ORLANDO, Fla. – The 2020 NBA playoffs are nearly through the first round. Here is a look at how four former Vol hoops standouts are faring in the bubble.
Despite being swept by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, Tobias Harris was one of Philadelphia’s top producers in its first-round series.
He averaged close to a double-double, posting 15.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists in four games against the Celtics. In the 76ers final game, on Sunday, Harris suffered a facial laceration after falling headfirst on the court. But he returned to the court and contributed in the game’s closing minutes.
Harris closed his first full season in the City of Brotherly Love averaging slightly less than 20 points and more than seven rebounds per contest, while starting in every game in which he appeared.
In his first season in Philadelphia, Josh Richardson was a key focal point in the 76ers’ game plan.
He started in all but two appearances for Philly this season and was relied upon heavily during the bubble restart.
Arguably, his most consistent stretch of games came in the playoffs, where he scored 15-plus points in all four games against Boston and was one of Philadelphia’s best performers on the defensive end of the floor.
Grant Williams took on a more advanced role for the Celtics during the playoffs, appearing in all four games against the Philadelphia 76ers and scoring in the final three contests of the series.
He put together his most complete performance for the men in green on Wednesday night in game two, when he came off the bench to score a bubble-high nine points in 21 minutes while pulling in six rebounds, dishing off two assists and blocking one shot. He also finished the night with an impressive plus/minus of +21.
Williams has also been perfect from behind the 3-point line in the postseason, knocking down all four of his attempts from beyond the arc.
The Celtics are set to play the second-seeded Toronto Raptors in the next round, with game one scheduled for Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Kyle Alexander | Miami Heat Kyle Alexander has yet to appear for the Miami Heat in the 2020 Playoffs after logging minutes in a pair of games since the restart.
Miami swept the Indiana Pacers in its first-round series and will await the winner of the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
VFL Team Schedule and Results
Boston Celtics
7/31 vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 119-112 Loss
8/2 vs. Portland Trail Blazers, 128-124 Win
8/4 vs. Miami Heat, 112-106 Loss
8/5 vs. Brooklyn Nets, 149-115 Win
8/7 vs. Toronto Raptors, 122-100 Win
8/9 vs. Orlando Magic, 122-119 Win
8/11 vs. Memphis Grizzlies, 122-107 Win
8/13 vs. Washington Wizards, 96-90 Loss
8/17 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 109-101 Win (Boston Leads 1-0)
8/19 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 128-101 Win (Boston Leads 2-0)
8/21 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 102-94 Win (Boston Leads 3-0)
8/23 vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 110-106 Win (Boston Wins Series 4-0)
8/27 vs. Toronto Raptors, Gm. 1 6:30 p.m. ET ESPN
8/29 vs. Toronto Raptors, Gm. 2 TBD
8/31 vs. Toronto Raptors, Gm. 3 TBD
9/2 vs. Toronto Raptors, Gm. 4 TBD
9/4 vs. Toronto Raptors, Gm. 5 (if necessary) TBD
9/6 vs. Toronto Raptors, Gm. 6 (if necessary) TBD
9/8 vs. Toronto Raptors, Gm. 7 (if necessary) TBD
Philadelphia 76ers
8/1 vs. Indiana Pacers, 127-121 Loss
8/3 vs. San Antonio Spurs, 132-130 Win
8/5 vs. Washington Wizards, 107-98 Win
8/7 vs. Orlando Magic, 108-101 Win
8/9 vs. Portland Trailblazers, 124-121 Loss
8/11 vs. Phoenix Suns, 130-117 Loss
8/12 vs. Toronto Raptors, 125-121 Loss
8/14 vs. Houston Rockets, 134-96 Win
8/17 vs. Boston Celtics, 109-101 Loss (Boston Leads 1-0)
8/19 vs. Boston Celtics, 128-101 Loss (Boston Leads 2-0)
8/21 vs. Boston Celtics, 102-94 Loss (Boston Leads 3-0)
8/23 vs. Boston Celtics, 110-106 Loss (Boston Wins Series 4-0)
Miami Heat
8/1 vs. Denver Nuggets, 125-105 Win
8/3 vs. Toronto Raptors, 107-103 Loss
8/4 vs. Boston Celtics, 112-106 Win
8/6 vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 130-116 Loss
8/8 vs. Phoenix Suns, 119-112 Loss
8/10 vs. Indiana Pacers, 114-92 Win
8/12 vs. Oklahoma City Thunder, 116-115 Loss
8/14 vs. Indiana Pacers, 109-92 Loss
8/18 vs. Indiana Pacers, 113-101 Win (Miami Leads 1-0)
8/20 vs. Indiana Pacers, 109-100 Win (Miami Leads 2-0)
8/22 vs. Indiana Pacers, 124-115 Win (Miami Leads 3-0)
8/24 vs. Indiana Pacers, 99-87 Win (Miami Wins Series 4-0)
Wynonna will release a new EP of cover songs, Recollections, on Oct. 30.
