Tennessee basketball is looking to get back in the win column Saturday night when it hosts Alabama in a critical late season SEC matchup in Knoxville.
Ahead of the matchup, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media and discussed what went wrong at Missouri, slowing down Alabama’s high-powered offense and much more. Here’s everything Barnes said.
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On Tennessee being back at home against Alabama after tough road games at Vanderbilt and Missouri
“Well, whether you’re at home or on the road, the games, all of them been really tough, and just coming back home doesn’t ensure anything. I mean, we’re getting ready to play a team that had two of their key players out (in the first game) in Tuscaloosa. And (is) arguably the hottest team in the league right now. So regardless whether we’re home or on the road, we’re going to have to play.”
On how this Alabama team is different with Aden Holloway and Amari Allen playing
“Well, they’re shooting it like crazy right now. I mean, phenomenal night the other night (against Mississippi State), which we know they’re capable of doing that. They can play in different lineups. Obviously, you can change the court. But you’re talking about, with Aden, he’s so dynamic with the ball. But overall, just again, Nate’s got them playing great basketball right now, all of them. They really seem to be locked in.”
On Tennessee beating Alabama at home last season on Jahmai Mashack’s buzzer beater
“Well, it was a great night and obviously it was a great play. I mean, Shack did three great things that night. He got a big offensive rebound that he came up with, then he came up with the steal that gave us an opportunity to make a shot that wasn’t a planned shot, but it was one of those unscripted things that worked out. But just again, Alabama, what I remember is how hard-fought the game was, as it is when we play them every time, and that’s what you expect.”
On saying after Tennessee’s loss at Missouri that Nate Ament has to work harder to not let teams take him out of games
“Well he had turned his ankle early in the game, and I will say this, most guys probably wouldn’t have tried to fight through it, but he did. And I thought it slowed him down some. People are trying to stand him up a lot. And he’s going to have to get some separation, but he’s going to have to really be forceful with his cuts to get some of those freedom of movement type calls. But we didn’t do much with him yesterday and we’ll just see from here how it goes today.”
On if there was a common theme with Tennessee’s 15 turnovers in the loss at Missouri
“Ridiculous is the common theme. I mean, it’s the way we turn it over and the ones that should’ve led to points. But you compound that with a number of bad shots, too. We’re just fighting uphill all night because we were just playing way too fast. Couldn’t see the flow of the game because guys were just playing way too fast. And when you play like that, you’re going to make those type mistakes.”
On if Tennessee’s turnover problems come from how opponents are playing the Vols or if it’s just mental mistakes
“Sometimes the other team certainly has things to do with it, but the ones we had the other night were some ridiculous turnovers. I wish I could’ve stopped and had them run their steps because it was crazy. There’s just no reason for it. But I sort of explained it there, that they were just out of control, playing way too fast. I don’t think they tried to turn it over, but it’s just out of character and playing too fast.”
On how J.P. Estrella’s sore left foot has responded to being more active in practice and playing six minutes at Missouri
“He practiced yesterday, so he seems to be fine. I haven’t heard anything else today.”
On what leads to Tennessee players playing too fast
“I don’t know. I wish I did. I always think when you come off games where you have to play hard to win, and complacency becomes a part of it, not just physically, but mentally. Where every night you go out, you got to be ready to play. And we’re not good enough not to play well and expect to win games against other good teams that are playing pretty good basketball. But it’s a mental letdown. And we got out to a lead and should’ve been up even more, but turnovers kept it back, and then they come back in the game and now you’re starting over again. And they played better from that point on.”
On JP Estrella and Felix Okpara not shooting three pointers after doing so earlier in the season
“What we’re trying to do is get everybody to do what they do well. And there will be times when we think that’s the shots there, we can call it. But I just felt early in the year, guys are trying to do too many things, and what we want to see them do is get good at something. I mean, that was the same, true as a team. Coach Gainey and I and the staff had a talk about it. Early in the year, where we were trying to do a lot of different things, and I just said, ‘Hey, at some point in time, we got to get good at something.’ And I would say the same thing is true of players. They’ve got to get good at something that we know we can count on every night from them.
And when guys… I think it’s really an interesting thing. Many, many years ago, you guys probably don’t know who Elvin Hayes is, but he walked into our building one day, and he asked one of my players, he said, ‘What’s your shot?’ And, my player looked— a really good player, Gary Johnson— looked at him and said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Well, you don’t have one.’ Because he said, ‘You go back and you think of all the great players, you can tell they had one shot that they knew they would get to.’ And so that’s, to answer the question, we’re trying to get those guys to have one thing that we know we can count on every night.
And, so again, if they’re open, rhythm’s there, we don’t have a problem with it, but it’s got to be the right time in the game.”
On struggling after becoming ranked, if it’s frustrating
“Yeah. Because we’re all playing. I mean, you know, the four game in the SEC Tournament, there’s a lot of time that— you can do a lot. I mean, three, four game swing here late can change a lot of things. But I don’t look at it as— I just want us to win the next game and go from there. But if you don’t do what you need to do to prepare mentally, it’s not going to work. And right now, we’re all in a grind right now. Some teams will be done with their season here in a week or so, and some three weeks. So if you’re not gonna finish it strong both mentally and physically, it’ll end quicker than you want.”
On what he’s seen from Felix Okpara the last few games
“I thought he was really good the other night. I did. I thought he did some really good things, and I thought defensively he was good. I thought he got called for a foul that, a couple that weren’t there. But he’s the one guy that I thought really played well at Missouri.”
On why they have had the defensive success that they have against Alabama the last few years
“I don’t know. I mean, one is probably just sheer respect, knowing that they’ve got the ability to put up a 115, 117 points on you. If you don’t guard, they can embarrass you quickly. And so you better be on high alert, or believe me, they can shoot it deep as anybody that you’ll play against. And that’s what they do.”
