Tennessee Basketball Assistant Gregg Polinsky Talks Ahead of Tennessee vs. Kentucky

The Tennessee Volunteers have been doing a solid job when it comes to the basketball season, but in that same breath, they have struggled at other points. They have a major game set ahead of them on Saturday, as they are set to take on arguably the biggest rivals on their slate, as they will take on the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday.

Here is what Gregg Polinsky had to say about the basketball team's upcoming game against the Wildcats.

Gregg Polinsky Speaks Ahead of Game Against Kentucky

On If The Come Back Against A&M Could Be a Turning Point

"Yeah, I think anytime that you find a way to win those type of games, obviously, it wasn't the most artistic game, although some found it entertaining. Pretty nerve-racking. Yeah, I mean, stylistically the way A&M plays, Bucky (McMillan) has done an awesome job. Just to be able to kind of grind through that, kind of get a rhythm a little bit more in the second half, taking care of the basketball. But exactly to your question or pertaining to it, yeah, that was good for us."

On Not Having to Face a Pressing Style of Basketball

"Well, it's not something that you love dealing with. But I think what I've learned over time is that team will probably play us a little different, do some different things, probably manage the backboard better when we play them . Hopefully, as when Buzz Williams was there, they ran that funky matchup zone initially. It was really hard. I'm not sure we ever figured it out completely, but we got better with it. So the various styles of playing the league, especially new coaches coming in, you start to at least gain some knowledge and figure out a little more of how you want to approach it. And no excuse because it's the same for them, but having one day to prepare for it, and we spent the whole day working on press offense, and I know Coach was disappointed because we didn't execute as well as we needed to early. But it was a challenging game."

On If A&M Can Be a Reference Point Later

"Yeah, I think our league prepares us well. That's for sure. And we'll see it again. Like Georgia, just watching like you guys do I'm sure. All the different teams, how they play, what they're doing. But you know, Georgia's going to press, do some things, just speaking of one team. When we do our non-conference schedule, we always try to do it with some thought as to how they play stylistically, when our team might be ready for that. Even though it may seem like, hey, you guys have won by a good margin against some teams, there is kind of a method to the madness when Luke Schapker and I look at teams, obviously conference is dictated, right? But that's a good point. You may see it again and it won't seem like a shock to the system."

On If recovery is Any Different Following a Double-OT Game

"Well 'G' (Tennessee coach) would be the best guy to ask for that. I don't know what he did with his training. But our preparation yesterday, we had a really good practice, guys went really hard. There were things we have to improve upon. So I wouldn't call it a light practice. I think today we'll probably get after it. But the nice thing is, without school being in, we're able to run these practices earlier in the morning, so the recovery time, etc., again, I leave that to Garrett and Chad and then how coach feels."

On What Kentucky Looks Like

"They're different. Last year, I think it was an extraordinary thing what he did with an entirely new group, to get to the Sweet Sixteen with a new team. I think we're seeing that and I'll get back to it, but I'm thinking about our league right now. It seems like teams are — I watched Texas and Vandy, Vandy's obviously terrific, playing great. But teams that were 0-2 (Texas) they win at Alabama, they beat Vandy. And Ole Miss, who seemed like they were struggling, finds a way to beat Missouri, then go on the road and win at the buzzer (against Georgia). So I think what's happening is with all of the new talent coming in, as a European coach reminded me the other day, they said, 'now you know what we go through every year, a whole new team with different personality types,' and I think for Coach Pope and their staff, what you think when you are doing your evaluation and systematically looking at your roster construction, versus the reality of it when it arrives, can be very different, Bill Self who is one of the great coaches of all time, I'm sure Bill expected more out of his team last year. But you just don't know what certain guys are going to do. Pairing them with new guys, and I think we're dealing with some of that, but I think they're better defensively, more physical as a group. They're not as explosive offensively, but as soon as I say that, you know, they might ring us up for 90. So I think that Mark has actually done a really good job with the way things have turned out with his team. But we all know where you are, there are levels of expectations, and that is something sometimes very challenging to deal with."

What Troy Henderson Adds When Playing Well

"Well, number one, he showed he's not afraid of the moment. That was pretty good. Big jump shot with, I think it was a 1:22 or whatever it was. We need him, as we need still Ethan and Clarence. Coach talks about it. All those guys can add some value to our basketball team. Who's going to play on any given night and how much, I don't know. But Troy is a really good shooter. In my former life, as I say, we called it a gravity score. If he proves he can be a good shooter, that opens up. That means I can't get as far away because I know he's a great shooter. I can't get as far away from (Troy) as I can (someone else). So that opens up more of a driving line for Nate, for Ja'Kobi, for other guys. So Troy adds, not just the dimension of making the shot, but the threat of making the shot, and gives us better spacing."

On Nate Ament Building Off of Scoring 10/16 of Tennessee's OT Points

"Not thinking about it too much. You know, Nate is a very driven, a very, very, very conscientious young guy that really wants to do well. And I know coach has talked about it. I think when Nate just kinda lets go of the reins a little bit, he's really good. I think we saw some of that. It was pretty special, some of the shots he made in crunch time. I think the most exciting thing for me wasn't just the shots he made. Obviously, they were very beneficial to the outcome of the game, but he wanted the basketball; he wanted to do it. And that's when you start to arrive, you know? I mean Dalton Knecht came in here and was oblivious, in a good way. Like, hey, I'm the best player on the court every time I walk out there, gimme the ball. But he was also a senior. There were no expectations for DK. He created them, and he met them. But for Nate, it's exciting to see him grow in that fashion."

On JP Estrella

"Now, trying to maybe tone down like, you know, coach wanted him a little more rugged and a little more forceful in there. I'm smiling because one of my favorite all-time players here was Uros Plavsic. As we all remember his beautiful style of play here, artistic would be the word, but Uros gave us a level of toughness. I wouldn't use the word intimidation, but I think teams were conscious of him and you know, we know J.P. is a different guy. He's a terrific scorer. He rebounds the ball really, really well. Uros, though, was so good defensively and had a physical presence, and I think we're trying to blend the two for J.P, and that's been a challenge for him."