The five-song EP features Wynnona covering “I Hear You Knocking” by Fats Domino, “I’m a King Bee” by Slim Harpo, “Angel From Montgomery” by John Prine, “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone and “Ramble On Rose” by the Grateful Dead.
Wynnona recorded much of the album while quarantining on her Tennessee farm with husband, multi-instrumentalist and producer Cactus Moser.
“This EP was a labor of love without the labor,” says Wynonna. “As a songwriter, you can get bogged down in your own craft sometimes, but there’s something so liberating about letting go of all that and just inhabiting someone else’s writing.”
Below, listen to Wynonna perform “I’m a King Bee,” a half-century-old blues tune she and Cactus have been performing live for years.
Chris Stapleton teased a hard-hitting new release via his social media platforms on Aug. 24.
The 37-second clip was posted across Chris’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the date “11.13.20.” Chris’ past social media posts were deleted to draw attention to the new clip, while his profile photo was replaced with a white backdrop featuring the scrawled words “Starting Over” and “Chris Stapleton.”
The intense video clip features Chris playing guitar, backup vocalists, wife Morgane, animals, insects, fire and more.
Chris hasn’t released a solo single since “Millionaire,” which dropped in April 2018. Chris’ most recent album was 2017’s From A Room: Volume 2. Chris collaborated with Pink for 2019’s “Love Me Anyway.” He teamed with Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars for 2019’s “Blow.”
Stay tuned for more Stapleton details.
[update on Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. CT]
On Aug. 25, Chris noted via Twitter—accompanied by a 21-second audio clip featuring guitar strumming—that he will be releasing new song “Starting Over” on Aug. 27 at noon CT.
To align with state and local social-distancing guidelines for public gatherings, Tennessee Athletics has finalized its adjusted seating model for the 2020 football season at Neyland Stadium. Pending the status of the current pandemic, our hope is that this plan is only required for one season and that Neyland Stadium can return to its traditional seating model in 2021.
At the first home game of the 2020 season—Saturday, Oct. 3—gameday seating at Neyland Stadium will be approximately 25 percent of the venue’s full capacity. Capacity restrictions could change as the season progresses, based on statewide virus data and evolving recommendations of public health officials. Fans statewide are encouraged to do their part by wearing masks in public and practicing healthy habits.
“I can’t overstate how much I empathize with the thousands of fans who won’t get to experience gameday in Neyland Stadium this fall,” Tennessee Director of Athletics Phillip Fulmer said. “These circumstances are beyond our control, and we understand the importance of playing our part to keep our community healthy. For those who will be with us in the stadium this season, please know that we are committed to creating the safest possible environment in and around Neyland Stadium.”
Current UT students and active Tennessee Fund donors with season tickets will receive priority on 2020 football tickets. Tickets will be offered as season tickets based on Tennessee Fund annual gift amount and rank order. With the Vols scheduled to host five SEC opponents for the first time since 1959, the original season-ticket price has not changed.
