Everything Rick Barnes said about tonight’s game against Florida

By Ben McKee
- Jan 19, 2021

Vols head basketball coach Rick Barnes met with the media on Monday morning to preview Tuesday night’s game against the Florida Gators.

Barnes discussed the difficulties of facing the Gators, the play of Josiah-Jordan James, Tennessee’s smaller lineup, why Yves Pons has struggled to score the ball, Florida replacing Keyontae Johnson, UT’s ability to create shots, needing to rebound more consistently and much more.

Here’s everything Barnes had to say:

On sophomore guard Josiah-Jordan James’ streak of not turning over the basketball since the second half of the Alabama game:

“I think every day he’s here, he gets more and more familiar and more and more comfortable knowing what we’re looking for as a team. He’s basically playing every position on the court and when you do that it gives you a better grasp of what’s supposed to be happening at every position. I think that helps his vision to know what he’s looking for. And the fact is, he works hard and puts his time in. He really takes a lot of pride in studying the game and doing all of the things you would want him to do as a coach, but it’s just a matter of time — he wants to be the best player he can possibly be and he’s going to continue to work at it in every way that he can.”

On the difficulty of replacing a key player like Florida has to do with Keyontae Johnson:

“It’s really hard, because you spend your entire offseason working that way. You formulate your plan with how you want to proceed and Keyontae for them is a huge piece of what they do just like Lamonte Turner was for us last year. Then, when that happens you feel like you’re starting over again, because so much focus has been put on such a key player. As coaches, we always think of the ‘what-ifs’ but with that said, you’re going to continue to build your program around the players you think can lead and help you. Then, when situations like that happen with key players and they’re not with you, you really feel like you’re starting over. And, not just with you, but with the players too, because they get comfortable having a person that they’re counting on who’s one of their big leaders. It’s someone who in key situations is someone you play through and someone we look at, so it affects everyone. Not just from a coaching standpoint, but with the players too in that you have to go back and almost start over. It’s also not just physically replacing that person, but the mental side of it too and how you approach the team, give someone a chance to step up, but that person may not be quite as ready as the person you lost. So, now you have to go back to figuring out how to shape your team with the other players being given larger roles. They’ve been hit with a lot of different things too and Keyontae was a player — I mean think about what people around the league thought about him. We’re just thanking the good lord that he’s ok and healthy. But, what they’ve had to go through has been very, very tough.”

On how important the plus/minus stat is:

“I think it’s important. I also think it’s important that the guys coming in behind him try to trend with him as opposed to trending the other way. The truth is that with a guy like Fulky, you can’t lean on him too much, because it wears him down. It affects him on both sides of the floor, but on Saturday he was very efficient and he was playing like himself. I’ve said it before, you don’t have to run plays for John Fulkerson. Think about some of the slashing plays he made the other day. The quicker he plays, the faster he plays and the better he is. He impacts the game with that. We look at that stat. the main stat at the end is whether you win or lose. I’m not that big into analytics and things like that, but the fact that he impacts the game the way he did was a big key to us winning that game on Saturday.”

On senior forward Yves Pons’ scoring production being down:

“We’ve watched guys go through that, but we’re good with Yves. He’ll bounce out of that. There’s no doubt in our minds that he’ll do that, but he also has more scorers around him now and more guys that can go and get baskets and he’s good with that. That’s why he’s such a good team player. It has nothing to do with Yves. People will look and say that he’s struggling to shoot the ball this year, which everyone goes through. If you think about it Jordan Bowden had a tough year last year, but Yves Pons affects the game in so many different ways. The bottom line though is that we have so many more scoring options than we had a year ago.”

On how much Tennessee can rely on its smaller lineup:

“We like it. We really do. We just need to work it a bit more, especially in practice. We like it. We’re not afraid. The other night, Keon played the four and I was impressed with what he did in terms of knowing the offense from there a bit better than I probably thought he would, but as a group it’s honestly fun seeing them out there moving the ball the way they were moving it and the speed and quickness it brings us. I think with our team, it’s all dependent on who we’re playing, what we have to do at that time and we’ve talked about the versatility it brings. The fact that we’ve been able to do it and do it on the fly is what’s really encouraging to me.”

On if he likes freshman guard Keon Johnson or James better at the four position:

“Either one of those guys can do it. You would think that typically it would be Josiah doing it, but when you think about it, they’ve both played the point guard position, so if either one of them gets the rebound, we encourage them to run with it, so that means we’re going to go. Then, we’re looking for the flow game. Not so much coming down to run offense as much as we’re encouraging to come down and just play offense.”

