Notre Dame transfer wing Jalen Haralson met with the local media in Knoxville Tuesday with Tennessee basketball’s summer practices getting underway last week. It’s a completely new look Tennessee team with an abundance of talent as the Vols look to get over the hump after three straight trips to the Elite Eight.
Meeting with the media Tuesday, Haralson discussed choosing Tennessee out of the transfer portal, his initial impressions of the Vols’ roster and much more. Here’s everything Haralson said.
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On his first impressions of the 2026-27 Tennessee basketball team
“We got some guys. All these guys I’m familiar with. I either played (against) them throughout this college scene or in high school scene. Me and Juke Harris, we share the same agent, so I’m familiar with him. These guys can hoop, we’re real competitive. We got some players and guys that want to be coached.”
On how he believes the team is coming together in the early weeks of summer practice
“We’re still trying to. We got some ways to go, but like I said, these guys want to be coached. We all came here for the same reason: we want to play professionally, we want to be coached hard and we want to win. I think everybody has the same collective goal to get better and win. It’ll all come together.”
On if any leaders are starting to emerge early in summer practice
“It’s early. I think everybody wants to be a leader, but that’s a tough thing to do. You got to kind of be the outspoken guy in the group. I think we’re still looking for that guy.”
On the parts of his game he’s focusing on this offseason
“Obviously continuing to get better with the three-point line and the mid-range area, but also just improving my body defensively, being better on the rebounding end, so really all parts of my game. Some areas that I feel that I have a lot of growth so far, but still some time left in the offseason to get a lot better at.”
On why he committed to Tennessee out of the transfer portal
“This was the only school I visited in the transfer portal, so as soon as I stepped on campus, it felt like home with the coaching staff. They were real direct with me. I feel like this was the best staff to push me to get to my ultimate goal, and I love Knoxville, it’s a smooth area, not a lot going on. The students aren’t here yet, so I’m excited to see what it’s like in the fall.”
On his relationship with Rick Barnes
“I love Coach Barnes. He’s real direct, but he wants to push you. He wants you to get to your goal and I trust him with my game. It’s some days it’s like this guy’s relentless, but that’s what I signed up for.”
On if Rick Barnes has come down hard on him in practice yet
“I think everybody has, not just me. Like I said, he’s relentless. He wants you to get better and he’s not gonna let you slack. Not just me. He (doesn’t) single nobody out. It’s all from a place of love, but, like I said, I signed up for that. I knew that coming in, and I feel like it’s gonna help me with my game.”
On what excites him the most about Tennessee’s roster
“Just the versatility, like you got guys that can do a lot of different things on this team, guys that want to win. I think that’s the main thing, like being around these guys, that’s my first impression. These guys just really want to win, and we really want to get to our goal, and we all push each other in the weight room, off the court, on the court, and it’s impressive.”
On why he felt Tennessee’s coaching staff was the best for him in the portal
“They didn’t sugarcoat things with me. They told me things (that) I need to work on, and they showed me a plan of how we’re going to get there. That was impressive, like being on the visit, they told me I had a good year last year, but I left a lot of food on the table. I got a lot of things to get better at, and like this is how they’re going to get me to that point. I like that.”
On leaning on Troy Henderson and DeWayne Brown about hard coaching
“That’s a good question. I mean, those guys have been around him, for you they’re not juniors or seniors or anything, but they’re the veterans of the group. So every time Coach Barnes gets on us, those guys usually come to us, like, ‘yo, it’s okay. Like, that’s how it is.’ You kind of lean on those guys through tough moments because they’ve been here, and they kind of seen the way.”
On areas Coach Barnes has emphasized for improvement that he didn’t know he needed to improve
“Yeah, that’s a good question. I think the defensive end, like, I left a lot of food on the table on that end. But I was a high usage player last year. I had 33% usage rate. And obviously it won’t be that this year. That was kind of crazy. But like, being a two-way player and really selling out on the defensive end. And I think like shooting the ball, being comfortable taking open shots, even if it’s halfway open because we’re going to offensive rebound a lot here. So you can’t offensive rebound turnovers. If you don’t take a shot you can’t offensive rebound. So there’s a lot of things that he’s said I need to work on. Conditioning, all those things. They showed me a plan how of how they’re going to get me there.”
On if Coach Barnes has talked to him about a specific role
“I may just be a basketball player, no specific role. I’m kind of the way the game is going, you just got to play. And that’s like, if you watch our practices like kind of what he emphasizes, like, just play basketball, man, at this point, I’ve gotten to this point being a good basketball player, so there’s no need to overthink things at University of Tennessee.”