Student seating sections remain the same as in past seasons (sections D-K). New, socially distanced student-seating guidelines (including capacity in those sections) will be determined by the UTK Office of Student Life. Students can request tickets—which will be issued on a game-by-game basis—via BigOrangeTix.UTK.edu starting on Sept. 23 for the first home game.
Ticket holders with seats in premium areas of Neyland Stadium will be notified of capacity reductions in those locations. Ticket holders with seats unable to be used in premium areas have been relocated to the main stadium bowl, leading to a domino-effect restructuring in the bowl area.
All ticket locations in the new, adjusted seating model are assigned by the Tennessee Fund according to mandated guidelines for social distancing.
Once seating in premium areas has been assigned, donors will be segmented according to their Tennessee Fund annual gift amount and rank order. Starting Thursday, donors in descending segments/groups will receive an email from [email protected] offering tickets in a specific location and a deadline by which they must accept or decline the ticket offer. If no response is received by the deadline, the tickets will automatically be accepted and charges will be processed. Please note that the deadline to respond will be 48 hours from when the email offer is sent. This group email process could take up to three weeks to complete but could conclude sooner. All donors and ticket holders are encouraged to ensure that [email protected] is an approved sender to avoid having the ticket offer email directed to a junk or spam folder.
Those who decline tickets will receive an email outlining options on how to manage the ticket and donation funds associated with their account. They will have the option to 1) donate their 2020 ticket payment and donation to the Tennessee Fund as a tax-deductible contribution, 2) have their 2020 ticket payment and donation carry over for the 2021 football season, or 3) receive a refund for the price of their tickets and donation.
Details about the Student-Athlete Volunteer Excellence (S.A.V.E.) Fund will be included in that email. Gifts supporting the S.A.V.E. Fund provide critical resources necessary to deliver a world-class experience to Tennessee’s more than 600 student-athletes—who will continue their academic pursuits in 2020-21 even if their sports’ seasons are canceled or shortened—while impacting the long-term success of UT’s comprehensive athletics program.
After each donor segment’s deadline passes, tickets will be offered and assigned to the next segment of donors. This process will continue until tickets offers are provided to all active Tennessee Fund donors or the adjusted capacity is reached. As donors decline tickets throughout that process, ticket-offer opportunities extend to more individuals. Any ticket inventory that remains after offers have been extended to all active Tennessee Fund donors will then be offered to season-ticket holders who are not active donors.
Regardless of their decision to opt in or out for this fall, everyone who purchased 2020 football season-tickets will retain their status as a season-ticket holder along with their seats of choice when the 2021 renewal process begins.
Tennessee Fund members giving at the Bronze Victor level and above are capped at eight tickets per game or their previous quantity of tickets held (whichever is fewer). Members giving at the Mountaineer Level and above are capped at four tickets per game or their previous quantity of tickets held (whichever is fewer). These ticket caps enable a minimum of 5,400 tickets per game for distribution to additional donors, increasing attendance opportunities for more households of Tennessee fans.
“We appreciate so much the many generous donors with high levels of historic giving who have been understanding and accepting of these one-year caps,” Fulmer said. “Those limits create thousands of opportunities for additional loyal fans to experience gameday with us at Neyland Stadium.”
For all tickets purchased on the secondary marketplace (tickets not purchased directly from Tennessee Athletics), Tennessee Athletics cannot guarantee that they will be socially distanced. Fans who purchase tickets on the secondary market may find themselves seated directly next to a stranger.
“Fans attending games this season are going to have to relearn much of the Tennessee gameday experience,” Associate Athletics Director for Fan Experience & Sales Jimmy Delaney said. “Education prior to arrival is key to ensuring that fans have a smooth experience once they get to campus. In the weeks to come, we’ll be sharing important messaging with ticket holders about mobile ticketing, stadium entry procedures, changes in and around the venue and much more.”
