Brooks & Dunn’s upcoming Reboot album, which drops on April 5, features an all-star cast of artists collaborating with country’s greatest duo.
Artists taking part in the project include Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Thomas Rhett, Brett Young, Lanco, Ashley McBryde, Midland, Luke Combs, Brothers Osborne, Cody Johnson, Jon Pardi and Tyler Booth.
In addition to previously released songs “Brand New Man” with Luke Combs, “Believe” with Kane Brown, and “My Next Broken Heart” with Jon Pardi, Brooks & Dunn released their new version of “Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up Nothing,” which features Lanco.
“This whole experience has been humbling to say the least,” says Ronnie Dunn. “What a cool rush to hear somebody do one of your tunes in a unique way, and it still holds up. That’s the greatest compliment you can get as an artist. People used to ask us all the time about the legacy we wanted to leave, and it’s honestly just that—you hope the music stands up over time. This is the first opportunity we’ve had to run it up a new flagpole . . . and it really flies.”
“They’re making their own music,” says Kix Brooks about the Reboot guest list. “But just like we did, they still remember and respect the music they grew up with. It makes you feel good that these acts were inspired by us in some small way.”
The new album will be Brooks & Dunn’s first studio album since 2007’s Cowboy Town.
Reboot Track List
1. Brand New Man (with Luke Combs)
2. Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You (with Brett Young)
3. My Next Broken Heart (with Jon Pardi)
4. Neon Moon (with Kacey Musgraves)*
5. Lost and Found (with Tyler Booth)
6. Hard Workin’ Man (with Brothers Osborne)
7. You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone (with Ashley McBryde)
8. My Maria (with Thomas Rhett)
9. Red Dirt Road (with Cody Johnson)
10. Boot Scootin’ Boogie (with Midland)
11. Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up For Nothing (with LANCO)
12. Believe (with Kane Brown)
Produced by Dann Huff
*Produced by Dann Huff and Kacey Musgraves
Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes spoke to the media Thursday ahead of Saturday’s regular season finale at Auburn with a chance at at least a share of the SEC regular season championship. Video courtesy of UT Athletics and VFL Films for Vol Network affiliates in Knoxville.
Vols HC Rick Barnes / Credit: UT Athletics & VFL Films
Below are my observations from the University of Tennessee’s first spring practice of 2019 at Haslam Field in Knoxville on Thursday.
There are plenty of changes to the UT football roster with position moves, jersey number changes and updated heights/weights. I’ve listed all of those here as well.
Vince’s View – Practice 1
Notables out due to injury or precaution:
OL – Trey Smith
OL – Brandon Kennedy
OL – Chris Akporoghene
DL – Kurott Garland
LB – Darrin Kirkland Jr.
RB – Eric Gray
DB – Tyus Fields
*Pruitt did not address Trey Smith’s status
*Kennedy is just being held back as a precaution and would have been able to play a game
*Pruitt said Akporoghene, Fields and Garland should be back soon
*Pruitt said Peterson is banged-up and should be back soon, but he was in some drills while we had viewing
*There were coaches everywhere with the Coaches’ Clinic at UT
*The drills we were able to view in our three periods looked crisp, organized and energetic
*Jr. S Theo Jackson impressed me by how vocal he was at calling out formations and communicating with his teammates
*You can see the work done in the off-season in the strength and conditioning program, especially year two for many of the players
*It was good to see OL Trey Smith at practice with his jersey on, encouraging his teammates, focused on watching every practice rep and trying to learn any way he can
*OT Wanya Morris, not surprisingly, is a massive guy who went through his drills with physicality
*Some of the injured players that ended their football careers this off-season were out supporting their former teammates at practice including former OL Chance Hall
