Tennessee basketball put the finishing touches on its preseason slate Tuesday night as the Vols knocked off Lenoir-Rhyne 90-48 at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
Ninth-year coach Rick Barnes as well as forwards Tobe Awaka and JP Estrella talked to the media after the game to discuss the Vols’ victory.
Barnes discussed Tennessee’s rebounding not being where it needs to be, the play of a number of underclassmen and how the offense can still improve on top of much more.
“I also know that instead of good shots, I’d like to get great shots,” Barnes said. “But we’ve got some guys that can get to the rim too, and I don’t want ’em just to get three-point happy. We need to get to the foul line more than 10 times.”
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Awaka and Estrella touched on many of the same topics Barnes did including the need to be better rebounding and be more complete offensively. Both players also discussed seeing Magic Johnson at the East Lansing airport over the week.
“It was fire. It was super sick,” Estrella said. “Best point guard to ever play the game. Had to snag a flick as soon as I saw him.”
“Personally, I was a little starstruck,” Awaka said. “I couldn’t believe it. It was cool seeing him in person.”
