Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with the media on Thursday afternoon in Knoxville as he continues preparing his team for the start of the 2025-2026 season in November.
Barnes met with the media for nearly 15 minutes as he spoke about the new additions to the team, Nate Ament getting his body in shape, the new coaches on the staff, adjusting to the NIL landscape around the sport, Cade Phillips’ leadership, and much more.
“I think they have continued to work,” Barnes said about where his team is right now. “We have, obviously, once we got into official practice, (spent) a lot more time in the film room, where I think they see day by day where we are behind, where we need to get ahead. And I do like the response for the most part as a staff. We like that they try to respond to some of those things. But we’re looking for consistency every day from everyone. But overall, I think the work ethic has been good.”
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Check out Barnes’ full in-house media day press conference on Thursday afternoon in Knoxville below:
Tennessee HC Rick Barnes