*There were some recruits at practice as well
*Pruitt says, due to lack of numbers, true freshman Quavaris Crouch is starting out practicing at inside linebacker after it was previously said he would play at outside linebacker, which I think will still eventually happen
*Pruitt said Banks and Fant will be re-evaluated by Jim Chaney and David Johnson after 6-to-8 practices to see if they will stay there at RB
Roster Updates
New Positions
Jeremy Banks- LB to RB
Maleik Gray – WR to DB
Deangelo Gibbs – DB to WR
LaTrell Bumphus – TE to DL
Ja’Quain Blakely – TE to DL
Kivon Bennett – DL to LB
*A number of these players are moving back to positions they were once at
2019 Class & Transfer Jersey Numbers
WR – Deangelo Gibbs – 6
DL – Aubrey Solomon – 98
QB – Brian Maurer – 18
RB – Eric Gray – 3
WR – Ramel Keyton – 80
TE – Jackson Lowe – 82
OL – Wanya Morris – 64
OL – Chris Akporoghene – 77
LB – Quavaris Crouch – 27
S – Jaylen McCullough – 22
CB – Tyus Fields – 17
CB – Warren Burrell – 14
New Numbers
RB – Ty Chandler – 3 to 8
RB – Tim Jordan – 22 to 9
RB – Jeremy Banks – 31 to 33
RB – Princeton Fant – 18 to 44
OL – Jahmir Johnson – 72 to 58
OL – Brandon Kennedy – 59 to 55
DL – Matthew Butler – 56 to 94
DL – John Mincey – 59 to 99
DL – Kingston Harris – 51 to 54
DL – Greg Emerson – 64 to 90
LB – JJ Peterson – 40 to 6
CB – Bryce Thompson – 10 to 20
CB – Alontae Taylor – 6 to 2
DB – Shawn Shamburger – 15 to 12
DB – Cheyenne Labruzza – 9 to 44
PK – Brent Cimaglia – 30 to 42
Not On The Roster Via Transfer Portal
WR – Latrell Wiliams
OT – Drew Richmond
LB – Austin Smith
Noteworthy Weight Gains From 2018 (lbs)
OL – Nathan Niehaus (+40 in past year per Pruitt…+17 per rosters)
OL – Marcus Tatum (+25 or 30 in past year per Pruitt…+15 per rosters)
OL – Riley Locklear (+25 or 30 in past year per Pruitt…-2 per rosters)
DL – Kurott Garland (+28)
DL – Ja’Quain Blakely (+23)
OL – Trey Smith (+17)
LB – Deandre Johnson (+17)
DL – John Mincey (+16)
P/K – Paxton Brooks (16)
OT – Marcus Tatum (+15)
P – Joe Doyle (+13) *walk-on
TE – Jacob Warren (+12)
DL – Shanon Reid (+12)
LB – Quavaris Crouch (+12)
OL – Ryan Johnson (+11)
DL – Matthew Butler (+9)
DL – Aubrey Solomon (+9)
LB – Solon Page II (+9)
QB – Brian Maurer (+8)
RB – Princeton Fant (+8)
DL – Darrell Taylor (+8)
DB – Warren Burrell (+8)
Noteworthy Weight Dropped From 2018 (lbs)
OL – Jahmir Johnson (-15)
DL – Kivon Bennett (-15)
DB – Brandon Davis (-13)
LB – Will Ignont (-10)
LB – Darrin Kirkland Jr. (-9)
OL – Eric Crosby (-8)
Height Changes Of Newcomers From When Introduced At UT
WR – Ramel Keyton (was listed at 6’3, now shown at 6’2)
TE – Jackson Lowe (was listed at 6’5, now at 6’4)
OL – Wanya Morris (was listed at 6’6, now 6’4)
OL – Chris Akporoghene (was listed at 6’5, now 6’3)
LB – Quavaris Crouch (was listed at 6’2, now 6’1)
DL – Aubrey Solomon (was listed at 6’3, now 6’5)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee football team held its first spring practice of 2019 on Thursday afternoon at Haslam Field, officially beginning the second spring season of the Jeremy Pruitt era.
The Vols will practice a total of 15 times and will wrap up the spring session with the Chevrolet Orange and White game on Saturday, April 13 at 6 p.m. inside Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee welcomed 12 scholarship newcomers for the spring semester, which includes 10 freshmen and two transfer early enrollees (Full list at the bottom of the page).
On Thursday, Pruitt stressed the strides the team has made on both sides of the ball.
“There’s definitely a lot of carryover defensively from last fall,” Pruitt said. “We have lots of guys that are back, so you could obviously see a comfort zone there. I thought our offense did a great job today. It’s probably the first time all year that we finished practice early. The offense sets the tempo for the practice, so I thought that was really positive.”
Moving forward for the remainder of the spring session, Pruitt emphasized the importance of his football support staff to get the team where it needs to be heading into the summer session.
