanding team. Like all of us at certain times during the year, they’ve been through the ups and downs of it, but you know, when you think about it, you know what they like to do in terms of attacking the basket or the 3-point shot, and so you have to certainly know personnel as much as anything going into this game, because they’re going to work hard and get you in the rotation. Like in every game, I think rebounding is a key. But it’ll take a great effort. You think about some of their wins and how they’re capable of playing, and we know they’re explosive and can put up some numbers. They can come in flurries and we have got to do a good job on the other end of taking care of the ball and making sure we get the shots that we want.”
On if he was concerned with players traveling over the holiday break when it comes to COVID…
“I think you’re always concerned this time of year with what you see going on in the country, but I do think our guys really do try to be responsible as much as they possibly can when they leave. I’ve always said I think it’s important to, if you can at all possibly be with your family at Christmas, I think that’s the right thing to do. But then, when you get outside of the bubble that we have created here, yeah, you’re always concerned about it, but we’ll always do the right thing. Those that we felt needed to be tested we did that and, and we’ll see what the results are.”
On Tennessee’s rebounding in the win over Arizona…
“It’s something that we that we really want to be good at, and I think we have the ability to do that. I think now it gets down to are you willing to do it on nights when people are so conscious of trying to keep you off the glass or trying to get to the glass. Can you do it? And that takes it to the next level, consistency. Reliability on rebounding I think can carry you a long way, but as you get a reputation for being an offensive rebounder early in the game and certainly people are going to try to keep you from there and try to discourage you from coming in. On the other end, they look at you and if you’re not a guy that blocks out or doesn’t take care of that end, they’re going to come at you. That’s something we’ve talked a lot about and something that we have to continue to get better with.”
On Nate Oats’ consistent success at each coaching stop…
“I think like any coach, he believes in what he’s doing. I think he recruits to his system and you know he’s been around the game and he does a really good job of teaching what he believes in.”
On how important the Christmas break was for players to re-gather themselves and recharge physically and mentally…
“I think guys always look forward to being able to be with their families and have a short break. I thought last night they came back and had a great spirit about them. With that said, obviously they were able to rest a little bit and maybe for those that were had those nagging injuries that you always have this time of year and throughout the year, certainly those days would help with that. But I think being away for a couple days was good for all of us.”
On Olivier Nkamhoua’s influence on the Arizona game through things other than offense…
“I think that’s where he has matured a lot really in the last couple weeks, where he now knows he can affect the game in a lot of ways, whether he scores a basket or not. He had three blocks, really four, the fourth one he got called for a foul, he literally blocked it with his forearm and it was just a spectacular play. And when you think about that he also blocked a jump shot, that’s taking eight to 10 points off the board that somebody has the possibility to get. But I think Olivier is just scratching the surface to what he can be. I know that as he continues to just play the game and not put pressure on himself to do anything but be who he is and understand that there’s so much more to the game than scoring and he can affect it on nights when sometimes he’s not getting looks. But again, I think his future is extremely bright and the impact that he’s made and will continue to make is what we need. I can make a case that what we need from him what we need from him and (John Fulkerson) and Uros (Plavsic)—we need those three guys night in and night out to do a lot in with Olivier leading the way.”
On how Tennessee’s tough non-conference schedule has prepared it for SEC play…
“I think we are. We tried to prepare our team with a tough non-league schedule, trying to hit as many different variables as we could with the schedule. I think our guys have responded, I do think that we’ve learned from our mistakes and I think we’ve learned from other teams and what they how they go about it. So yeah, I think we’re ready. The fact is, we have to be and I’m just hoping for our whole league that we can have the kind of year where we don’t have a lot of shut downs and let these guys do what they love to do, which is to go out and play and compete.”
On Brandon Huntley-Hatfield’s limited playing time against Arizona…
“In a game like that the other night, we knew, even when we got up early on them, that they were going to make a push to get back. It was a back and forth game and it was going to be a possession game. The truth behind that was his preparation two days out and one day out, we didn’t feel like he had had to kind of prep that we needed him to have. A game like that is not a chance to say, ‘Let’s see what he can do,’ based on what he had done in prior two days. I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t learn from that, because he would tell you himself that he didn’t have two very good days leading into it and when you have an opponent like we’re getting into now to. The preparation is so important. But we know that he can help us, and he’s going to help us. I do think last night he came back and he had a great mental mindset coming back last night because as coaches we had conversation with him about why he didn’t play, and it was all based on prep leading into it. I think all freshmen go through that. I think that’s not unusual, but I mean I think he would be the one to tell you that he wants to do it, and this is a whole new thing for him. But he has made great strides and he’ll continue to do that and like I said, he’s going to help us win some games this year.”
On Tennessee’s SEC schedule having numerous tough road games in the first couple weeks…
“I don’t even look at it like that. I don’t care. You have to play who you have to play and fact of the matter is, we’re going to do our work, we’re going to do our preparation and we’re going to trust it and we’re going to believe in it. The schedule is what it is. You just have to embrace it and go with it.”
Junior Forward Olivier Nkamhoua Quotables
On having a big impact on the Arizona game despite not scoring as much…
“It felt really good for me to be able to help my team without being a focal point on offense. It’s just bringing some grit on and defensive end and energy, and I think whenever I can bring that, I can help us a lot, so I think it’s a big part for me to keep doing that.”
On educating younger players about the shift to a demanding conference schedule…
“You have to lock into another level, but honestly I think we’ve done a good job of just having a full year—especially this year—a whole intense year. We’ve been pretty consistent this whole time. I think we’ve done a really good job and making non-conference play kind of similar to conference play, but it’s going to pick up in speed a little bit. But really, whenever I talk to the young guys I just tell them to enjoy it. We’re going to be playing two games a week. That’s what we’re here for, we’re here for basketball, especially right now since we’re out of school too. We’re really just living life, playing basketball and going home, relaxing and doing whatever we want to do. I think a big message from me will be just enjoy this time, because it’s going to go by pretty quick.”
On Rick Barnes preaching that he doesn’t have to score to affect the game…
“He’s been trying to emphasize that for my game for a long time. A person he always likes to bring up for me is Yves (Pons) and how he was always able to affect the game regardless of how he was doing on the offensive end. He says that especially now that I’m kind of stepping into the role and he’s not here anymore. Now we need somebody to be a defensive presence, so he’s been bringing that up, especially this year a good amount. And I’m doing my best.”
-UT Athletics
