Tennessee men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes spoke to the media after the Vols defeated Tennessee Tech 103-49 at home Friday night.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee women’s basketball team will still host a game at Thompson-Boling Arena at noon on Sunday.

The Lady Vol staff has secured an opponent to replace Jackson State, which was not able to travel to Knoxville due to COVID-19 contact tracing and quarantine measures within its program. The new team will be announced on Saturday.

All tickets currently issued for the originally-scheduled Jackson State game will remain valid for the new opponent slated for December 20, 2020. Fans are encouraged to keep their tickets in the original form in which they were sent to them.

For fans with mobile tickets, the barcode of the mobile ticket will be valid for the game on Dec. 20, 2020, whether it is in the digital wallet on a phone or in a confirmation email.

Tickets to Sunday’s game versus the new opponent will only be available for walk-up sales starting on Sunday at 10 a.m. at the Thompson-Boling Arena ticket windows.

-UT Athletics

Opening Statement…

“This week obviously has been a different circumstance leading up to signing day, preparing for a game. When you look at the team we play this week, can’t say enough about how well they’ve been playing offensively. They’re really physical up front. They’ve got a very experienced quarterback, got thick backs – play multiple guys back there, playmakers on the outside and have one of the better tight ends in our league. Defensively, they play really good team defense – create a lot of negative plays. They don’t give up a lot of big plays. They have experience and are big up front. And then special teams, they’ve got good specialist, good returners and good athletes running down on teams. It’ll be a tremendous challenge for us this week, but just looking at our team, our guys really have continued to work hard this week. Finals are over with, so had a chance to focus on football the entire time. It’s kind of been treated like a bowl week practice with the time and opportunity to work on Texas A&M. Had a really good week.

“If you look at today and Signing Day, we’re really excited. We have 14 guys that have officially assigned with us. Over the next several days, we expect to have several more. Just looking at these guys, I can’t say enough about our staff, our recruiting staff, our administration, academics – recruiting is a team effort so everybody in our program really works hard at recruiting. We do it every single day. Our players are probably the best recruiters that we have. Our players have done a tremendous job. It’s been very unusual obviously for the recruits in itself because they’ve not been able to come on campus. Building relationships, we started really hard with this class during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it first started. Lots of nights on Zoom calls, FaceTime and on the phone. With this particular class, it seems like to me I know them, I know their families, I know everybody involved around them probably better than any group I’ve been associated with in recruiting just because of the opportunity to do it because we weren’t at work specifically. It’s obviously a group that we’re proud of.

“Going down the list: Trinity Bell from Albertville, Alabama, is a guy that actually was in the seventh grade, my dad was the head football coach there and he called me and said, ‘listen, there’s a kid here in the seventh grade…I don’t know if he’s going to play in the NFL or play in the NBA, but he’s going to play somewhere. I want to bring him down and introduce him to you.’ So, he’s a young man that I’ve known probably since he was 12 or 13 years old – he was probably 6-4 then. But a guy that’s 6-7-plus, 265 pounds, plays tight end, can play multiple positions. Plays defensive end. A guy that’s just extremely athletic. I talked to him the other night after a basketball game and I said, ‘so how many points did you have?’ He said, ‘I had seven dunks.’ So, I said, ‘did you make any free throws?’ He said, ‘I was 5-for-5.’ So, a guy that’s really, really athletic.

“Miles Campbell from Douglasville, Georgia. Miles is 6-3, 235. A guy that will be midyear (enrollee). Very good student, athletic. If you watch his tape, he kind of plays all over the field. His junior year in high school he played a lot of quarterback. A guy that we’re going to focus at tight end. You watch his senior tape, he’s a guy that plays wide receiver, plays defensive line – so he kind of plays all over the field. A very instinctive guy.

