Everything Rick Barnes, eighth-ranked Vols said after 80-60 win over USC Upstate
Tennessee got everything it wanted from USC Upstate in the first half, but the Vols survived a barrage of Spartan 3-pointers to pull away late in a 20-point win.
Here’s everything that Rick Barnes and his players had to say after the win, courtesy of Tennessee basketball’s media relations team.
On Tennessee’s depth and upcoming SEC play:
“That's certainly a positive, but I don't think there's any question about that. I thought the minutes this afternoon that Olivier (Nkamhoua) got were really big for us. I think it really helped him being out there a lot more at critical times to do what he was doing. I think that Uros (Plavsic) is a guy that we have confidence in. Both of those guys. EJ (Anosike) has shown that he's a guy that can be a factor for us. I would like to see more consistency out of John and Yves to be quite honest with you. I don't think those guys have played up to the standard that we expect from them right now. The younger guys struggled tonight. I think they struggled from a preparation standpoint. I don't think they've had to go through at any point in their young careers where they've had to grind like this both mentally and physically. They just didn't have the sting they normally have. I will say this too, I thought Upstate had a terrific game plan. They were going to shorten the game. This was probably as good of a game as we could have to get ready going into conference play because it's different from what we have played. It shows that as much as we wanted to play at a faster pace or do this or do that, the other team has something to do with that. I thought they were really well coached tonight. They've had eight days off. I do think at times we played like a tired team. I don't think our guys weren't trying to play well. I don't think mentally they didn't want to play well. The grind that we've been through is something that we needed. Hopefully, it's going to help us going forward.
“Just so you know, this sweater I have on is a birthday gift that Tom asked me to give him. Plus, he wants a little Christmas bonus, but he's asked if I could wear this tonight for him. I want you to know I'm doing this for Tom Satkowiak.”
On Josiah Jordan-James’ status:
“He’s fine. I thought Josiah played terrific tonight. I thought Santi did his job when you look at the assist- to-turnover ratio and making some threes when he needed to. He had one sloppy turnover that he can't have. He had a poor breakdown at the end of the half, where he didn't get back and they could have made that layup there at the end of the half. We don't want to end play like that. Josiah was good in a lot of different areas. Not just rebounding the ball, but his deflections tonight. We didn't get as many deflections as we wanted but he probably had more than anybody.”
On what he liked about Olivier Nkamhoua’s performance:
“The best play he made was the block. We always talk about fix-it plays, but too many times when we talk about fix-it plays, we go right to Yves Pons. who does a good job at fix-it plays, but tonight, (Olivier) did. Keon has taken more charges than anybody on our team. Those fix-it type plays. Olivier looked more relaxed overall tonight than any point in time since he's been here. I thought he really moved well without the ball. He made some really nice basket cuts and he was very comfortable catching the ball and finishing at the rim.”
On upside of the team when Olivier comes in off the bench:
“It’s huge. We feel like Uros is there too. It's hard to go 10-deep at times. We said to these guys, ‘at some point in time this year, we're going to need them all.’ For whatever reason, we feel that way. Uros is as unselfish as any player that I've ever been around. He knows that he needs to get better in some areas like we all do. He is a guy that is a big-time teammate. Always pulling for his team and a player that we're confident with putting him in the games and we think he'll do the job. It would've been good for him to have a game where he gets the minutes like Olivier had tonight, but he did finish the game really well. The other night passing the ball, scoring and he will work and he will be ready when he's called on.”
On If tonight was a good learning experience for the younger guys and what they can’t do ...
“I think it is good experience for them, and I will tell you, there aren’t two better kids, but they’re young and they are doing some things. Jaden was playing against a guy tonight he’s probably never heard of, and we told him has the ability to make threes as well as anybody we play. He looked surprised when a guy raised up, and he looked surprised again, like what am I supposed to do, so that’s part of the growing process where you’ve got to realize he’s playing at a higher level than he’s ever played, and they are learning a lot. The other night when I put Jaden back in the game, I said, ‘Hey Jaden I want you to go in the game and I want you to think like a point guard, play like a point guard, and get Olivier and Uros some confidence by really trying to set those guys up,’ and he goes back in the game and he charges and gets five fouls and has to come out and after the game he said no one had told him that. So, that is what’s fun coaching these guys, because you’re trying to help them become everything they want to become and yet they are doing it in the heat of the moment in a game. The great thing is the upside for those guys is there, but it is our job as coaching staff to keep putting demands on them and asking them to do more than they have ever done before and show them things in games they never thought about, but tonight there is no question that there preparation wasn’t good yesterday and we didn’t do a lot yesterday, it was more mental, but they have never gone through a grind like this. There is no doubt they want to play hard and they are going to play hard and take pride in it, but it’s just a mental side it that’s right before Christmas and probably thinking we have been in a couple games ahead 30-40 points and you think they are all like that, but they’re not. USC Upstate had a terrific game plan and for us it’s probably what we needed more than beating someone by 30 or 40 points.”
On how he felt about the perimeter defense overall tonight...
