Tennessee basketball Director of Sports Performance Garrett Medenwald met with the local media earlier this week as Volunteer players returned from the Fourth of July break to begin the fifth week of summer practices.
The new look Tennessee team presents a new challenge for Medenwald who is learning a new set of players and trying to help them build chemistry and gel this summer.
Meeting with the media, Medenwald discussed building team chemistry, traveling to New York for the NBA Draft with Nate Ament and much more. Here’s everything Medenwald said.
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On his first impressions of the new team
“You know, what’s been amazing is first and foremost getting everybody here in Knoxville, and you’re going through a couple things of what we want to accomplish as a team. So, number one, team chemistry – every team that we’ve had here that’s been successful, they talk about how important the locker room is to each other, and so finding ways to make sure the team chemistry grows, number one. Number two is player driven accountability. The best thing that when teams take ownership, those are the most successful teams, and that’s not teams, that’s businesses, that’s everybody. And so teaching the guys what player driven accountability looks like, and then the fun part about these guys is teaching what success looks like and what hard looks like, because I don’t care what you’re doing in life, when it comes to successful things, you got to do hard things, and so learning that mentality over and over every single day, it’s been a lot of fun to watch these guys grow.”
On how much time it takes to learn player’s personalities, what drives them
“So, the first thing is, it starts with the person individually, that’s the number one thing, and so the first thing we do is we sit down, we have a conversation. We’ll sit in the office and talk and just learn more about each other, that’s the first part. So you have to understand the individual. Then the second part of what you’re talking about, of getting to know each other, is then putting in time together, and so that’s the best part about what we get to do. I get to see these guys a bunch. And so the time that we get to spend with each other, you learn so much about them and what their goals are and what their team mentality is, and that’s the best part, is watching them grow throughout the course of their time here, and it’s been fun to watch that so far.”
On how much his job changes with not having guys for three-four years
“I don’t see it as a change, because at the end of the day, our job is to find the most efficient and effective way to help these guys get better, and so what it does is it’s a great challenge, and I enjoy the challenge, truth be known. And so the ability to take and find the most efficient way to streamline their success and what they need to be successful, that’s conversation with Coach (Barnes), the coaches, everybody on staff, and trying to figure out what they need to be successful, then putting together a program or plan in order to execute that, then tracking progress, seeing how it’s responding, making adjustments to it, and then obviously behavioral things are the most important. What do the habits look like every single day? Because you are what you do every day.”
On getting Tennessee’s freshmen ready for a college basketball season
“Yeah, so I think it really depends on the individual and what their environment’s been, what their background has been. Every individual is different. And so I think it’s more so just seeing where they’re at at that moment, and then finding how to accelerate their process in order to get them up to speed. Or if they’re up to speed, what do they need to be successful in order to create success for them on the court and for us as a team. So it’s really individualized. I can go through my time here, it’s been different for every freshman, and that’s true about every player. And so that’s the fun part about what I get to do is, 16 different guys, and I have the opportunity to really see what each individual needs and be able to streamline that process with what Coach wants to accomplish.”
On going to New York to see Nate Ament be selected in the NBA Draft
“I was up there and it was incredible to know what went through the process for him to be able to get to the opportunity to be drafted. And what he did every single day, and the hard work he put in, it’s a testament to him. And to watch the ups and downs, and how he did it throughout the course of the season, be able to hand that physically, mentally, emotionally, it’s really special. And then to see his family. And his journey is just beginning, that’s the other thing, like, yes, everybody thinks getting drafted, it’s like the night of your life, but really it’s just the start of the journey. And so just being that reminder of, hey, your journey is just beginning now, the fun begins. So this is this is a process that you, can be excited, you can enjoy for the night, but it’s time to get back to work tomorrow, man.”
On how much work Nate Ament had to put in to play for Tennessee late last season, while battling ankle and knee injuries
“I mean, he was going minimum six to eight hours a day. It was incredible. His mindset was incredible. And that’s a testament to him. Because I don’t know how many other players would have fought the way he did to try to get back. Because being with the team, playing with the team, meant so much to him.”