“The next young man is Christian Charles from Gainesville, Georgia, 6-1, 185. A guy that played high school quarterback, but he’s going to play defensive back for us. A really good athlete. Didn’t get a chance to run track his junior year. He’s another guy that’s going to be a midyear; a really good student. A guy that is probably a 10.6, 10.7 (100-meter dash) guy that weighs 185 pounds. Very instinctive, tough. A guy that we’re excited to have in our program.

“Katron Evans out of Chesapeake, Virginia, through St. Frances Academy there in Baltimore (Md.), is another young man we’ve been recruiting a long time. I can remember Katron when he’d come in, he was in about the eighth for ninth grade, coming to a camp. He looked like he could play then for us. A guy that’s played in a really good program. He didn’t get a chance to play his senior year because they didn’t have football there at St. Frances, but a guy that can really play up and down the line of scrimmage. I went last year and watched him practice there in Baltimore and I came back and somebody asked me what that team looked like. I said, ‘they looked like the Pittsburgh Steelers.’ That’s the biggest bunch of high school kids I’ve ever seen and Katron’s a guy that really stuck out to me.

“The next young man is Tiyon Evans from Hartsville, South Carolina. He’s at Hutchinson Community College right now. A guy that we felt like is one of the premier running backs in the country. A guy that will be here midyear also. We’ll be excited to get him – feel like he’s a guy that can play all three downs. Has return ability. He’s probably 220 pounds. Really good hands out of the backfield, good blocker. A guy that can make you miss, can run with power, can run in between the tackles, can get out there on the perimeter. A guy that has lots of explosive ability.

“J’Marion Gooch from Gallatin, Tennessee, is a guy – he’s 6-6, 350 pounds – that really has only played two years of football. He came to our camp two years ago and had never participated in football. It was probably one of the first times after saying, ‘I’m going to start playing football.’ We had him in camp and he’s just a big massive and athletic guy, but a guy that’s very instinctive. He has tons of upside, plays with an edge, and someone that feels like could probably play up and down the line of scrimmage. We’re excited about him.

“This next young man, Amari McNeill from Suwanee, Georgia, and Peachtree Ridge High School is 6-4, 285. He’s a guy that we kind of got in with late in the process, and there’s lots of guys like that this year because of the lack of spring recruiting and summer camps. Kind of through diligence of working the phones, we came across this guy. He played left tackle on his high school, he also played defensive tackle. He’s a guy that we think is extremely athletic and can play on either side of the ball. We’re excited about having him in our program.

“Walker Merrill from Brentwood, Tennessee, is 6-1, 180 pounds. He’s a guy that we’ve been recruiting for a while since we’ve been here. Just a really good playmaker, very instinctive, plays with lots of toughness, had a great senior season, a guy that will be a mid-year enrollee, and guy that will be in our wide receiver rotation pretty quick.

“Julian Nixon from Roswell, Georgia. I’ve known Julian’s dad since we were in high school. We grew up in the same hometown and played college ball together. We used to drive back and forth to school together. Julian is a guy that is 6-4, he’s probably 235 or 240 pounds. He’s very athletic, has huge hands and just really tracks the ball extremely well. He’s a mismatch type of guy out there on the perimeter and one we’re excited about for sure.

“William Parker from Nashville, Tennessee, Pearl-Cohn High School. This says he’s 6-5 and 305, but the last time I saw William he was probably 6-5 and about 335. He’s a guy that to me is probably one of the better athletic big men in the entire country. He’s a guy that could really play on either side of the ball, but we’re going to play him on offense. He comes from a program at Pearl-Cohn where they’ve had a lot of success. We have one of his teammates here and he’s a guy that we’ve recruited for about three years now. Probably one of the first times I went on the road, I saw him sitting in there in the gym at Pearl-Cohn. I’m looking and there’s this kid that’s very large and has on boots and is dunking it any way he wants to. Then the coach there tells me that he’s just getting him out there for football. He’s a guy that excited about having for sure.