“I think with the offseason, it takes everybody in our program,” Pruitt said. “I think it starts with our weight room staff, with Coach (Craig) Fitzgerald and all his guys. They’ve done a really nice job training. Our nutrition staff has done a really good job – (Director of Nutrition for Football) Rachel (Pfister) and everybody associated with her. The people in Smokey’s, where our guys eat everyday. I think the guys have done a nice job of getting some rest, which is important.”
Pruitt also praised several players who have gained weight, maximizing the strength and conditioning resources and nutrition team at UT.
“With Nathan Nieuhas, I think he’s gained 40 pounds in a year,” Pruitt said. “Riley Locklear has probably gained 25 or 30 pounds. (Marcus) Tatum has probably gained 25 or 30 pounds. I think it will help them.”
Chaney back on Rocky Top
Jim Chaney returned to Tennessee as offensive coordinator following a successful run at Georgia from 2016-18 where he led an offense that ranked No. 3 in the SEC in total yards per game (478.77), second in points (39.15) and first in rushing yards (251.62) in 2018. Pruitt has been impressed in a short period of time from what he’s seen from Chaney at UT.
“With Jim coming in here, I think he has done a really nice job with our staff,” Pruitt said. “He’s very efficient with his time. He is a very good teacher. I’ve sat in lots of meetings. The offense is simple to understand.”
Pruitt was most impressed with the multiple ways Chaney has had success in college football, through throwing and running the ball. He also stressed Chaney’s ability to evaluate and maximize talent on the field.
“He’s done it lots of different ways, which I think is important” Pruitt said. “He’s thrown it lots of different times in games. He has done it with balance. He figures out who his best players are and finds a way to get them the ball. I think he’s a very good evaluator, and coaching against him, he is very hard to defend.”
Kennedy Back
Brandon Kennedy started the 2018 season opener at center before suffering a knee injury in practice that ended his season. Kennedy, a graduate transfer from Alabama, was back at practice in a limited role on Thursday. However, Pruitt said Kennedy would be able to play if the Vols needed him for a game right now.
“There’s no need to rush him back,” Pruitt said. “He is going to do some things this spring, and it will be day-by-day. If we were playing in a game right now, he could play.”
Different Spring for Alontae Taylor
A year ago, rising sophomore cornerback Alontae Taylor was an early enrollee hoping to become a star wide receiver for the Vols following a standout prep career in Manchester, Tenn. In Taylor’s second spring, he is firmly entrenched at cornerback after starting nine games there as a true freshman last fall.
Taylor moved to cornerback midway through spring practice last year, but wasn’t solidified on defense until fall camp.
“He’s put a lot of time into it with Coach (Derrick) Ansley,” Pruitt said. “I see those guys watching tape a lot. I think there will be improvement just being comfortable with the position now. He, along with the rest of the guys, should improve. They all have a year under their belt.”
Taylor, who started the 2018 season-opener, finished with 40 tackles, two forced fumbles and a blocked kick in his first year.
Injury Update
Pruitt announced that rising redshirt senior linebacker Darrin Kirkland (knee) would be out for the spring. Rising freshmen Eric Gray, Tyus Fields and Chris Akporghene were also out on Thursday. Pruitt said rising redshirt freshman defensive lineman Kurott Garland would return to practice soon.
Early Enrollees for the Vols:
FRESHMEN:
No. 77 Chris Akporoghene, OL, 6-3, 301. (Seymour, Tenn.)
“There’s definitely a lot of carry over defensively from last fall. We have a lot of guys who are back, so you could obviously see a comfort zone there. I thought that our offense did a really good job today. It was probably the first time all year that we finished practice early. The offense sets the tempo for the practice, so I thought that was really positive. We have a few guys that aren’t participating in the spring. Darrin Kirkland is getting some work done on his knee, just from a rehab standpoint, and Eric Gray had shoulder surgery. Tyus Fields had a little procedure done back during Christmas. He could possibly be back. Chris Akporoghene is going to miss the first couple of days of spring practice. Kurott Garland will be back out there soon. So, we’ve got a few guys out, but not as many as we had last year. I thought the tempo was good today. With the first day of practice, we’ve got new guys out there and we have to teach them how to practice. We’ve got to stay off the ground. The ball for the first day is probably on the ground too many times, with just simple quarterback center exchanges. We need to be able to fix that, and offensively it starts with the snap, and if you can’t do that, it’s hard to have success. I thought for the first day, there was some juice out there, and our guys competed pretty well, and I’m excited about that. I think there’s some guys that changed positions that have done a nice job in the offseason learning a new position. So, we’ll watch the film, and we’ve got a bunch of high school coaches in here, we’re excited about that. With our coach’s clinic, it’s an opportunity for us to spend time with people that came to our clinic. It’s a big deal for us, so we’ll work on our corrections tomorrow and we’ll go back at it on Saturday and hopefully we’ll improve.”