On the difference between the team last year and where it is now:

“This time last season we were struggling. If you think about it, Jordan Bowden was struggling, Lamonte was struggling. We had spent the whole preseason and Fall planning to play through guards. With Josiah coming in to play with Lamonte and Jordan Bowden and that’s what we thought we would begin the year with and that’s what we spent all summer preparing for. Then, Lamonte gets injured and can’t continue. We knew back in the Fall, with Lamonte struggling that we wanted to have a guard in the program if we could. We were fortunate to be in a position to recruit Santi. When he came in, I remember the night he came in. We had watched enough tape and we had put in some plays he had ran to make him more familiar, as opposed to make him learn what we were doing. That made it easier for him, but it also meant that our other guys had to learn—they were simple things to just make him as comfortable as possible. His conditioning wasn’t good and he wasn’t in shape at all, but we knew it was inevitable that he was going to start then, so from the time he got here in December until the last two or three weeks of the season—then, we started to play through Yves and John, because teams were starting to defend Santi well after he settled in. Conditioning wise he wasn’t able to fight it in some ways. He tried to and worked as hard as he could, but then Yves and John really started to exert themselves to the point where we could play through them. We kind of went through three or four scenarios where we were just trying to find ourselves as a group. What made it good is that we have a really good group of guys that kept fighting, kept doing it and at the end of last year, we were at a point where we felt like we could compete with anyone. We had some good wins and then obviously the season ended the way it did. I think we can say it as a staff that we’re proud of what those guys went through last year to just keep it afloat as we went through as much as any team that we’ve had since we’ve been here.”

On Tennessee’s ability to create shots late in the shot clock:

“We’ve got guys that can create shots. We still work on that situation. We don’t want to get down deep into the shot clock, but it happens because you play against teams that defend you well enough to put you in that situation. We do think we have some guys that can create right there and then do some of that. I go back this year; we’ve missed a lot of open shots. I just believe that we’re going to continue to get better and make those shots. I also know this is a game that is all pretty when that ball is going in, it really is. Making shots alleviates a lot of things. We’ve gotten good shots this year for the most part. We’ve got to get back to rebounding the ball better. We were doing a really good job, but again the competition stepped up and things happened. Scouting is even bigger now than when the season started. We just got to ask everybody to keep trying to improve their games.”

On what he has seen while scouting Florida:

“You always look at their top two or three options, who they are trying to play through, what they’re trying to do. Then you break it down scheme wise. You simplify it as much as you can for our players. What are we going to have to defend at critical times in the game? If they are down, what are they going to go to. We all know that at the end of the game if you have a lead that teams playing from behind are playing with house money and they’re going get aggressive, they’re going to drive, they’re going to try to get the officials involved. Every day through your practice you’re trying to work on just basic fundamentals of how to guard situations, time, score, all that’s important. The biggest thing is for the players to be able to adjust with or without a lead. When you’re scouting, you’re trying to find all the things they’re going to try to do when they are down offensively and defensively. You try to give your players a snippet of that in practice and get ready because you have to think from a coaching standpoint, if the game goes this way, what do we have to do. That way, what are we going to do. Make sure your players are comfortable with that. With scouting, I’m thankful that I have a great coaching staff that does an incredible job of scouting. Our players go into each game with a plan that our coaches put together. They all know what we need to do to win.”

On what problems Florida creates:

“Mike (White’s) teams do a great job. They are going to spread you out. They are going to be at a point of contact on that ball screen. I think he puts his players in positions where they need to be. Defensively he is going to mix it up. He is going to pressure you in the back court a couple different ways. He’s going to show you some zone. He’s a multiple defensive coach. I think he’ll do it and see how his players can adjust to it. I think they are an aggressive team. They are an extremely well coached team and I think Mike’s done great job with the adversity that he’s had to deal. I think he’s got his guys fighting and competing. When you watch them play it impresses you that they, like all of us right now, are still trying to totally find themselves and continue to get better.”

On if players tie up their feet by thinking too much:

“To answer your question, yes guys can think too much but they’re always thinking about the wrong things. That’s what freezes players. When they fight it, they fight the role they need to be in. They fight the role that they need to play to be effective. I think that you got to get a base as a player. Once you get that base and build that foundation you can grow out. The players you’re talking about, I really think that’s the one thing. They are fighting the system, or they are fighting themselves internally because they see themselves want to play one way but maybe as a coaching staff you need him to play a certain way. Knowing that they can play this way, as they get better with it. In terms of just overall thinking about the game. Coach Knight had a great saying of mental to the physical is like four is to one. I believe that. That’s why I think that you’ve got to think about this game. When you’re thinking about yourself first and not the team, that’s when you get all twisted up.”