“Kaidon Salter from Cedar Hill, Texas, Kaidon is 6-1, 185. He’s a guy that we targeted very early in the process. He plays in one of the better leagues down there in Texas. He’s having a phenomenal year down there. He’s a winner, he’s a leader and he and Williams both will be here mid-year. A guy that we can’t wait to get here in the spring.

“Aaron Willis from Virginia. He played at Life Christian Academy this year, but played at St. Frances before. Obviously, St. Frances didn’t play, so he wanted to go somewhere where he could play and found a home. He’s a guy that, again, we’ve been recruiting for a long time, has a great motor and probably can play all the spots at inside linebacker for us. He’s a great special teams player; he’s all over the field, and a guy that we’re absolutely excited about.

“Cody Brown from Georgia. He’s a running back that’s 5-11, 225. Cody’s a guy that rushed for over 5,000 yards in his career, and that’s hard to do anywhere. He’s a guy that’s used to having the ball in his hand and runs behind his pads. He has really good vision, is a really good student, and is a guy that’s been committed to us for a long time, and we’re glad that we have him.

“Jaylen Wright from North Carolina. Jaylen is an athlete that we’ll probably play at running back and kick returner. He’s a guy that you want to get the ball to out in space. I think last winter, he ran the second-fastest 60-meter time in the country. He’s a guy that weighs 205 pounds and will probably weigh 215. He has really good speed and can assist us really early on in the return game.

“Then a placekicker, J.T. Carver from Martin, Tennessee. A guy that we targeted early expecting a transition, not knowing that guys could come back, just adding to our specialists. He’s a guy that we’re really excited about.

“Like I said, we have 14 guys that we have their scholarships in, and we expect several more over the next couple days. So, we’re really excited about this class to mix in with the last two classes that we’ve signed. These guys have been a big part of helping recruit these guys. They’ll continue to do that, and I’m excited about where we’re headed here.”

On how he feels they did in the months since their spring surge in recruiting…

“Well, the way recruiting goes, it’s not over until they sign. It’s kind of just the starting point. Recruiting is 365 days out of the year and that’s why you’ve got to recruit every single day. I feel like our staff really focused on it really hard coming out of that pandemic and we had a really good plan. One thing that has been tough for everybody is the evaluation process. You’ve got some states that are playing football, some that are not. There’s no summer camps. Just focusing on the guys that are going to be in your class, it’s very important to make sure that you know exactly what you’re getting.”

On how the on-field results have affected this year’s and next year’s recruiting classes…

“It’s really interesting. For most of these recruits, wherever they’re at, the circumstances for this year surrounding them, their high school teams – like I said, a lot of states have not played, some states have, some have played half a season, some have started and stopped and started back again – so, to me, I don’t think it’s had a whole lot of effect on it, just to be honest. I think the reality of it is in the circumstances that most high school recruits have been involved in, they understand that circumstances have been unusual for them.”

On getting RB Tiyon Evans to recommit after decommitting early this year and how many spots they plan to leave open for potential transfers…

“Well Tiyon is a pretty interesting guy. He’s never been on our campus, so that’s the way a lot of this has been in recruiting, unfortunately for a lot of these kids. Not just the guys we’ve recruited but other guys also. Again, this recruiting cycle has been unlike any I have ever been a part of before because of that. The lack of opportunities to build relationships personally – there’s nothing like sitting down, sitting in a room, for a young man to get to spend time with players on our campus, or academics, or the strength staff, or player development, the position coach, the coordinator – so, we’ve really had to work hard to do it through Zoom. It’s been unusual. I think Tiyon is a guy, again, like I said, I think he’s got a chance to be a dynamic player. We’re excited to have him.

“With our remaining spots, we’ll fill up pretty fast. I’m very confident of that, so we’ll just have to wait and see where we’re at come January.”