Credit: UT Athletics
On the difference from spring practice last year to spring practice this year:
“I can’t remember what I ate last week for breakfast, so I sure can’t remember last spring’s first day of practice. We’ve practiced 300 times since then. So, we were better today than we were last year because mostly everybody on the team has been through the system one time, as opposed to last year when nobody knew the system. So now, there’s probably ten guys that are here for the first time, and at least the other guys have an idea of what they’re supposed to do. Last year, nobody knew what to do. So, it obviously should be better.”
On the smoothness of the offense today despite new coaches:
“I think from an experience standpoint with Jim (Chaney) coming in here, I think he’s done a really nice job with our staff. He’s very efficient with his time. He’s a very good teacher. I’ve sat in lots of meetings, and he’s simple to understand. There are a lot of similarities, and we’ve kept a lot of things, from a conceptional standpoint, that are probably very similar. So, I think our guys have done a really good job with working hard to figure out what they’re supposed to do. The guys come here for two reasons: to get a degree and to play football. So, some of it is on them to learn what to do on their own, and I think our guys, for the first day, have done a really good job. Now, you install the first day for probably two weeks, and now you’re fixing to start the second practice and you install one time and here we go. Are we willing to spend that much time and be able to balance everything that goes in with that and retain the same knowledge as the first practice? I don’t know, we’ll see.”
On responding from last season:
“We had our shots last year, that’s over with. There’s nothing we can do about it, so I’m not going to talk about it anymore. We’re worried about next year. That’s the only thing that we have control over and everybody on our football team has a plan to improve as a player this spring and as a unit, and I think our guys are going to start working hard to do that. We’ve done a good job so far, we had a good first day of practice and we’ll see where it goes tomorrow.”
On Quavaris Crouch starting the spring at inside linebacker:
“Inside linebacker, first of all we have a lack of depth there with Darrin Kirkland Jr. not going through the spring. JJ Peterson is a little banged up, he should be back probably next week. So, we have a depth issue there. It’s also from a standpoint of having a better understanding of the defense, it’s easier to learn it from inside out instead of outside in. I think he’s a guy that can play all four positions, so we started him there.”
On Jeremy Banks’ position during the spring:
“Jeremy is going to start off at running back. If you look at our running back with Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan and Carlin Fils-aime, even Eric Gray, they’re all probably between the 195 and 205 range. We need a big back, that’s why we moved Princeton Fant there. We’re gonna keep Jeremy on offense, we have to have a 225-plus pound guy in there, at least one guy. We’re going to keep them over there and see how they work for the first six to eight days, let coach Chaney and David Johnson get a good look at them and then make a decision from there. They both can play multiple positions and they’re learning the offense conceptually, so I think they’re both doing a good job as far as offseason conditioning, I don’t know about today’s practice.”
On Alontae Taylor’s growth as a defensive back in the past year:
“For one, he wants to be a defensive back now. When we moved him last spring, he probably didn’t. When you want to do something, you put more time into it. I think that he’s probably done that, he’s put a lot of time in in the offseason with coach Ansley. I see those guys watching tape a lot. So, I think that there will be improvement just with being comfortable with the position. He’s never played corner, he played defensive back, but he really went back there and stood and played safety during high school. He didn’t get up there and play the different techniques that you have to play at corner in this league. Him along with the rest of the guys, they all should improve now that they have a year under their belt.”
On Brandon Kennedy’s recovery:
“Brandon would be clear to go if we were playing right now, but there’s no need to rush him back. He’s going to do some things this spring and it’ll be day-by-day, but if we were playing a game right now, he could play.”