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Regardless of whether or not they attend games this fall, everyone who purchased 2020 football season tickets will retain their status as a season-ticket holder along with their renewed seats (seats of 2020 intent) when the 2021 renewal process begins.
Capacity restrictions in place at the start of the football season could change as the season progresses. This emphasizes the importance of statewide behavior to combat the spread of COVID-19. Practicing healthy habits and adhering to CDC guidance could lead to opportunities for larger gameday crowds at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee has outlined detailed guidelines for fan health and safety at Neyland Stadium this season. Those guidelines, which align with previously announced SEC guidelines, can be accessed HERE.
As soon as possible, fans who previously purchased 2020 Tennessee football tickets should ensure that [email protected] is recognized by their email client as a “safe sender” so that time-sensitive ticket-offer emails are not directed to a junk or spam folder.
Fans who receive ticket offer emails from [email protected] should be sure to look closely at the seat location listed in the ticket offer, as the location will be different than their original seats of intent.
Tennessee does not anticipate offering any single-game tickets this fall unless tickets allocated to the visiting team are returned.
Tennessee Athletics cannot guarantee that tickets purchased on the secondary market will be for seats that are socially distanced from strangers.
Morgan Wallen’s new song, “7 Summers,” which was released on Aug. 13, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart (streaming, sales and airplay-based) .
“7 Summers” is only the fifth song in the 62-year history of the chart to debut at No. 1, and the first since “Meant to Be” by Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line in December 2017.
Co-penned by Morgan, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, “7 Summers” is expected to be part of Morgan’s upcoming sophomore album. Morgan initially teases the song via Instagram, before it began making the rounds on TikTok, which ultimately convinced Morgan to release the breezy tune.
“‘7 Summers’ is a song that originally I didn’t even know if it was going to make my album or if I was ever going to put it out,” says Morgan. “But when quarantine first started, I was challenged to do a demo on Instagram, so I put out the first verse and chorus of ‘7 Summers.’ I heard a lot of good feedback from it on Instagram, and then it started making the rounds on TikTok—I saw how much the song was getting played and how much people were enjoying it, even just the first verse and chorus. Social media played a huge part in me releasing this song, especially this early. It’s a cool thing—me being on the fence about it, then being able to put it out and get people’s feedback. Seeing the response played the biggest part in this release. I think that speaks to just how much fans mean to me and fans mean to music. I’m glad I’m getting to put it out and glad people are loving it, I can’t wait for y’all to hear the full version.”
Garth revealed plans for a Legacy Collection 2 on his Inside Studio G Facebook series on Aug. 24.
Garth released The Legacy Collection in November 2019. The seven-disc vinyl collection featured five albums—No Fences, The Chase, In Pieces, Fresh Horses and Triple Live—available in three different packages: Analog, Remix-Remaster and Limited. Fans had the option of choosing a personalized six-digit issue number when they pre-ordered the package.
“There will be a Legacy 2,” said Garth on Inside Studio G. “When? It’s coming. I gotta tell you, we kinda shut down the vinyl places all around the globe, so it’s probably going to be in the next year or two, Good Lord willing.”
With 11 studio albums, two holiday albums, four compilation albums, two live albums and more, Garth has no shortage of albums to release as part of Legacy Collection 2.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – LVFL Candace Parker has been named WNBA Western Conference Player of the week, the league announced on Monday.
The Los Angeles Sparks standout led her team to a 3-0 record during the week, averaging 18.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game during that span.
Thanks to an active seven-game winning streak, the Sparks are tied with the number two record in the WNBA at 10-3 and stand alongside Las Vegas in second place in the Western Conference. They are just a half game back of the Seattle Storm (11-3).
The 13-year veteran tallied 16 or more points in all three games last week and recorded a pair of double-doubles. She had 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block in the win over Phoenix on Aug. 19. She followed that with 17 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and an assist vs. Atlanta on Aug. 21. Parker closed the week with season highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds while chipping in six assists and a block vs. Dallas on Sunday.