On what positions are still a priority to address in this class…

“I think every position. If you see on the list here, there’s a couple running backs there, there’s a couple o-linemen there. As this whole thing goes you got to look and fit it together. The one thing that’s really changed the dynamic is the fact that other guys can come back this season not counting (toward the 85 scholarship limit). Having guys back –  just for instance the d-line for us, there’s four senior d-linemen – if all four of those guys decided to come back it probably changes the room a little bit on how many guys you take, how many guys you sign. Again, it’s been a very unusual year.”

On adding three running backs and why Kaidon Salter was identified as the quarterback for this class…

“Well to start with the running backs, you probably need six on your team. If you look at our roster right now, just based off our numbers, some of these freshmen we didn’t know exactly what position they were going to play when they got here. Just trying to figure it all out, you want to make sure that you have running backs. This is a physical league, if you run out of them, you’re in trouble. Another thing is they are usually the best athletes on their high school team. They usually touch the ball a whole lot and these guys have the ability to play a lot of spots, but that is one of the main reasons. Kaidon Salter is a guy, who right before we got shut down, came on an unofficial visit. We got a chance to spend some time with him, just really liked his makeup, loved his family, loved his tape. A guy that is very athletic that we think has a lot of upside and a guy that we are really excited about.”

On how incoming players, who missed their senior season due to COVID-19 impact, will transition to college football…

“I do think that the guys who got to play probably are at a little bit of an advantage. Football is a developmental game so having an opportunity to participate in it is absolutely an advantage. I think some of the guys that didn’t play this past year, the training leading up to whenever they get here will be important to make sure that they are in shape. That is something that we have to be focused on and I know that these guys will.”

On the one-time transfer rule impacting recruiting…

“Well to me, just talking about grad-transfers first of all, every year there are several guys that are grad transfers that when they make that move, they usually have an impact on the team. You can look at it every year probably across our league that do impact the team. (The possibility of a one-time transfer) is not a rule. But if it becomes a rule, I probably would be in favor of it. I’m thinking you have guys that have a chance to impact teams, but also the reason I like the rule is because if a guy makes a decision to go to a school and the circumstances change, if they were doing things like they are supposed to be doing academically, then they would have an opportunity to do that. I’m a little different because I was a transfer myself and still stay in contact with the school that I transferred from, my old coach. Circumstances are different for each individual person and I hate that we keep a young person, especially with the way times are with the circumstances over the last seven or eight months, that we keep them from trying to reach their dreams. Most of them, it’s just playing ball, but to me the most important thing is getting a degree.”

On Kaidon Salter being able to extend plays…

“Well to me, you always want an athletic quarterback. Growing up on the defensive side, a guy that can extend plays can present something in the run game from a quarterback’s perspective and creates another dynamic for the defensive team. It’s great that Kaidon has got a talented arm, but he’s also a really good athlete and you can watch it on his high school tape. He’s a guy that’s very creative.”

On what he saw in recruiting Christian Charles…

“Just watching him run with the ball in his hand. We have had a history of recruiting quarterbacks. Guys that make a lot of plays and show their athleticism. We felt like that we had verified times, we had verified size, verified speed. He obviously is catching the ball at quarterback in the gun, so he has probably got good hands. Just watching him run with the ball to us there are three critical factors at defensive back: can you play man-to-man, tackle in space, and play the ball in the deep part of the field. Just looking at that we felt confident that he fit that criteria.”

On physical skills of Kaidon Salter and if he is expected to compete at quarterback from day one…

“I expect all these guys to compete for playing time. That’s why we recruited him here. They will all have the same opportunity as everybody else. It’s a class that we’re excited about. We’re excited about adding to it. The guys on our team, they want the best players to come play with them. The best way to get better is to play against the players every single day. The better the competition the more you’re going to improve as a player. Our team believes in that. That’s why they’re so devoted to recruiting.”

On if SEC or Tennessee administrators have discussed playing in a bowl game…

“We’ve talked about it. We’ve been really focused on Texas A&M right now. Once we get past this game on Saturday, we’ll sit down and talk about that again.”

