Tennessee basketball assistant coach Justin Gainey and starting center Felix Okpara met with the local media on Monday morning before the Vols head to Lexington to face Kentucky.
The duo discussed Saturday’s commanding win over Oklahoma, what has to change from the first Kentucky game and much more. Here’s everything Gainey and Okpara said.
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Justin Gainey
On Chaz Lanier’s play at Oklahoma, being aggressive and moving off the ball
“I thought Chaz did a nice job. He was aggressive. He got out and ran. The things that that we kind of look for is what does he do in transition. Because in the half court it’s going to be hard to get those clean looks just because there’s so much attention on him. But he got a couple. He got a three in transition, then he got a runout layup in transition. And so those are all things that show how he was engaged, he was locked in and it kind of got him going. That first transition three got him going a little bit. And so it was exciting to see him being aggressive, in attack mode.”
On if there was a common thread between Tennessee’s second half vs. Missouri and the first half at Oklahoma
“I thought our spacing was really good in both of those halves. I think we did a good job of getting paint touches, continuing to keep the defense in rotation. And I thought we got some pretty good looks.”
On how surprised he was with how Tennessee defended Kentucky early in the loss in Knoxville two weeks ago
“The first four minutes of that game, I thought they did a really good job of getting their shooters looks. And I didn’t think we did a great job of defending them. (Koby) Brea got that three early and then number two (Jaxson Robinson) got the three on the left side, and then 15 (Ansley Almonor) got a look. And those are three of their best shooters. So they were locked in. But I think we helped in that. We weren’t where we were supposed to be. We weren’t as locked in as we needed to be.”
On if momentum and confidence has been different for Tennessee since the 64-44 home win over Florida on February 1
“It’s kind of tough to say. I feel like each game is its own individual thing. And I think we continue to just learn from previous experiences, learn from previous games and try to continue to add to it. And so the Florida game was great. I thought we were able to kind of see a couple things that we hadn’t really seen before. But that’s with every game. But this group is locked in. I think everybody knows that we got a really good group that can compete with anybody. And we can go to the bench and we have depth and guys that can come in and impact (the game).”
On Felix Okpara and Cade Phillips being more active of late on offense; how that can continue in the Kentucky game
“I think a lot of what they get is off of our ability to penetrate and get into the paint. They’ve been doing a good job of rolling to the basket and, you know, creating different passing angles for our guards. I’d also say they’re doing a great job on the glass as well, creating opportunities for themselves. We want to continue to try to get them the ball close to the basket. Both guys are shooting high percentages, so analytically it makes sense to try to find opportunities to get them touches.”
On how Kentucky point guard Lamont Butler — who didn’t play in the game in Knoxville due to injury — makes UK different:
“Yeah, Lamont’s really good. He’s kind of the head of the snake, you know, he’s the head of the snake for them. He sets the tempo, he says the pace. He can score, he can facilitate. He’s dynamic in transition and he’s also a really good defender. I think he changes them drastically.”
On what Okpara has been doing so well defensively to help everyone out
“Felix is an elite defender. He’s elite and he’s been elite since day one, since he got here. His ability to defend on the perimeter, move his feet, you know, switch off on guards while also guard bigs, just makes him so unique. And then, how quick he is off the floor. Multiple jump guy around the rim and he has great timing. So both of those things help him in shot blocking.
If Tennessee’s perimeter defense is what needs to change most from the first matchup:
“Yeah. You look at last game, and the way they shot the ball from three, it would speak to we need to be better there, you know? But I would also say. Not only guards, but the bigs on the perimeter as well, because they’re not a huge post-up team. You know, dump it in and back to the basket and go to work type of team, but they get you on the rolls, they get you in transition. And so, you may be crossmatched sometimes, right? And so it’s gonna be bigs on guards, and guards on bigs, or if you get caught in a switch. It’s gonna take everybody just being locked in, being engaged. Communication is gonna have to be at an all-time high.”
On what Zakai Zeigler is doing so well at point guard that doesn’t show up at point guard
“He’s managing the game. You know, he’s understanding the flow of the game. When we need to play fast, when we need to slow it down, when we need to get Chaz a shot, when we need to get Felix a touch. His feel right now for the flow of the game and where the ball needs to be, he’s doing a really good job of that.”
On Lanier being more physical in the paint
“It’s been good. He’s got a great body, good size and you know, for most times, you know, he’s gonna have that advantage on some guys. And so it’s good to see him use that body when he gets in there. He’s a good finisher around the rim and he’s good in there. So we do encourage that part of it too because, you know, the jump shot people, they’re gonna try to take that away, right? And so, you know, being a multi-level score is something that he’s more than capable of doing.”
On Jahmai Mashack saying Tennessee took the loss to Florida earlier this season personally; if he gets that sense about facing Kentucky and Vanderbilt in rematches this week
“Yeah, take the loss personally, but also understand why we lost and what needs to be corrected to try to win this game, you know? And so yeah, you can take it personal and guys, they had a lot of reflection as we watched film and we watch tape, but you gotta remove the emotional part out of it and really get down to implementing what we’ve talked about, what we’re doing in practice and how we want to attack certain situations. How we want to guard certain situations.
“And so, yeah, it’s great that emotionally, that they feel like that, but you know, that emotion after the first couple of possessions kind of wears off and now is, ‘alright, let’s lock in and you got an assignment to make sure you take care of.'”
On the reflections in film after the losses earlier this season
“No, I mean, reflection if I’m just like watching the game, you know, just watching the game and seeing like the effort wasn’t where it needed to be. The attention to detail wasn’t where it needed to be. I mean, you give their best three shooters wide open looks to start the game, right? You’re not completely locked in.”
On how much more prepared Tennessee is to play inside of Rupp Arena after playing at Florida, Vanderbilt and Auburn during the first month of SEC play
“Yeah, I think the more we’re in those situations, the more we’re in those environments, I think guys start to get comfortable and understand what it’s about. Winning on the road in this league is tough. It doesn’t matter where you’re going. Every road game is gonna be tough. You know, Oklahoma was tough. So every chance we get to experience that, it doesn’t do anything but help us and prepare us more for that next one.”
Felix Okpara
On what went in to the fast start at Oklahoma
“Obviously it was a really early game. I think for us we were just locked in from the start. We had a plan going into the game and I feel like we executed for the most part.”
On if he likes early starts on the road compared to late games like Auburn
“I don’t know for the other guys but typically for me, I don’t like too early or too late. I like somewhere in the middle. It gives you time to rest but also not too much time to rest because that can affect how you perform.”
On what they have to do better against Kentucky this time compared to the first matchup
“We just got to take good shots. Kentucky, they tried to bait us into taking early shots which took us out of rebounding position. Just focus on taking great shots and executing good offense. And also defensively just try to limit the shots they take.”
On helping the guards
“Just screening better for them. I feel like I’m a good screener and set guys open. That’s my emphasis going into the game. Try to get guys open to create a better look for the team. Then also just helping them (by) talking defensively. I got to communicate well with the guards and I think we’ll be good.”
On Igor Milicic passing ability as a four man
“It’s been great. You see it in practice every day. He’s been getting better at his passes. I tell him, those alley-oop passes he’s got to put a little touch on the backboard. It’s going to be easy money. But he’s been working good on it and is getting better.”