“We talked about the 3-point shot with St. Joe’s the other night, these guys actually have more experience and have guards that have been doing this for a couple years and they’re all back. Tonight was good with the fact that we got to do some trapping and it was good for us, even though we might have gotten one out of it. We gave up one certainly on a dunk in transition, but I did not like our ball screen coverage and we are normally better at that, but again I thought they handled it and I thought their players and coaching staff did a great job. The other night we got spread out too much against St. Joe’s and then tonight they were patient, and our guards didn’t do a very good job of getting back in front of the ball. They kept stringing it out and we switched like we do when the clocks under 10 minutes normally, and they did a great job of getting it there. They went at John Fulkerson in the post, but with threes, they are going to make some and that’s what they do. Yet, with that said, I don’t know if you can do more but try to push them out a bit further and overall we were okay, but you go into every game trying to take away their top two options the best way you can, and we’ve done a pretty good job at it, but not very good tonight and you got to give their team, coaches, and players respect because I thought they played with great poise.”
On if he thinks he will look back at this time of this season when they get to the SEC tournament and NCAA tournament as far as handling different matchups...
“We got to see a lot through these games and we got to see different styles. Tonight was a much different style and I do think the different matchups we’ve had to deal with throughout these games-- we’ve had to put in there and the preparation that goes into it, we have seen a lot, and teams have gone zone against us and I’m glad because we handled it ok tonight, the only thing we aren’t doing is listening enough—mainly with the younger guys—and tonight I think John Fulkerson didn’t get to his spots quick enough. And conditioning is something we will get better at, like most teams will, but the stoppage of play has hurt all of us at some point in time, but overall with the schedule we got put together, I appreciate the teams that were able to help us and juggle with some things here and there and now we’ll get down to where we will be playing two games a week and get into a rhythm that way, which I hope will help us continue to move forward.”
On what the plan for next week will be...
“We’re keeping the guys here and they are going to stay three days, but again the admin has done a great job and getting the parents that can be here and most of them will have a chance to be here. Obviously, our foreign players and Davonte won’t have parents here, but the fact is, talking to parents and hearing from them too, we want to play basketball and don’t want to do anything to create disruption for our team, and we just came to a conclusion it is best we all stay here and get some rest, and there’s no doubt we need rest, our young guys more than older guys, so these next three days we’ll be off and come back and then get ready for conference play.”
On why he feels like he is not getting enough out of Pons and Fulkerson:
“Consistency is the big word for all of our team. I think Yves has to be more consistent at rebounding. I think he has to get to the foul line more. I do not care if he makes a three-point shot all year. I know that when he takes his shot that he works on, he is a high percentage three-point shooter. But the fact is, he has not rebounded the ball the way he is capable of night-in and night-out. I think that he should average double-digit rebounds. And because of that, I think that he should be able to get to the foul line more. I think he should be the hardest guy in the country to block out. He does (contribute) defensively; I do not think that there is any question that he is locked in trying to do that. I mentioned this to the team; we have really high expectations for our guys. And we are demanding because I do not want any of those guys to look back and think man I could have done more, I could have done this, I could have done that. But we also learned tonight that different teams can play different ways. But I think that those two guys, because of the time they have been with us, we have extremely high expectations for them. Where we expect them to be on top of it every single night. If you go back and look through this stretch that we have been on, I would say that the guy who has been the most consistent is Josiah. When you think of what he has been able to do. Now VJ has done some good things again; no one has been perfect by any stretch including me and the coaching staff. But the fact is, we have very high expectations for our older guys in terms of them showing the way for the guys who are going through this for the first time.”
On his light-up Christmas Sweater:
“This is actually Tom Satkowiak’s wardrobe. This is what he wears. He came in and asked me to wear this, and it is very ugly, to be quite honest with you. But he asked me to do it, and I did it so I could also take a picture of it and send it to my grandkids. But if you saw it in person you would not be very impressed.
On his favorite Christmas gift he received as a kid:
“Well, I told our guys today my comment to them during our power talk was when I was a kid, it was certainly all about me. It was all about wanting to get presents. When I was a kid in the second grade, believe it or not, our house caught on fire on Christmas eve. The furnace blew up, and there was smoke everywhere. And my mother told me to run down the street and pull the fire alarm, and my sister went with me. And she said we called my grandfather daddy, go get daddy and get him up here. So, we got to the fire alarm, and I pulled the fire alarm and then told my sister, you go get Daddy. And I went back with one thing in mind underneath the Christmas tree. And I was looking for my presents to get them out of the house. And my mother asked me what I was doing, and I said I am getting my presents. But now it's all about giving. I have been blessed. God has blessed me with so many wonderful blessings. This time of year, it is about Jesus Christ and about what he gave and wanting to emulate that. We have so many people since I have been in Knoxville that do so much for people here in Knoxville who do not want it, but they need it. And it has been fun to be a part of different organizations that have taken care of a lot of families in Knoxville this time of year. And that is what I am most thankful for and most proud to be a part of.