On how many recruits will be midyear players and how seniors returning next year will affect the numbers… 

“There’s eight out of these fourteen that would be midyear. This senior class, the guys that come back, they do not count towards the 85 (scholarship limit) next year. So, not yet. It’s down the road and that has not been ruled on yet.”

On preparation for Texas A&M…

“It’s been good, a lot of energy. You know our guys continue to work hard every single day. Most of our team will be back. The guys that will not, they’ll pursue a professional career. It’s an opportunity for everybody to improve and they’re taking advantage of it.”

On Cade Mays’ availability against Texas A&M…

“I don’t think he’ll be available Saturday. He’s working hard to get back, but I don’t see it right now.”

On developing Christian Charles throughout his time on Rocky Top…

“One thing about Christian, when you talk to him it’s almost like he jumps through the phone. He’s got a contagious personality and a guy that I can see being a leader. He is excited about getting here. He is excited about playing the position. Talking to him reminds me a lot of Alontae (Taylor). Alontae was the same way going through the recruiting process. He is a guy that has size, speed and want to. He’s not played a lot of defensive back but when he had the ball in his hand in high school, he was dynamic. Most of the time, the guys that are used to having the ball in their hand, it tends to get in their hands on Saturdays. Hopefully he’ll bring that to the table.”

-UT Athletics

Tennessee basketball assistant coach Desmond Oliver met with the media via Zoom on Thursday afternoon to recap the start of the season and to preview the Vols next three games.

On upcoming matchup against Tennessee Tech:
“Tennessee Tech is a team right now that we are still trying to figure out, because their roster hasn’t been complete most of the season. They have played four or five games with some key guys that were missing, so their record is a bit deceiving. They are a lot better than what their record indicates. Their top two players just came back a game or two ago and they are night and day different as a team. They are more explosive, they score better, they are more athletic. We are expecting those guys to be a lot like App State in a sense that they are coming in with some confidence. They are going to be aggressive and we have to guard really good drivers and guys who can score the basketball.”

On takeaways from first few games of the season: 
“First couple games certainly are unique with COVID-19 and missing practices and trying to figure out how to keep your guys fresh and skilled and making plays. It has been different; everything has been different. The first game against Colorado with no fans, you come out and you really get a taste of it. It is one thing watching it on TV but, when you come out, it has more of a scrimmage feel to it, which our guys are not used to. One thing that separates us from most universities is, when you are in Thompson-Boling, for any game, the atmosphere is unique, the energy level is exciting, and sometimes when you need that extra burst of energy, our fans always give it to us. I think trying to adjust to that is as important as any opponent. Adjusting to the fact that our fan base is not going to be there, and we just have to find ways to continue to bring our own energy.”

On what the Volunteers can improve on going forward:
“I think we’re all learning something different every day about our guys. Certainly, our defensive ability to guard the ball, our ability to make plays off the ball. This could be the best defensive team that we have certainly had here at Tennessee and one of the best maybe in the country in a long time, if these young guys continue to get better and we can continue to improve and do the same thing in the SEC conference when our conference games come. We are athletic, we can switch one through five. I think John Fulkerson has gone from a guy that we were worried about a couple of years ago maybe switching onto a quicker guard to a guy that can handle his own against one through five on the court. Our ball screen defense can shift and do different things. That has been the biggest surprise is how quickly we have emerged defensively. I think the offense is going to come. I think as we get comfortable, as guys are back to their normal routines, getting into gym and getting shots up, you’ll start to see offensive scorers really find their niche and find their shots that they should take into our offense.”

On how the roster changes with multiple guys that can create shots:
“It changes because your team changes. Even though the majority of our team from last year came back. The reality is, every time you start a new season, if you do add one more piece, it’s a different team. They are running some different stuff, different sets, the vibe is different, your leads are different. I think with adding those freshmen and adding our transfers; our team is different. We are still trying to figure out who we are. It has happened for years with Coach Barnes. Coach Barnes is one of the best in the country at helping people figure out their roles. It truly is that you are going to create your role by how you play in practice. Our better scores are going to figure out that they’ve earned the right to take more shots and the guys who might not be scoring or realize that they’re defenders and rebounders and they’ll get their shots in the offense and by maybe game seven or eight or nine you really start to get a feel for who our top three or four offensive players are going to be.”

