What Tennessee Said at the SEC Tournament, Including About Facing Alabama

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee had a lot of subjects to talk about after beating Florida 78-66 on Friday afternoon, including coach Rick Barnes stating that John Fulkerson was taken to a hospital for observation, possibly for an eye injury after taking a couple of elbows to the head:

Coach Rich Barnes

Q. Do you have an update on John Fulkerson as far as an injury goes? Do you expect him tomorrow? What was your vision and reaction to that play?

RICK BARNES: Actually, I did not see it. I'd already looked the other way, turned the other way. I didn't see it. Heard it wasn't good at all, obviously.

They did take him to the hospital just for observation. I think it was more for his eye than anything else. Tomorrow, I don't know right now if we could say we can count on him. Again, we'll wait and see. My gut feeling, he took two pretty good licks right there and I'd be surprised if he is available.

Q. Defensively twice in a row you've been able to put the handcuffs on Florida. What was it about the game plan?

RICK BARNES: A really good team effort. I thought we worked hard the last -- well, we've always worked hard, but a big emphasis on our ball screen defense, getting up to touch. We didn't want to get drug out, strung out where we weren't up there, giving their guards a chance to either split it, drag us down to the baseline. We really wanted to have a confrontation right there at the impact of the ball. For the most part we did.

I thought we stayed in our coverage, were disciplined that way when we couldn't get our primary defense, what we wanted. We were switching out. I thought our guards did a really good job when they got a guy on post down low, sit on the post man's hip, get in front. Everybody else knew what was happening. Trying to come in and help as much as we could.

It's just really a good team effort. We can still be better. We're going to have to be better. We just need to adjust. When you have a player, they start putting their head down, that's when we got to keep backing up in space, force some contested jump shots instead of letting them get fouled or getting to the rim.

Q. What do you have to do against Alabama that you didn't get done a couple months ago?

RICK BARNES: I go back to that game. Yves Pons picked up two quick fouls early in that game. Jaden didn't play. He was playing well. I think he drove it, if I can remember right, turned his ankle. It got away from us. We didn't handle it very well.

That was really one of the first games I thought where we were down and didn't know quite how to respond. I think they've gotten better. I'd like to think that we've gotten better. We're going to need everybody. If Fulkerson is not available, we're going to need more guys to step up and help us.

We're going to have to defend a team, I think one of you guys mentioned to Santi, about threes, getting to the rim. Again, we're going to have to play good offense ourselves, take care of the basketball, not have those on-ball turnovers that lead to easy baskets.

Q. Yves Pons set a Tennessee basketball record with nine blocks, tied the all-time SEC tournament record. Do you think this was his single-best individual defensive performance?

RICK BARNES: I thought he was terrific. I mean, he was locked in. You could tell it. You could tell the last couple days. From start to the finish, what he had to do down there, the way he plays. I thought he was locked in both ends.

Again, he was terrific, he really was. His blocks were great.

We told our guys at halftime, Hey, Yves going to come get them, you have to clean it up for them. For the most part in the second half, again, that happened for the most part. I think one of them he went up and tried to block it, we didn't have the backside sealed down.

He was locked in. I kept looking at him asking if he needed a blow. He said, I'm good, I'm good. Just happy for him because, again, he was outstanding.

Q. Just how big were those minutes from Uros and what was he able to do to keep the sustained minutes on the floor?

RICK BARNES: I think what it shows, you go back all year long, nobody has been more of a teammate, not seeing the floor the way all players would like to. The last couple days in practice, really this time off as we've been practicing, getting up and down the floor, playing more, it just started working for him. Really started buying into what we need him to do.

He's been really good in practice. I think his size obviously can be a factor for us. He is a guy that when he's out there, he does like to get moving on offense, set screens, just get him rolling consistently, getting himself ready to catch the ball. He loves passing the ball, passes well. His minutes and Yves today, they were on the front line. Those were big minutes.

Q. A lot of people talk about sort of the unique way Alabama plays the game. People keep saying that. How different is the way they play basketball? Is it an exaggerated version of what some other people do or is it pretty unique?

RICK BARNES: I think there's other people -- a lot of people that want to shoot the three early. Some people don't believe in the midrange game. If that's what they believe in, that's what they believe in.

Obviously analytics, I think they're really into the analytics where they believe what they're doing is the right way. Nate has done a terrific job. Coach of the Year, well deserving. He's got the personnel to do it. Player of the Year.

Really, I mean, everything they've gotten, they've deserved.

Q. You mentioned an eye for John Fulkerson. Is it the eye itself, bone around the eye? Is a concussion also a concern?

RICK BARNES: I don't really know. I really don't. But they just said that -- they said he was fine, they just were taking him to the hospital for observation. Somebody mentioned to me about the eye. That's all I know.