Through 13 games, Parker is averaging 14.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.2 blocks while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 38.5 percent on threes. All of those numbers are improvements over her statistics from 22 games a year ago.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the 42nd time in its illustrious history, Tennessee football will open a season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 as the Vols enter Week 1 at No. 25 and one of six Southeastern Conference programs in the poll.
Tennessee received 133 points in the poll and will face five teams in the top 15, including No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Georgia, No. 8 Florida, No. 11 Auburn and No. 13 Texas A&M. Three of those opponents will visit Neyland Stadium. The Vols are also receiving votes in the preseason Coaches poll.
It’s the first time Tennessee has been ranked since Sept. 10, 2017, (No. 23) and also the first time the Vols will start a season ranked since that same year (No. 25). Tennessee’s 42 preseason AP poll appearances rank 10th all-time nationally and second among SEC programs. The Vols’ 583 all-time AP Top 25 appearances rank 14th nationally.
Tennessee is entering its second week of preseason practice as it prepares for a Sept. 26 opener at South Carolina.
Others receiving votes: Memphis 86, Virginia Tech 85, Boise State 68, Arizona State 66, Miami 42, Louisville 32, Appalachian State 26, Washington 21, Kentucky 20, Indiana 19, Baylor 15, California 11, TCU 9, Virginia 7, Navy 6, Florida State 6, SMU 3, Mississippi State 3, Air Force 3, Northwestern 1, UAB 1.
Head coach Rick Barnes met with the media over Zoom to discuss the upcoming season and the effects of COVID-19.
On the developments of other conferences opting not to play fall sports this year and if there has been any new communication between Barnes and the SEC:
“To be quite honest, and this is my opinion, we’ve got to get football going first. Obviously as a conference we’ve been talking about certain things—not anything drastic to be quite honest with you. I think it’s so important these next couple of weeks that we see how it goes with students being back on campus. We’ve got to get football up and going. That’s the first and foremost thing. We’ll come up with plans. There’s no doubt. I’ve got a call later this afternoon to find out some of those type plans. I think Danny Gavitt came out and said some time in the middle of September they might have something. Again, I don’t know why we say September. Our first game isn’t until November 10. I don’t know why we don’t wait as long as we possibly can. I just believe that maybe being an optimist that we’re going to go on time. What might happen is some of the places we have some of these tournaments, like New York or Charleston, there has been dialogue of moving those to Orlando. There are a lot of teams that are in those that are going to lose some games because the other team is not going to start up until January. I think if football goes well that some of these schools will reconsider. Understand that when the Big 10 made their announcement, we got a call the very next day from Wisconsin saying they are planning on playing. We’ll wait and see.”
On the team’s progress over the summer and if Barnes feels they are behind schedule:
“The only thing we’re behind schedule is being behind with our younger players. They didn’t get a full summer of what it really is like. They didn’t get a taste of that until the last couple of weeks they were here in July. I’ve used the analogy that all summer felt like going to a driving range or putting green and never getting to play golf. That’s kind of what the summer was. They weren’t allowed to play. They weren’t allowed to have competition of one-on-one or two-on-two, three-on-three, four-on-four or five-on-five. When we got back, last Friday I think, was the first time they competed since they were back from Nashville. With that said, Grant, I think we got a lot done. We really took it back to the bare basics in terms of fundamentals and things we wanted done. We always spend the offseason trying to work on individual weaknesses. For our older guys, if you ask me right now if they are behind, I’d say they’re not in terms of understanding the grind and commitment that goes into what you’ve got to get done every single day. The younger guys are still coming along with it. I’ve seen good, talented players, but this is all new to them.”