On the progress through the offseason:
“I think with the offseason it takes everybody in the program, it starts with our weight room staff with Coach Fitz and all his guys. They have done a really nice job training and our nutrition staff has done a great job. Rachel (Pfister) and everybody associated with her, the people in Smokey’s where our guys eat every day, working with Rachel and her crew. Getting the guys on a good diet and I think the guys have done a nice job of getting some rest and I think it takes a little of that too. Nathan Niehaus has gained 40 pounds in a year, Riley Locklear has probably gained 25 or 30 pounds and Marcus Tatum has gained 25 or 30 pounds. They need it and some of them could gain 25 more but I think it will help them and offensive line is a developmental position so when you sign a scholarship to play offensive line in the SEC and you weigh 260 pounds, it’s probably going to take you three years before you can actually play. A lot of these guys are in their third year or starting their fourth and they are big enough now to be effective I think.”
On what the staff needs to see from the defensive line this spring:
“There’s not many guys that have played a lot of ball, I think as a group the guys have worked hard in the offseason but until you learn how to go out there and strain and do it over and over again and not make mental errors and learn how to play, how to practice and do it the right way, we have very few guys that have done much of that. Emmitt Gooden played more than the rest of them, John Mincy was getting an opportunity to play and he got injured last year. Kurott Grarland played four games, Kingston Harris played in four, so they played enough to be redshirted. I think that was good for them, good experience but we’ve got a long way to go there.”
On the early enrollees:
“I think these guys have done a really nice job in the classroom. Lots of times when you go to college everybody gets overwhelmed, there is so much thrown at them. I haven’t seen that with them, I think these guys come from really good football programs and good schools. I think they have been prepared academically, athletically and programs that have worked really hard and have had a lot of success. They have jumped right in and fit right in, they haven’t looked like freshman which is a good thing. Obviously, they are mid-year guys so they have to be pretty strong academically. I saw more of the defensive guys but I thought they had a good understanding of what we were tying to do for the first day so it was really positive.”
On what appealed to him the most about Jim Chaney:
“He’s done it a bunch of different ways and has had a bunch of success in this league which I think is important. Unless you’ve coached in this league against some of these guys that you’re going to go against, it takes a little while to get used to what they’re going to do on defense. He’s done it throwing it a bunch of times in a game, he’s done it with balance and run oriented. He figures out who his best players are and finds ways to get them the ball. I think he’s a very good evaluator and coaching against him, he’s very hard to defend.”
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Sophomores Evina Westbrook and Rennia Davis combined for 27 second-half points to rally eighth-seeded Tennessee to a 69-66 win over ninth-seeded LSU in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
Westbrook led UT in scoring with 20 points while Davis was close behind with 19. Freshman Mimi Collins tallied 10 points in the game, eight of which came in the second half.
LSU was led by Khayla Pointer, who had 21 points and five assists. Faustine Aifuwa and Ayana Mitchell were also in double figures for the Lady Tigers with 16 each.
The Lady Vols got off to a shaky start, turning the ball over on the first two possessions while the Lady Tigers jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but Mimi Collins knocked down a 12-foot jumper on the baseline to get UT on board at the 8:36 mark. LSU went on to pull ahead 11-6, but Westbrook tied the game at 11-all with a baseline three at the 3:22 mark, and Meme Jackson knocked down a contested jumper to give the Lady Vols their first lead of the game at 13-11. Westbrook struck again just before the quarter break to put UT up 15-14 at the end of the first.
The teams traded buckets to start the second period until Pointer came up with a steal and score to put LSU ahead 20-19 at the 7:33 mark. Davis answered on the next possession, driving into the lane to put Tennessee back up 21-20. Back-to-back threes put the Lady Tigers ahead 28-23 with 3:42 remaining in the half, but Meme Jackson answered on the other end, knocking down a three to cut the lead to two. LSU closed out the half with a 6-0 run to take a 35-28 lead into halftime.
Westbrook poured in six points in the opening minutes of the third stanza to put the Lady Vols within three by the 5:46 mark, and Cheridene Green cut the deficit to one on the next possession with a rebound and put-back. The Lady Tigers stretched the lead back to five, but Westbrook answered with an old-fashioned three-point play to pull Tennessee within two at the 2:13 mark. Mimi Collins got off a shot from behind the arc as the buzzer sounded that would have put the Lady Vols up by one, but it rimmed out, sending UT into the final period down 49-47.