On his message to the team with Christmas looking different this year:
“Well, I will go back to when we first left Nashville. When you think about it, it has been such a different year for so many different people. We have so much to be joyful for because I mean, you think about what has happened over the last seven months. People have lost their lives, people have lost their grandparents, parents, people have lost a lot. But when I look at it, there is so much to be joyful for too. God has blessed us in a lot of different ways. With our players we have asked them since day one to sacrifice and that it is going to be different for them, and again it is hard this time of year because I have always believed that you should be with your family on Christmas. As much as you can and be with your family I just think it is the greatest day in the country. The day that Jesus was born. I think it is the most important day. I really do appreciate our administration working out a way to get the parents that can be here, to be here to be with each other. And I also appreciate the parents saying, ‘Hey we know our sons want to play basketball, and whatever we have to do to protect them during this time of year we have to do that.’ It is important to them and we know they want to play. So, I think we all have a lot to be thankful for. And I know that our parents, our players, are not a better group in the country. And I am thankful that we get a chance to do what we have been able to do with them.”
Tennessee Junior Guard Victor Bailey Jr.
On the depth of this Tennessee team:
“We’re a close group. We’re brothers. We love each other. This is probably the closest team I’ve ever been on, from the starters down to every guy at the end of the bench. We love each other, we’re brothers and when a team is so close, special things can happen.”
On how a performance like tonight from Olivier Nkamhoua raises this team’s potential:
“It’s big. It was inevitable. I knew it would happen. He works so hard. I knew eventually things would start going for him. When he’s playing well, that depth really helps us and I know we’re going to be a good team because of it.”
On how they stay motivated on defense when the opposing team keeps knocking down tough looks:
“Coach Schwartz always says that when teams are hitting tough shots, ‘We’ll live. We’ll live with those.’ Our job is to make them hit tough shots. If we can do that the whole game and they keep hitting tough shots, the kudos to them. But, forcing tough shots and tough twos, that’s what we want.”
On if this felt like a tired team tonight after four games in nine days:
“Our legs were a little heavy. Having a lot of practices and squeezing these games in is hard, but we’re prepared for it, so when the challenge comes, we’re ready to take it.”
On how much Josiah’s diving effort sparked the team:
“So much. When guys lay out and show our team that we’re willing to do that. Willing to get on the floor and do the dirty work, it brings the energy and you can feel it through the whole bench. When guys are doing that, we’re going to be successful.”
Tennessee Sophomore Forward Olivier Nkamhoua
On the depth of this year’s team compared to last year:
“I feel like this year’s team is really competitive. Last year’s team was also really competitive, but we have less new guys coming in and more older guys coming back. So, I feel like the bonds are stronger there and the depth is also there, because we have so many guys coming back and the other guards have done a really good job in helping Keon and Jaden specifically prepare for their roles. Then, VJ had his whole year with (Jordan Bowden) and (Lamonte Turner) who helped him a lot and that’s why I feel like VJ was so ready to play right off the bat.”
On why he was so comfortable on the court tonight and what’s the key to him staying comfortable:
“I feel like its in the fact that there’s a lot for me to learn and not trying to force myself to feel like when I go out there I need to be perfect. I just need to play hard. I need to get better every minute I’m on the court. I need to get better even on the bench when I’m watching my teammates play. I need to get better at every practice and I need to prepare for the games as best I can.”
On him and Uros standing up on the baseline on the bench every possession:
“We love our team. We love our teammates and when we see them out there we love it. We love seeing our teammates play and I feel like it keeps us more engaged and more ready for when we go in the games. We’re yelling the coverage and making sure everyone knows what’s going on, because this year people can hear us unlike last year. So, it’s almost like we’re in the game while we’re on the bench, so when you actually do go in the game, not a lot changes. That’s the feeling we’re trying to create. We’re trying to have our bench and the guys on the court all on the same page at all times. I also feel like since they don’t have so many fans, us giving our brothers more energy is very important. They do it for us when we play, so we have to do it for them.”
On how you prepare for games like tonight and learning to do it in comparison to high school games and teaching Jaden and Keon how to do it:
“In high school, you can ride talent a long way. You know which teams are what, but when you get to college every team has players. Especially when you’re a high major D-I school, every team is going to bring their best at you and every team is going to have someone who can hoop. Someone who got overlooked, or whatever their situation may be—or maybe they’re Kentucky and they have all five-stars. It doesn’t matter what type of team it is. Everyone has players who can play. Even D-II teams have players who can hoop. You can’t come into a game thinking that because they’re not in a power five conference they’re not going to be that good. I also don’t look at it as them looking at the other team as worse. I just think they’re not used to preparing for games at the high level you have to in college. In high school you can show up to the game 30 minutes before, do layup lines, do layup lines and be ready to play. In college, we show up. A game day is a whole day. It’s a game day. It’s not a game. In high school, you show up for the game and leave and its two hours of your day. In college it’s your whole day, it’s your whole day before and it might be your whole week. It’s very different, I think it’s great we’re able to have these early season games, because this is what SEC play is like, so if we would have started with that, it could have been even more of a shock for them. But I think those guys are really tough and talented, so I think they’ll be great.”