On the conversation of if college basketball will go into a “bubble”
“There’s been all kinds of thoughts because there’s some coaches out there that are talking about it. I’m one of those guys that thinks we need to pump the brakes a little bit on a lot of things. Let’s see what happens with football and how that goes. I think what people talk about with the bubble would be this: most universities have gone to where they’re going to finish up school by Thanksgiving. If you take ESPN, they could take the Maui Classic. They could take the Jimmy V. They could bring them all down there to a bubble, and for teams that are going to lose opponents because they’re not playing until January, those tournaments are over. They could put teams that want more games together at a sight like that. Again, all those ideas are going to be tossed about and will be tossed about. I personally still think that we’ve just got to slow down a little bit and see what happens and how things go, especially these next couple of weeks before we get to kick it off.”
On Pons and his decision return this season:
“We always want guys to get all of the information they can, and there’s so much unknown this year. There’s so much uncertainty. When you think about it, when players were allowed to have agents the past couple of years, the agents are going to do everything they can, I think, to get them to go into the Draft. With that said, there were some people at that point in time talking about how there’s not going to be college basketball or college football season. The NBA backed everything up. It’s not a typical year. The one thing we knew with Yves is that he’s a very well thought out person. I do think that every NBA team that interviewed him was more impressed after talking with him because they understood what we know, with how hard he works, his commitment (and) how much better he wants to get every day. He’s hearing it from a lot of different people, but Yves thought it out with his circle of trust and his people back home, and in the end, he’s coming back. Is he a difference maker? Absolutely. He’s improved. He has. I think this year is going to give him a chance to walk into the NBA from the front door. I believe it. The growth he’s made and will continue to make because he works. He’s got a chance to really be in that league for a long time.”
On Keon Johnson, Jaden Springer and Victor Bailey Jr.:
“All three of those guys give us versatility. They can play multiple positions. All three of those guys have the ability to be a lock down defender. It’s three guys that can play off the dribble and create shots for themselves and also for their teammates. I think VJ, from a conditioning standpoint and obviously being in college as long as he has been and sitting out a year, he’s ahead of those guys. The other two guys have got to get themselves in shape. That’s where this summer we weren’t able to get them in really the kind of shape and conditioning that we want to have them in. I’m not talking just physically. I’m talking the mental side of it and learning how to continue to play when you’re tired, how to concentrate, think and carry yourself when you’re tired. We haven’t had a chance to do that the way we’d really like to. That’s why these next couple of weeks will be really important to the them. From a talented standpoint, all three of those guys are talented. They give us versatility. We need that. We haven’t been as versatile as I think we can be this year.
On E.J. Anosike:
“Man, you’re talking about a guy that is a worker (and) very serious. He is going to do what he does. He can really rebound the ball because he really wants to rebound the ball. He’s worked very, very hard on his three-point shot. As you can imagine, he’s really good around the rim. He’s a worker. He’s one of those guys that goes to the gym, and after you spend time working with him he’s going to go back and work on it and keep up with it. He’s very serious. He, along with Yves and John, Olivier—who has had a great summer—and Uros, who didn’t get back as early as he’d like to. Those four post guys have all had great summers.”
On how he has kept the team focused despite the unknowns of COVID-19:
“We’ve got to play an NCAA Tournament. We’ve got to play it. If we don’t, it’s going to make it almost impossible for a lot of schools. I’m not talking about the Power Five. The money that some schools get, it might be $300,000, which is a lot of money for a lot of people. If they go two years without it—I just know we’ve got to have an NCAA Tournament some way, somehow. You can’t have an NCAA Tournament without having some kind of regular season. What we have told our guys is what I’m telling you: I think we’re going to play basketball. I think we’re going to play on time. We don’t know how all of this is going to play out. I know how far we’ve come since we started with this pandemic. I know how on our campus, we’ve had unbelievable leadership and I know in the athletic department, what we did this summer, our guys did a terrific job of really doing what we asked them to do. They haven’t really been in a locker room since they left in the spring. We do everything in Pratt (Pavilion). They have our chairs spaced out on the court up there. That’s where they dress. That’s their locker room for right now. When they’re in the weight room lifting, they wear masks. When they’re on the court, they don’t wear masks. We wear masks. We’ve told them, we’re going about it like we’re going to play and until they tell us not, we’re planning on getting ready for our first game against Wisconsin. That’s November (11). I think that they’re young. We’re going one day at a time. They’ve done that. They’ve locked into that. As we know, everything is so fluid right now that anything could change from day to day, but I’m a firm believer that we’re going to play basketball.”