Q. I'm sure you've seen last couple days it's been kind of a crazy sequence of events. Duke, then Virginia in the ACC tournament, now Kansas in the Big 12, out because of positive COVID tests. As somebody that's likely in the NCAA tournament already, is there any worry for you about continuing on, the risk of that, what happens if you pop up with a COVID issue this close to the NCAA tournament?

RICK BARNES: I'm not sure, unless you're on it like we are every day, the stress of getting tested weekly, knowing that the one thing you hate is throughout the whole year, the testing protocol, knowing first thing in the morning, 6:00, you're going to get a text, all guys are negative or we got a positive. That's been going on now for, what, four months, five months.

Has it been stressful for everybody? No doubt about it. Players included. We've tried and will continue to handle it the best way we can, do what we need to do there.

But, yeah, it's been a concern all year for everybody. We know it. I don't know the protocols at either the Big 12 or the ACC. All I can tell you is I don't think there's been a better league in the country from start to finish trying to do things the right way and be on top of everything than the SEC. Again, I admire how diligent they've been about everything.

To answer your question, I don't think there's a coach, a player in the country that doesn't worry about that every time we go in and get the swab.

Q. Do you wish there was a little more cushion between now and the tournament?

RICK BARNES: I don't think it would matter. I really don't. I think we got to proceed as we say we do. Again, I don't know what their protocol is. I don't know if it was contact tracing. I have no idea. I don't know the protocol, what went on there.

But, no, it's like we said when we started the season late, I didn't think we should. I thought we should have started on time and give us a longer runway. At some point in time it's got to come to a conclusion regardless. I know every player in the country, staff, it's been a major concern knowing things like this could happen.

Again, I don't know the whole deal, but I just hope it works for all of us. It has been a long, trying year for everybody. For the players again, we talked about it this morning, it was a year ago. We actually had a little placard made up for Jordan Bone that we put on our bench today because he was the one guy, I remember seeing him in the back of the bus a year ago when we walked out of this building, he was devastated. He couldn't believe his college career was over with.

What we talked about was being grateful for what we've been able to have up to this point. Whatever we can get done, be thankful for it, be grateful for it. It's been a long year for lots of people. We've gotten to this point. I just hope we can finish it and finish it strong for everybody.

But there still is a lot to be grateful for because of how far we've come from a year ago.

Q. Assuming you don't have John tomorrow, is that a situation where you expect to play a lot of Yves at the five, probably see more of Olivier?

RICK BARNES: I haven't thought about it. But probably. Again, this time of year you got to do what you got to do. Again, I thought Uros was terrific. I like to think if we go to Olivier or E.J., those guys will be ready to roll. Whatever we're going to have to do, this time of year, one game at a time. You try to win and move on.

THE MODERATOR: Coach meant to say Jordan Bowden.

Q. What did you think about your team's response after the situation with Fulkerson? It was clear with body language that they weren't going to be intimidated or back down.

RICK BARNES: They were upset. They were. They were very upset. What we tried to talk about was the emotion of it. I think the technical foul called on Josiah was nothing other than, We're not going to let this thing get out of control. I don't think it was that big a deal. Everything can escalate, become a big deal.

The fact that the officials were going to tell them, if they've told them to shut up and quit talking, they keep doing it, whether it's a very little thing as just saying, Hey, he threw the ball at my teammate. Don't throw the ball at my teammate. Referees have a hard enough job. When it gets chippy, players are getting after it, the emotion starts to heat up, it's a tough game to officiate regardless of that.

Our guys have such great respect and love for Fulky, but for each other. We had to calm them down, no doubt about it, because they felt like it was unnecessary. I was glad we were able to get back at it.

Santiago Vescovi

Q. What did you see on the play that knocked John out of the game today? How did that affect you guys the rest of the game?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: First of all, I didn't see it. I was already turn around, going back. All I heard was John on the floor, the ref whistled, then my teammates told me he got elbowed. I asked one of my teammates if he saw it. He was like, Yeah, he did it on purpose.

We all felt pain for John because I think we really care about his well-being, him being healthy and playing with us. I think that helped us a lot just to have more motivation. Since that point we knew we were playing for him, too, because he got taken out. To me, it was not like a really fair way. I think it really helped us and motivated us.

Q. How big was it for you today to see some shots go in, be productive?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: I mean, I felt pretty confident in the game today. I think I gained more confident as the game went. First of all, I think the perception of the rim and the stands behind was kind of playing some games in my mind. I couldn't get the real distance from me to the rim. But then I settled down a little bit, I started feeling more good, I started feeling better.

I just feel that we played in a fun way today. We all had a lot of smiles. Everybody was smiling. We were having fun while we were playing. We're playing for each other. I think that's one of the best things that we could have done moving forward and thinking about tomorrow.

