Tennessee basketball guard Dai Dai Ames met with the local media on Tuesday in his first media availability since arriving in Knoxville.
Ames discussed his early impressions of his teammates, Rick Barnes and much more. Here’s everything Ames said.
More From RTI: Everything Notre Dame Transfer Jalen Haralson Said About Signing With Tennessee Basketball
On being at Virginia for the 2024-25 season when Tony Bennett retired suddenly, what he learned during that time
“Really, just staying locked in. Regardless of what happened, just staying in the gym and putting in the work, only controlling what I can control.”
On his first impressions of the 2026-27 Tennessee basketball team
“We play real hard. These couple practices we’ve been practicing so hard, man. Everybody can defend, score, so it’s a good group.”
On his relationship with Tennessee assistant coach Amorrow Morgan
“He’s been recruiting me since high school. He wanted me at Cal when he was at Cal, then he wanted me at Tennessee when he was at Tennessee, and I chose to stick with him.”
On how much it helped to know someone when Tennessee reached out
“It helped a lot, just by knowing familiar faces, knowing what I’m getting myself into.”
On how much Chicago influence this Tennessee basketball team will have since it has three players from Chicago in himself, Miles Rubin and Marquis Clark
“A lot. It’s three of us from Chicago. You know, we finna bring that toughness out of everybody, so it’s gonna be good.”
On his relationship with Rick Barnes
“Me and Coach Barnes got a great relationship. He pushed me every time I’m on the court, even if I’m doing a little thing wrong. That’s a big detail for him.”
On how much he has looked to Dewayne Brown and Troy Henderson for leadership because they are the only returning players
“They really know a lot about this program. They’ve been helping the whole team (with) the new transfers just getting used to everything that’s going on. They’ve been a good piece.”
On what it’s been like to play in the backcourt with VCU transfer guard Terrence Hill Jr.
“Couple practices we’ve been playing against each other, but last practice we actually played with each other, and we was clicking quick.”
On what it’s like to compete against Terrence Hill
“It’s real fun, you know? We just push each other every practice to get each other better and that’s the point.”
On why he likes having the basketball in his hands at the end of games
“Growing up, I always played one-on-one basketball, so when the clock’s going down and we need a bucket, that’s just what I do.”
On why he felt comfortable committing to Tennessee so quickly during the transfer process
“Really, just the past history, they win. I want to be a part of a winning program and a great coach, which is Rick Barnes. So that made me make my decision quickly.”
On what he noticed about Tennessee in the past
“Very good program, you know? Coach (coaches) every player hard, every player the same way, and that’s the type program I want to be a part of.”
On the biggest points of emphasis in his game this offseason
“Really, just making point-guard reads better, being more of a knockdown shooter. I’m good at it, but I want to be great at it. Just making everything polished in my game.”
On if he thinks he’s a combo-guard in Tennessee’s offense
“Yeah, I could be a combo-guard and a point guard. I could really be (whoever) Coach Barnes wants me to be.”
On if he’s been working on or off the ball more
“Nah, I’ve been (working at) both of them the same (amount).”
On if any teammates have specifically stood out to him
“Really everybody, but me personally, I played against Juke. I played against Juke. He had 30. I had 30 on him. So me just being able to practice with him and see how he practiced, it was good to see that.”
On if Jalen Haralson often talks about Dai Dai’s four-point play to beat Cal
“Yeah, we be talking about that a lot, for sure.”
On his relationship with Haralson
“Really just us getting through everything together. You know, we both new to this. So us just sticking together through everything.”
On what he remembers about playing against Haralson
“Oh, just killing him for real.”
On what Haralson will bring to the team
“Playing real hard. Great footwork in the paint. He’s an incredible finisher. Last time, he probably hit like 10 layups, just off playing off two (feet), pivoting, just scoring.”
On if he reminds Haralson of his shot
“Nah I didn’t even. He mostly did.”
On if he reminds him of that game
“For sure. We talked about it a few times.”
On if any leaders are emerging
“I would say DeWayne because he’s a returner and he knows everything that’s going on. So him and Troy. They’ve been helping us a lot.”
On what stands out the most about this roster
“I’m just ready to scrimmage, to play with the guys. It’s cool going against each other and stuff, but I want to see how we’re going battle against other players, other teams.”
On if a brotherhood has formed early in June
“Yeah, for sure. I’ve seen that the first day with everybody laughing, communicating with each other. It’s a good brotherhood going on.”
On how special that is
“It’s real special. I feel like we can do some real special things here for sure.”
On what’s impressed him about Marquis Clark
“Just a dog. We both come from Chicago. He got that grit like I got. He remind me of myself a little bit when I was a freshman.”
On what he’s going to teach the team about Chicago basketball
“We got to be on the court and play tough every time we step on the court. We can’t back down from nobody, you got to be the toughest team on the court.”
On if there was a specific conversation with Rick Barnes that made him want to commit quickly
“Really just his knowledge about what it takes to be at the next level. He’s not letting nobody BS on the floor. He always keeping it 100% with people.”