On how different this past summer was from typical summers:
“In terms of family, we weren’t going to travel. We pretty much hunkered down here in Knoxville because we weren’t going to jeopardize anything to go see our kids, or grandkids in Texas. So, we were here. We had a group of guys that we walked a lot with. I got into hunting golf balls. I lost some weight and did all that, but the fact is, I really tried to do what everybody else should have been doing. I took very seriously what was going on. We pretty much stayed here the entire time.”
On what he sees Josiah-Jordan James’ role being this season:
“I would put him in that group of guys that we’re talking about with versatility. Josiah has played a lot of different things here. He is a guy that I think is still scratching the surface to what he can do. As always, he works hard. He’s ready. We’ve done everything we could to make sure that we can get him healthy and keep him healthy. I was impressed with what he did. I told each guy certain things, when they were away from us, that they should do. One with him was his flexibility. I just felt like if he could really improve his flexibility, it could help him in a lot of areas. He took it really seriously. He really did. He got to where he could maybe, sitting on the floor, legs out in front of him, could bend at a 45-degree angle. Now he can put his head between his legs. He really worked at it. He took it very seriously. He’s a guy that I think is going to play all over the court for us.”
On what kind of summer Santiago Vescovi was able to have at home in Uruguay:
“In some ways, he probably had the best summer, because he was able to play. He’s back. He’s in better shape. He looks leaner. We’ve watched him work out and play. I think he’s improved, but the biggest thing a year ago was that he never really had the chance to get himself in the kind of shape that he is now and the kind of shape he will be in by the time we get ready to kick it off. He’s a smart player and understands his game. Everybody likes to play with him. We’ve watched him play a little bit. He’s pretty sharp right now because of what I think he did while he was back home playing.”
On if he thinks this year’s roster has a chance to be his most athletic roster since his time at Tennessee began:
“I think that would be a fair assessment. I think we have a chance to be a terrific defensive team when we get everybody to buy into it. I think we’re going to have the ability to do a lot of different things defensively. Some things that we haven’t done in the past. Offensively, with what we’ve done and where we are, we can be better there too obviously. This group is athletic. I go back and I think of John (Fulkerson) and I think of Yves (Pons). It’s important that they step up and be the leaders because I think that your best teams are going to come when you’ve got great leadership from them. Both of those guys aren’t the most outgoing people on the court, but John has gotten much better and Yves has too. That’s a step that those guys have to take for us and help those young guys understand what we’re up against and help them make that quick adjustment. We’re going to need the young guys as we get into it to play the way we want to play. That’s a lot of pressure from start to finish, both ways. You want to play a 94-foot game both ways and we can.”
On what growth and development has been seen from John Fulkerson this offseason:
“I think what happened a year ago, everything with Lamonté’s (Turner) injury and then Santi (Vescovi) coming in and the fact that we had to make ourselves up and over so many different times. Then, we decided that we’re really going to play through John and Yves. I think that helped him more than anything. For some reason, toward the end of February, the light went off where he became a different person. His approach really changed. I actually asked him about it a couple weeks ago, ‘John how much did that injury in your freshman year set you back?’ He said, ‘A lot more than I thought.’ I could never understand why he was holding back, but I think with the way he finished and if we had another month to the season, I’m not so sure he wouldn’t have been Player of the Year in the league. He carried that over. Even though we weren’t here, we stayed in touch with our guys every day and he worked at it. He’s been back on campus and he’s really working at it. We’ve told him, he’s going to have to expand his shooting ability, to step out further, which he’s capable of doing. He just has never really put the time in to make it a big part of his game, but he’s doing it now. His body, if you look at him, he’s gotten bigger. There’s no rhyme or reason to how that happens. Some guys just take a little bit longer, but he is starting to get the kind of strength that you want to have. He’s very focused. I do think he’s added some things to his game. He’s a guy that we trust with the ball. He’s a guy that we think can make plays with the ball. We’ve just got to keep getting better. That’s what we do with all of them, but he’s hungry for it right now. He and Yves are both guys—and I’d put E.J. (Anosike) and I’d probably put Olivier (Nkamhoua) in that group of guys—that are really after it right now. They really want to make a difference. Josiah, we’ve worked with him on some things, but we’ve got some guys that really want to get after this, so that’s a good thing.”