On the importance of rebounding and improvements against a zone defense:
“Well, we really worked on it. Part of it is getting into the gym and working on your transition game and trying to get some easy baskets. As a staff, we talk about the fact that this team could be the best defensive team and country and we should be based on how athletic we are. We should be the most exciting transition team that there is. Get a stop and throw lobs, get a stop and pinch down the court to our wings and feed the post. I think we are starting to figure that out. I think as our rotations start to get shored up a little bit more, you will start to see a lot more offensive clicking. It is all about role definition. If I do not know if I am a guy that should be shooting that quick three, then there is some grey area. I think the first couple games against high-quality opponents like Colorado and Cincinnati, when they went zone against us and now on offense you cannot really run your system. That was a little bit of a challenge. Now we’re working our zone much more in practice and you’re starting to see how explosive our offense can become.”

On how impressive Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson have been on defense:
“They are different. They have always been guys—even in the recruiting process watching those kids play—we just felt like they were unique that it was not just about offense with them. Neither guy wants to be scored on and that is rare. Most high school players are caught up in getting their numbers and scoring their points. They can defend you, they can make you miss a shot. They do not want you to score and they want to dominate you on the offensive end. That is what made us want to recruit them. I am just surprised how early they picked up our system and became two of the better guys on our team at guarding the basketball. They came in with that ability from day one.”

On how the Volunteers can improve their rebounding:
“We are coaching it as hard as we have coached it in a long time. Our frontline isn’t the typical frontline where we have a 7-footer or a 6′ 10 guy in the paint. John’s a bit of an undersized post player. Yves (Pons) is a combo forward, kind of a three or four player playing the post. We’re kind of undersized inside the paint. So, then you must do different things. You have to be tougher and more physical to do your job, so we’re coaching rebounding every single day in practice. If you don’t do it then we can’t play you as much. Then you add (Jaden) Springer and Keon Johnson, you add VJ Bailey, who is just a heck of an athlete. VJ may not have the size of Josiah and those guys but he gets off the ground like a rocket. So, adding athletes to the table and you’re talking about the fact that we weren’t a good team last year at rebounding the basketball and you put emphasis on it and guys are going to get better.”

On the team’s chemistry and how it compares to 2018:
“I’ve been shocked by it. Against Cincinnati, coach subbed Josiah (Jordan James) and VJ out for Keon and Jaden. I know when I was playing there was no way as a starter that I could have gotten subbed out of a big game, late in the game and sat there and rooted for my teammates. I wasn’t mature enough. These guys are incredible. They are locked in as a unit. Josiah walked up to my chair and started coaching me on how to coach those two guys of how to help Santi play against a press late in the game. Clearly, they’re good kids. They’re mature. They came here for one reason and the reason is to win a lot of games and make our fan base proud. They’ve bought into that. We have five-star guys who don’t ever act like five-star guys. They act like they’re just regular guys who are just happy to have a scholarship at the University of Tennessee. They never talk about the NBA. It’s all about winning and getting better. I just hope that we continue to get lucky in recruiting. Because, sometimes it’s luck. You can talk to a kid every day and the kid arrives here and he’s someone different than you thought they were. Luckily, these guys have come in and they’re better than advertised as people. That’s what has really helped us, our team character.”