Q. Defensively you guys have been lights out against Florida these past two games. Was it game planning? Execution?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: Personally I think that part, it goes half and half. I think as players we did a really great job in terms of just sitting down, taking pride defending everyone. But I think also the coaches had a really great impact in that because we know we're going to play -- coming into the game against Florida before the SEC tournament. We had a whole week to prepare for that.

The whole week we were just practicing one-on-one defense, just scouting about how we were going to play against Florida. I think that helped us to get in a much higher level in terms of defense.

Yeah, like I said, I think we contributed a lot in terms of attitude and taking pride in defending, but also the coaches did a really great job preparing us for these games coming.

Q. You're going to have to play Alabama tomorrow. Do you remember anything from the first game that will be helpful in your rematch with them?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: I mean, we all remember the first game. It was not good for us. I think still for everybody on our team, it's still in the back of our heads. We're still thinking about that. I think that also can help us as a motivation for the next game.

We know it's going to be a battle, but we just got to take pride every single possession.

Q. Y'all have had more guards on this team this season, it was always going to be a little bit different. Your production has been more up and down. You hit some really big shots in the second half. Where is your confidence level knowing you might not be scoring 16 a game, but when the team needs big shots you can do that?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: I mean, like I said first, on the first half I was struggling a little bit with the depth behind the rims. Once I settled down, I was feeling more confident. Also I think all my teammates and the coaches gave me the confidence. Every game I make or I miss shots, they tell me to keep shooting every time. They never say anything when I shoot it. I think that also gives me a lot of confidence and helps me whenever I got to shoot another ball.

Q. With your own team, how would you define your role on this team right now?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: I think I'm a guy right now that can help my teammates. I think most of the times I can -- I can help the guards drive because I know the other teams are going to stay a little more attached to me. That gives whoever is going to drive more room to get to the rim. Also defensively I think I'm talking all the time, so that also helps to the whole team.

Q. How unique is the way Alabama plays? They get a lot of publicity for taking three-pointers or layups. How do you prepare for them defensively?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: I mean, I think they're a team that play really fast. They get out a lot of threes. On transition they try to score every time as fast as they can.

In terms of the defensive part, I think that the coaches are going to do a great job, as they always do, in terms of preparing us. That's all we're thinking about right now, just thinking about tomorrow's game. We know it's big. Also think about how it went last time back in Knoxville. I think we have a big motivation coming into tomorrow.

Yves Pons

Q. Yves, nine blocks for you today, highlighted a good defensive effort. What do you feel like went well for you guys? Did it help you just played Florida a week ago?

YVES PONS: I don't think so. I mean, that was a completely different game. We beat them, sure. But we have to forget, and we have to remember they beat us pretty bad the first time we played them.

We still had in this mind. We went out there. It was about us, about Tennessee playing our offense, our defense, and that's what we did.

Q. How motivated were you guys after what happened to John in the second half?

YVES PONS: Of course, it kind of piss us off, motivate us to keep going, don't relax. We have Johnny's back, so...

Q. What did it feel like being back on the floor? Being able to play this year after you came over there last year and were told at the last minute you couldn't play.

YVES PONS: It feel great. Last year we finish in bad situation, a lot of frustration for a lot of guys. We think about John didn't get a chance to play the SEC tournament. So we went out there, we play for him, we play for Tennessee.

It feel great. It feel great to be back, so...

Q. You were talking about the elbow there. What did you see on that play? Did you think that moment galvanized the team, added some emotion the rest of the way?

YVES PONS: Yeah, they kind of get into an entanglement. I saw him elbow Johnny on the face. That's nothing to do on the basketball court.

Of course, we took impression. We love John, and we had his back, so...

Q. I know there's some games where teams don't try to attack you defensively, sometimes they try to get you in foul trouble. Sometimes teams won't attempt layups around you. Were you surprised that Florida kept giving you opportunities to block shots today?

YVES PONS: I think they're trying to be aggressive. It's a team that score a lot of points in the paint. We did a good job of protecting in the paint, protecting the rim. That's what I do, really defense, that's my first job to do on the court. So that's what I did.

Q. It's been a long time since you guys played Alabama. What do you remember about that game? What makes them such a tough opponent?

YVES PONS: I think it's a good challenge, really good team. They beat us the first time. We have to take revenge. I can't wait to play tomorrow. We'll be ready for them.

Q. Great defensive performances even though having a week off. What has been the key to the defense returning to early-season form?

YVES PONS: I think the biggest thing we adjust is to play together, back in defense. Also in offense, play together, move the ball. Just really play Tennessee basketball.

Defensive-wise we know we are a really good team. When we play good defense, we are really hard to beat.

Q. What was it like to see Uros get out there?

YVES PONS: Oh, man, amazing. He run the floor, he take out the ball. He really give us some rest, too. He did an amazing job when he was on the floor.

Really happy for him. I expect more for him in the next game. Everybody has to be ready. Everybody has a role to play on our team. We deserve tonight.

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