Everything Rick Barnes Said After Victory Over USC Upstate

Everything Tennessee Vols Head Coach Rick Barnes Said After Victory Over USC Upstate

Everything Tennessee basketball head coach Rick Barnes said following the Vols' dominant blowout win over USC Upstate is below. 

On Tennessee’s efficiency on both ends of the floor in Tuesday’s win over USC Upstate… 

“There were really a couple of specific things that we wanted to see if we could get better with tonight: rebounding the ball, taking care of the ball and setting the speed of the game at the speed we want to play at. I do think that the way to describe it is I do thing we were efficient. Obviously, when you sub as much as we did, sometimes it can get sloppy. But for the most part, I thought our guys really did a great job of staying in the framework of what we were trying to do and really working hard at trying to take advantage of the minutes they had on the court.” 

On the importance of Olivier Nkamhoua’s post presence, as well as his 3-point shooting ability… 

“Tonight, I think I’m right in saying that this is the most points that we’ve gotten from our front line all year. I think we had 49 of the points come from the front line. Olivier was really good in practice yesterday. We had talked the day before that and just pretty much told him exactly what we needed him to do and he came our yesterday in practice and did it. He carried it over today. We need him. We need him and Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) to give us that force inside. I thought John Fulkerson played with a lot of pop tonight in terms of trying to get to the boards and attack that way. We need our front line to give some balance that you all have asked me about. To get it, they’ve got to be productive and if we can just continue to throw them the ball more where they can do something with it and they go to work with it, I do think some good things will happen for all of us.” 

On the importance of having 15 players in the scoring column Tuesday night… 

“Well, it is. Games like this allow you to really continue to build your team chemistry because in the last two games, we’ve been able to play guys. What I would say is, we have a very hard-working group of guys. They care about each other. I think any coach would tell you, when you’ve got a group like we have, you wish you could play them all the minutes they’d like to play. The fact is, I thought the big thing tonight was that VJ (Victor Bailey Jr.) struggled a little bit tonight, obviously. Justin (Powell) struggled a little bit and VJ said, ‘Justin, keep your head up.’ Both guys are going to be really important for us going forward. I’m not sure everybody understands that, but they really are and we’re going to need them in a big way. That’s the kind of team that we have. When you talk about being good teammates, that’s maybe the play of the game from our viewpoint. They all want to play, but they respect each other’s work. They know that some nights some guys are going to have it maybe a little bit more and other nights they’re going to have it.” 

On if there will be future games in the Tennessee-Memphis series… 

“I’ve said from the first day that I took this job, I think that the University of Tennessee has to have a presence in Nashville. I’ve also said that I think it’s important that we play in state teams. We still believe that. Going forward, certainly we’ll talk about it, as we do every year. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the expansion in terms of teams coming into this league quicker than we think. Looking forward, does that means we’re going to play more conference games? I don’t know. I remember one of the last conversations that I had with Roy Williams and even Tom Izzo about trying to get something going there, and they said, ‘We can’t schedule anything when we’re going to play 20 games’. There’s just so much that we don’t know right now. Like I said, we have to be in Nashville, that’s important. We’ve always said we think it’s important to play in state teams. Everything’s on the table.” 

On aggression from Quentin Diboundje and Jahmai Mashack… 

“Earlier in the year we were using our GAs and some of our walk-ons as our scout team. A couple of weeks ago we decided to put Quentin (Diboundje) and (Jahmai) Mashack over there, and it’s helped them tremendously. What it’s made them do is really concentrate and have to learn four or five different styles in however many games we’ve played since they’re gone over there. Now when they come back with us, when we’re going five on five against each other, the game has slowed down for them. It’s helped them a lot. We think both of them are terrific drivers. They’re both strong. They’re going to be a huge part of our future going forward. With that said, we’ve talked about Victor Bailey Jr. and Justin Powell. We think at some point in time this year if they keep improving, they’re going to help us like everybody. It’s a long way to go between now and the end of the year. We do hope that they’ll continue, and they will. There’s no doubt we’ll continue to work what they have. The way they’ve matured the last couple of weeks has been fun to watch.” 

On Tennessee’s free throw shooting… 

“I don’t know who shot them exactly. That has a little bit to do with it. You want to make them certainly, but it’s getting the right guys there. We think that we’re a good three-point shooting team. Obviously, we feel like we should be a really good free throw shooting team. It is a different shot in some ways, but we’ve got to get there more. There’s no doubt about it. I think the more that guys get there, the more relaxed they will be there and the more they can get there.” 

On if the team is in a good place ahead of a tougher stretch of the schedule… 

“We’re going to find out. That’s for certain. As you said, starting Saturday, basically you’re starting your conference schedule right now. I can’t imagine anyone playing more. If you think about our next three non-league games being Memphis, Arizona and Texas, that’s what is left. All of them are extremely talented, well-coached teams. Our league is here. The fact of the matter is that we have to be ready. This is the time of year that everything you’ve done up to this point is pretty much to get you ready for these types of games. It’s going to help us each game, I like to think we have a chance to improve ourselves. The opponents we play, obviously, they are every bit as good as us and maybe better in some situations. The fact is that if we can play and compete at the highest level that we can, we feel good against whoever we play.” 

On talking to the team about the Memphis game and their performance recently… 

“I think they’ve got young players, too. This time of year, teams struggle. There are a lot of teams that struggle this time of year. There’s a lot of basketball left. They’re a talented team. I think Penny Hardaway knows exactly how he wants to play with them. I haven’t watched a lot of Memphis. I haven’t watched a lot of Arizona and haven’t watched hardly any of Alabama. From there, I don’t know. I know those are our next three games. The fact is we will go about our preparation and what we do and I think our players are certainly aware that we’re going to have to get it to another level in all areas of what we’re doing and how challenging that’s going to be.” 

On Brandon Huntley-Hatfield’s improvement… 

“I think Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) has earned the minutes. He’s slowly getting there. Tonight, every time we took him out of the game, it’s because he’s doing some of the things we’re telling him he can’t do: reaching, just jogging back when he’s on defense and worrying about his man as opposed getting back and helping everybody. That’s part of the process that he’s going through but he doesn’t need to be shooting shots off one foot. He will tell you this is probably tougher for him than he ever thought it would be and it’s getting ready to get tougher. He’s learned how to work harder and be more efficient. Like I said, we need him and Olivier to really give us a physical presence in the way that they both can because they are both extremely strong and they are capable of doing a lot.”

To watch Barnes' post-game availability, see the video at the top of the article. 

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