On how much he’s going to be able to learn about this team during this three-game in six days stretch:
“I think it’s a great experience, because it gets you ready for postseason play. All of these opponents are different. Colorado is different than Cincinnati. Tennessee Tech is different than App State. When you make the dance and you go game-to-game. One game you’re playing a mid-major who might be a small driving team and matchups are different. The next game you might be playing a power five team that has size. It makes you think on the spot quickly, it makes you adapt, adjust and have quick turnarounds in your scouting report. I told our guys last night during the Tennessee Tech scout that as I was watching our guys, it reminded me of the Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield led team when they won the SEC Championship, in that every guy was locked in. I’m watching to see if there’s anyone dozing off, tired, or talking on the side and every guy was locked into every word coach Barnes was talking about in reference to our offense. Then, when I got an opportunity to speak about Tennessee Tech, every guy was locked in. That’s rare when you’re talking about a team coming off a 41-point win over App State to stay focused with such a short turnaround.”

On if he would build a team for the postseason that’s built like this team defensively:
“I do think to win a National Championship and to get to the Final Four, we have to be elite defensively. Our defense also has to create offense for our program. Defend, rebound, run, execute is going to be really, really big for us. I just hope that we don’t max out too early and look too good defensively early, run into a couple of juggernaut offenses and then our guys lose confidence. What you want to have is a steady climb in how your teams are doing. In the first few games our offense sputtered and now we’re getting better. With our defense, I still think there’s a different level our defense can get too. Even if teams score more points and our numbers don’t indicate that we’re dominating teams on defense as much. I think our defense can get better in the sense of: we can guard the ball better one through five, we can dominate the glass better, our off-ball defense and our ability to guard the drive while not fouling. There are still areas we have to improve in and in the SEC there’s so many teams that can hurt you with different things. We have to be able to adjust when playing against teams like Kentucky who have size, Auburn who may have smaller guards who are quick and athletic, while making those adjustments within 24-48 hours.”

On how much of an impact Coach Barnes has made at Tennessee since arriving:
“There’s no coach in the country that makes a bigger impact than coach Barnes. He’s pretty clear on what he wants. There’s no one more consistent on what he wants, how he wants it and when he wants it than coach. It’s really easy to understand your role as both an assistant coach and as a player. It’s pretty black and white and you know what? It works. When we talk about our buy-in and chemistry, I think it all starts from the top. When your head coach is as consistent as any head coach in the country it makes it easier for our guys and our staff to be the same way.”

On if he and the staff try to identify selfless traits with players in the recruiting process:
“I’m going to answer this as honestly as possible. No. In recruiting it’s hard to get involved with great players. It just is. There’s so many great programs and coaches out there, that what I try to do is to do a good job with our area. So, from four-and-a-half hours from our campus driving is to be involved in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. So, I can’t say that we can just pick and choose guys at that level. What we do is, we do pick and choose character. So, if I look at a kid and he’s a four or five-star good player and I just feel like he’s not going to fit our community, our campus and our staff, then I’m not going to recruit him no matter how good he is. If he’s in our back yard and he doesn’t fit, then I’m not going to recruit him. I found this out. The reason those guys who graduated and left were so good is because they fit. Even though on paper it’s hard to write a description of what’s going to fit every time, those guys fit because they bought in. Every guy bought in differently. Some guys came in bought in and for some guys it took some time. We’ve gotten lucky in a sense, but now we’re looking for a certain type of kid knowing that it’s hard to hand-pick it. A little bit of it is luck and a lot of it is research. Trying to recruit a lot of people. Get to know them and then gradually shrinking your list to a group of guys you feel like are going to get better. So much of what we do is about improving and getting better. As a coach, I feel like I’ve grown as a basketball coach more in the last six years being with coach Barnes—I’ve been a coach for 27 years, I think I’ve learned more in six years being with coach Barnes than in any other program I’ve been at combined in my career. So, imagine our players who come in from high school and are learning this for the first time at this level. Imagine the level of growth there. You have to accept that as a player. You have to want to get in the gym and work and watch film and video to improve and that’s where we’ve been lucky. Our best players have been the most coachable. So, now when you’re the best guy and you’re buying in to what we’re doing, the 13th guy and the 12th guy had better do it, because the first, second, third and fourth guys have bought in.”

-UT Athletics