On the player who have been vocal leaders for this new-look Tennessee team this summer
“So, if you ask the guys, they’ll tell you a couple names. Dwayne Brown has been really vocal this summer, so really proud of him taking the process and step up in that regard. Terrence Hill has been vocal on the court and in the weight room. So, those would be the two main guys that guys have brought up to me so far.”
On how much of a difference that role is for Dewayne Brown as a sophomore, compared to his freshman season
“Well, if you think about roles and capacity of guys coming back, he’s probably the most experienced person coming back. So, if you’ve been through it, you have the opportunity to provide insights to other guys, and additionally, what’s been great is we. Had a lot of our pros back to come in and train and work out and do all those things, Dalton (Knecht), Keon (Johnson), Jordan Bowden, Jordan (Gainey), you can name them, Zakai Zeigler. And so the neat part about that is we learn through stories, and so for them to be able to get in front of the guys and tell them the stories about what they went through, or what to expect, or what the locker room needs to feel like, those are the best things that we can give to the guys from older players that have gone through it and had success. And so it’s been really amazing to have those guys back, and it’s really testament to them to want to be around and what it means to be a VFL for those guys, and how important it is to them to give back as well.”
On the biggest challenge with Tennessee’s group of newcomers this offseason
“So with this group, because there’s so many people coming from different places, instead of being able to kind of hit the ground running with a lot of stuff, it’s been a lot more of what I would call loaded movement stuff. So a lot of movement stuff out of different positions, teaching the biomechanics of efficient movement, which is also going to aid to their health long term. Now we went from that accumulation phase, where you kind of put on some mass and hypertrophy, into a rate-coding phase, which is where you’re taking that mass and hypertrophy gained, and making it explosive. So we started out with a lot of eccentrics and different things in different positions to help them feel where the foot pressure needs to be, and different biomechanical angles, so they can create force and move more efficiently. Now we’re taking, putting that with speed and intent right now, so it’s going to be fun to see what happens throughout the back half of the summer.”
On how the former players that come back to be around the team help him with the newcomers
“Number one, it’s awesome to have them back. Like the energy they bring coming back is just phenomenal, and they obviously love being around this place, and they feel like it’s home to them because of their time here, and Vol Nation is so incredible. So that’s the first thing that I take away, is just how lucky we are to be a part of a program like this.
“When it comes to the guys, every individual that they talk to is going to be different based on what they’re going through at that moment, but I think the biggest thing is, we talked about doing hard things and going through hard stuff. Every one of those dudes went through it, so to help everybody understand, it’s like all in our lives we think about, ‘man, I’m the only person going through this right now.’ Well, there’s millions of people going through what we’ve gone through, and so to be able to give that perspective, it also helps change a perspective and a mindset for them. So those are the biggest things that they provide, that is just phenomenal. And also telling them, ‘you want to be a pro? This is what it looks like. This is how hard it is. This is what you have to do daily.’ And so, at the end of the day, teaching them what a pro looks like.”
On if he was pleased with where the team was at when they returned from their break for the Fourth of July
“Yeah, it’s amazing. The guys, they do a phenomenal job when they’re at home. Obviously, you know, being disciplined when you’re away, or wherever you are, it’s a habit for success. So made sure to hit that point home before the guys took off, ‘Hey, this is what you need to execute when you’re at home,’ and obviously them doing it and communicating, it’s amazing. I love that process.”
On how different Wake Forest transfer guard Juke Harris looks now compared to when Tennessee recruited him coming out of high school
“Yeah, so physically, from his frame, he’s done a good job the first four weeks of the summer. It’s been fun watching his biomechanics improve. We’ve been working on some specific stuff with him, and so it’s been fun watching his process, and the engagement, and the buy-in to everything. It’s been really fun to watch him. I’m excited to see what it looks like down the course of the road leading into the season and throughout the course of the season.”