On Uros Plavsic Development and Consistency:
“Uros came back with a little bit more weight, which I thought was good. You can see his body start to develop too. I think the biggest thing for him is to understand what he is really good at and to play to that. You think about John (Fulkerson), Yves (Pons), EJ (Anosike), Olivier (Nkamhoua) and him. Those guys are going to get to compete every day and that will help him as much as anything. He’s a worker too. He’s in the gym. He came back and he was quarantined for a couple weeks. By the time he got ready to go, everybody was ready to go home for a break. I think he’s going to really learn to play in tight spaces. I think he’s going to have to learn to quit dribbling the ball as much as he likes too. He doesn’t need it. He has to get it out of his game because he’s learned how to start getting the position on the court where he wants to be. He’s going to do his work early and understand that when he gets the ball he has to make a quicker play. He’s got to get lower and learn how to play down a bit. We are all happy with him being back here because he is such a fun guy to be around. He’ll be fine, he will. He’ll be able to do what we need him to do before it’s all said and done.”
On Jaden Springer and what he needs to do to contribute early:
“There’s no doubt it is conditioning. It’s the same thing for Keon (Johnson) and Corey (Walker), it’s all conditioning. They have got to get themselves to a point to where they understand what conditioning really means. Jaden understands what he’s doing and what he’s good at. He knows where to go and what he needs to get done. He’s a worker too. When I say worker, I think you guys know that is what our culture is built on. He’s a guy that has to get better at conditioning. Once he does, that’s going to take him to a whole other level.”
On strategy for starting point guard at the beginning of the season:
“What I would like to do is let the best rebounder play point guard. Whoever gets it goes with it. That’s one thing we are able to do with these guys individually. We did try to teach them all what goes into playing that position. It’s the hardest position on the court to play. Our thoughts are as many as those guys can get it, go with it, and go where we want them to go with it. That’s what we like to see as opposed to just one guy out there that can handle the ball. We do think that we have a chance to be a terrific rebounding team. Whoever is out there that gets ahold of it, that they should go with it.”
On Corey Walker and how to best establish a role as a freshman:
“Getting in shape. I say this for most guys coming in and that’s where our normal summer they would have already been there. They would have had it figured out and we would have gotten a lot further along than they are right now. Corey is a step out guy. He’s got good skill but like those other guys he’s got to get in shape. Before he can do anything, he’s got to get in shape that it takes to play at the level that we want things sustained at.”
On the idea of redshirting a big man this year:
“Yes, I think we do. I think we can look at it and see. I don’t want to waste any of these guys and again, we would never redshirt a guy that we didn’t see have a future. That’s something we would never decide until we got closer to the opener. I do think there are some possibilities that we can do that this year.”
On his coaching staff and transition with the effects of COVID:
“They are the best. I’m blessed that I have the best staff and support around me. They were two years out in front of me on recruiting. They know what they’re doing, they’re experienced, they work well together, they help each other. They have taken advantage of zoom calls. They are on top of the players. I mean they are coaches. In recruiting, whatever they tell me to do, I do. I’ve said it before, those three guys I have right now are ready to head any program in the country. They work at it; they know how to deal with people. They understand players and work hard with players. They like being in the gym. With all that said and done they still put a lot of time in the gym with the guys. In recruiting and the nonstop schedule for them. Believe me, I’m thankful and blessed I have these guys because the chemistry with them is really good.”