Westbrook and Davis combined for UT’s first six points of the fourth quarter before Davis found Collins in transition. The freshman forward laid the ball in to give Tennessee its first lead of the half at 55-53. Aifuwa tied it up for LSU, but Collins once again answered, knocking down a long-range baseline jumper to put UT back on top, 57-55, at the media timeout. Davis knocked down two free throws after the timeout and followed it up with a trey to put Tennessee up 62-57 with just under three minutes left in the game. Mitchell cut it to two with 50 second to play, banking in a short jumper in the paint, but Westbrook responded on the other end, driving to the bucket to boost UT’s lead back to four. LSU would hit two more field goals, but Tennessee worked down the clock shooting free throws to take a 69-66 victory and advance to the third round of the SEC Tournament.
Up Next: The Lady Vols advanced to the third round of the SEC Tournament, where they will face Mississippi State at noon on Friday in a game televised by the SEC Network.
Cleaning The Glass: The Lady Vols out-rebounded the Lady Tigers 31-28. They have now out-rebounded 25 of 30 opponents on the season by an average of 43.4 rpg. to 34.2 rpg.
20+ Westbrook: With 20 points against LSU, Evina Westbrook recorded her 10th 20+ performance of the season and first since knocking down 24 against Arkansas on Jan. 21.
Collins Coming On Strong: Mimi Collins recorded her seventh double-digit effort of the season with 10 points against LSU. Over the last three games she is averaging 11 ppg., raising her season average to 5.3 ppg. Prior to the last three games she was averaging just 4.6 ppg.
On his thoughts about Auburn:
“I still think that teams are playing for a lot this weekend and next. There’s a lot left on the line for college basketball teams, especially in certain situations. When you look at their team, they shoot a lot of threes about any way you can do it. They can shoot it early in transition. They run a lot of sets where they are looking to shoot the three. They’re shooting it at a very high clip. They can turn people over, and they’re good at rebounding. I think they’re in the top 30 in the country at rebounding. They play fast and play some defense where they get in the backcourt and press you some. They do a lot of different things. Obviously, it’s a big game, but I think all games are big at this time of year for everybody because you’re trying to get your momentum and start playing consistent at a high level.”
Credit: UT Athletics
On Chuma Okeke’s play:
“He is playing really well. People may look at their team and think they’re undersized, but between he and Anfernee McLemore, they go get it. They play much bigger than they are. They are quick to the ball as a team. He is one of the big reasons for why they are where they are right now. He’s really improved. If you go back to from he started to where he is now, he will continue to get better.”
On the team playing better defense recently:
“I think it does help that we have a mature group. They know we got away from our defense. They know it’s something we have to do to be where we want to be at this time of year. Our offense can help our defense get better. We want to take good shots. When we are up, we want guys to not be hesitant to shoot the ball. It hurt our defense before these last two weeks when we were totally relying on our offense and thinking we were going to outscore people. We have gotten back to where we need to be. After looking at the tape from the other night, I thought we looked really good defensively against Mississippi State.”
On Admiral getting better on defense:
“I have said it all along. When guys get locked in on the defensive side and they’re good on offense, the offense will work for them. When you go into games putting pressure on yourself on the offensive end, it’s difficult. When he’s really locked in, he can defend. He has improved so much when you think about the last two years. When he’s locked in, he can guard every spot on the floor.”
On how Grant Williams’ game has developed over the last year:
“He has improved in every area of the game. He is versatile. He worked in the offseason to shoot the ball better and extend his range. If you look at it, there isn’t anything that he hasn’t gotten better at. Even mentally, he has had to face double teams and all kinds of things from game to game, and I think his mental approach has probably been his biggest improvement.”
On his reaction to Jordan Bone’s pass to Kyle Alexander in transition against Mississippi State:
“Bone likes to do that. He is good unless he tries to get too cute. When he tries to get too cute with the ball, he gets sloppy. He sees the floor. We tell guys all the time that, if they will run, Bone will get them the ball. When teams get back in transition, we want him to put the pressure on the other team. Halfway through the season, we were really running, and teams made the conscious effort to take away that early thrust. When that is taken away, he has to be the guy pushing. He loves getting the ball, catching it right away, looking and then throwing it right away. He can really see the floor, and he does a really good job of passing the ball.”