On if Vols senior forward EJ Anosike is ok after hitting his head on the floor against Vanderbilt:

“He is ok. I didn’t see it until I was watching the film when I got home that night. He hit his head pretty good but he’s such a tough kid. I don’t even know if he told anybody to be honest with you. I forgot to even ask him about it yesterday. I saw the play when he went down. He was out working yesterday, he was fine. When I left yesterday afternoon, after we finished up, he was still out there working out.”

On if he’s pleased with Tennessee’s rebounding:

“No that’s something I think I will never be alright with until we become the best at it. I think that we’re not as consistent as we need to be. We’ve got to be more consistent really on both ends.”

On freshman guard Jaden Springer leading the team in assists during SEC play:

“Jaden has got a terrific feel. I think he and Keon as they continue to get in shape, that they can even do more. Jaden sees it. He’s got great vision. He really does have great vision. The way he sees the game. He can pass it in tight quarters. He can get himself in some situations that at times will say that’s a tough situation that he put himself in and he finds a way to make a couple terrific passes. He made some passes at Texas A&M. Those were just phenomenal passes. The stats, I look at him and there’s a lot of things that you like about this or whatever. I just want to see all those guys continue to get into the shape you need to be in. I think he’s learned a lot. I like to think he learned a lot the other night defensively. Learning how to stay on the ground and people’s shot fakes because he does such a good job of standing in front of the ball. That’s a stat he’s got to learn. I think the other night we gave up 15 or 18 points on shot fakes where we left our feet. Those are the kinds of stats we want them to be aware of. Simply stay down, hold your position, and not bail people out. I don’t think anything Jaden does would surprise me because I think he’s got that kind of talent level and I’ve said it before he’s young to the game still and he’s got so much room to grow.”

On if he likes Tennessee’s ball movement and shot selection:

“We’ve done a little bit of all of it (outside shots and driving to the paint). We opened up the game the other day and we were flowing. Fulky (John Fulkerson), instead of standing on the post, stepped out, opened the lane up and Jaden’s (Springer) first basket was a straight-line drive to the basket. We like to attack high percentage areas in the lane. The three’s, we want to take them on our terms. Most of it is inside-out. We’ve had good shots. The turnovers – we had two turnovers the other night where we were doing a little draft screen and we ran into the defender. We obviously don’t want to do that. They were trying to run good, hard offense and those two collisions happened. Overall, we want balance. We want to drive the ball. We want to get fouled. If people want to pressure us, we encourage our guys to drive the ball. We want to get to the foul line. We want to shoot free throws and we want to put people in foul trouble. Balance is what we’re looking for.”

On how he felt sophomore forward Olivier Nkamhoua performed against Vanderbilt:

“The biggest thing he has to do is rebound the ball. In the game the other night, he gave up three offensive rebounds. That’s where it starts with post players or anybody on that inside position. We’ve got to rebound the ball. Going back, somebody asked me about rebounding. We can’t give up three offensive rebounds. He gave up three offensive rebounds. I think that’s where guys know when that happens, ‘That’s a tough one. I know I can’t do that.’ I think maybe being young, you think, ‘Am I going to get to play a little bit longer?’ We left him out there, but then he gave up another one back-to-back. That’s when we took him out and said, ‘You’ve got to do this.’ That’s where it’s hard on a player. We put him in in a critical time in the game where we had momentum going and something that simple – it could be Olivier or it could be John Fulkerson coming back in the game and giving up and offensive rebound – can flip momentum quicker than you think. The bottom line is when you’re still trying to get young guys to understand their roles, it’s those little details that they’ve got to understand. It’s not going into game thinking, ‘I’ve got to score points.’ It’s going in and thinking, ‘I’ve got to play the game. I’ve got to do the fundamental things right. I can’t give up a free throw block-out. Am I supposed to go over and block this shot? If I don’t block the shot and I get caught halfway, obviously my man is in a position to get the offensive rebound.’ If you’re going to go block the shot, go block it. If your guy gets an offensive rebound, that’s not on you. That’s on your teammate not cracking down from the back side. When you’re caught in the middle, that’s when problems start happening. I know this – I think it’s tough for guys coming in and the first thing that happens doesn’t go their way. Do I think it gets in their head a little bit? There’s no doubt about it. The reason he was in the game the other night was because he had three great days in practice where he was doing those little things.”