On his thoughts about juice plays from the team that are high risk, high reward:
“I always use the term ‘respect the game.’ I don’t want to embarrass anybody. I am one of the guys who thinks you shouldn’t come down and throw it off the backboard and let someone else dunk it. I think you have to a great respect for the game, because I believe what goes around comes around. It gets back to respect and playing the game the way it should be played. I think emotional reactions can be good for you. Fans love it when you get out, run and dunk. They love those high-flying plays and three-point shots. Coaches like all the things that lead to that. With our guys, Bone has tried throwing a pass behind his back a couple of times. He tried to make those passes, and people are asking what he’s thinking. And the answer is he’s not. Those are the kind of plays you don’t want to see your team trying to make. My term is ‘respect the game.'”
On Jalen Johnson:
“Jalen has practiced better. He has come into practice locked in more, and I thought he came in and gave us a good lift the other night. We keep talking about how important those possessions are for us, and he came in and really took advantage of it. We just want him to take shots within the offense. We didn’t want him to go out there and do what Lucas did, trying to create shots. Sometimes guys do that in trying to create shots. We expect guys like Jalen, to play like within the offense. Time and score dictate a lot, but when he is in the game and in the flow of the offense, we expect him to shoot it.”
On improved defense:
“We have talked about it (defense) two or three weeks leading up to it. We keep stats the way that we grade out our film, and we weren’t meeting any of our goals consistently the way that we needed to. We kept telling them that we needed to get this and that, get our rebounding where it needs to be, and field goal percentage back to what we needed, but we were winning. As much as you talk about it, it is still a mindset. After the Kentucky game, I think they got knocked back down and realized we have to do this, or else. Since then we have been doing it pretty well.”
On Kyle Alexander’s minutes:
“Our players thought that was the best officiated game that they have been in all year. Kyle got caught in where he needs to be aggressive, and he has to be aggressive. In his own mind, he felt like if he was aggressive, then he was getting into foul trouble. He was trying to stay out of trouble, and you always get into trouble if you are trying to stay out of trouble when it comes to not fouling. I’m just glad he was able to get out and play on senior night. Hopefully he will be in full stride right now.”
On playing better for postseason:
“It has been a long schedule. We knew we were going to hit the gauntlet after our last game here with who we had to play. If you go back and look, I think we had to play Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State that were all picked in the top five in the preseason. We knew it was going to be tough, and we knew from the beginning that we needed to have a good start. It has been a long grind, but the guys realize we have been in tough games. It’s going to be a grind, and you have to embrace it.”
On trying to win SEC back-to-back:
“It would be great, but we have to go out and do it. This time last year we were playing at home, and now we are going into a senior night, where that team just came off a huge win against their rival. We have been in this all year, and we know what we are going into. They want to be apart of a championship team again, and it is right there for them, but they are going to have to go play really well.”
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Tennessee junior Grant Williams is one of five players who has been named a 2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award finalist, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Thursday.
Named after Hall of Famer and former Louisiana Tech standout Karl Malone, the annual honor now in its fifth year recognizes the top power forward in Division I basketball. Previous winners include Deandre Ayton of Arizona (2018), Johnathan Motley of Baylor (2017), Georges Niang of Iowa State (2016) and Montrezl Harrell of Louisville (2015).
Williams, who was on the preseason and midseason watch lists, ranks in the top 10 of the SEC in scoring (1st), field-goal percentage (2nd), free-throw percentage (3rd), rebounding (5th) and assist/turnover ratio (10th).
The reigning SEC Player of the Year has been one of the nation’s most all-around players this year, averaging 19.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. The Charlotte, N.C., native is also shooting 57 percent from the field and an impressive 83 percent from the charity stripe.
So far this year, the junior forward has been selected as a Citizen Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year Semifinalist and also tabbed to the John R. Wooden Award Men’s Late Season Top 20 Watch List and the Oscar Robertson Trophy Final Midseason Watch List.
Williams and Kentucky’s PJ Washington are the only players from the SEC among the finalists. The winner of the award will be presented at the ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from The Novo by Microsoft in Los Angeles, Calif. on Friday, April 12.
For more information on the 2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award and the latest updates, log onto www.hoophallawards.com and follow @hoophall on Twitter and Instagram.
2019 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award Candidates
Zion Williamson, Duke
Dedric Lawson, Kansas
PJ Washington, Kentucky
Mike Daum, South Dakota State Grant Williams, Tennessee
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