On if he’s made any tweaks to his shot
“Not really. My shot, I mean, it’s nothing wrong mechanically. Just being more comfortable shooting the ball and getting to my spots, mid ranges. I think in the mid range, kind of getting higher release, but I mean nothing really much.”
On if he talked to Juke Harris much during his recruitment
“Yeah, I kind of stayed distant, like, he was going through the draft process too. So I kind of didn’t want to be in his ear because obviously, if he chose that route, then that’s best for him. But then once I figured it out that he was coming back (to college) then I kind of got in his ear a little bit. I wanted him to come play with me. I wanted to team up with him.”
On what he knew about the program before coming here
“You kind of see the physicality, like, everybody talks about that. It’s a hard nose program. Like, these guys get coached hard. They win. So you see all those things, you know, coming into it. But, being a part of it, it means something.”
On why Tennessee was the only school he visited
“Well, with Ohio State and UNC, those were my top three. I’ve seen those schools throughout my high school process. And I hadn’t seen Tennessee throughout my high school process. So, I came here for a visit and I kind of just fell in love with it. I think I committed at the airport, called Coach Barnes and said, ‘coach, I’m coming, man.’”
On why he committed so quickly
“I just knew, I don’t want to waste my time. The portal, it’s different than high school recruiting. Like, once you kind of know, you kind of got to pull the plug on it. And I knew at the airport, I talked to my family, I was like, I want to come here.”
On coach Barnes’ reaction when he told him he was committing
“I think, he was with Terrence (Hill) at the time. And I told Terrence, I was like, ‘come on, bro, let’s do it.’ So no, he was happy. He called my family right away and was like, ‘your son is a good hands. I’m going to take care of him.’ So, that was good to see that.”
On who has caught his eye these first few weeks
“It just depends on the day. The freshmen are good. Like, Marquis Clark, Chris Washington, Manny (Green), Ralph (Scott). The freshmen are good. Obviously, Tennessee’s not the easiest place to be a freshman at. I think the portal guys – we kind of seen college basketball. We’ve seen the landscape of it. But they’re kind of going into it, not knowing anything. You’re going to be coached hard. So I think those guys lean on us like we lean on DeWayne Brown and Troy (Henderson). And then they lean on us because we’ve seen the ropes a little bit. So, you know, they have their days. Everybody have their days. I think we all got to be more consistent as a group.”
On who he had a hand in recruiting to Tennessee out of the portal
“That’s pretty much it. Dai Dai (Ames), he was here before I got here. And then I mean Braedan Lue, like all those guys, once they came, they committed. So, I didn’t really have a chance to talk to him.”
On why was it important for you to encourage the other two guys to come in
“I knew Juke (Harris) and Terrence (Hill) I was familiar with him. I watched him a little bit in the tournament and I was impressed with his game. All those guys, just talking to them like before they even got here. Those guys just want to win. They want to get better. And I knew Juke. But like Terrence, just learning him. He’s real competitive. So, those guys you just want to play with. Those guys you want to compete against every day. And I think those guys sort of really enhance my game. Guarding them every day. Guarding Juke Harris. Juke guarding me. We’re all going to get better from that.”
On how he thinks the class can mesh with lesser offensive roles than they had at previous schools
“I think we all knew that coming in. You got to sacrifice to get to where you want to go. Everybody kind of had a different role than they would have. We’re all still good basketball players, but we got to kind of buy into a role. Everybody can’t score 20 points a game, we know that. But finding other ways to impact winning, and that’s the main thing. There’s only one ball and we know that. And everybody is gonna have their different nights. Some games, I might score 25. Some games, Juke (Harris) might score 30. Really doesn’t matter. As long as we win, I think we all win at the end of the day.”
On his impression of Dai Dai Ames and if he played against him last year
“Oh my goodness, I did. He had a crazy shot against us (on a) four-point play. When Dai Dai committed, I texted him, I was like, ‘bro, let’s hit four-point game winners together.’”
On if he got fouled on that play and if it was a good call
“Debatable. I don’t know if I will get fined (jokes).
“But no, he’s a fun player to play against. He’s fun to be around. He’s a winner. He’s experienced. He’s a really experienced guy – a real seasoned guy. So, he kind of knows the landscape of the bit. I’m a sophomore, just turned 19, so I don’t know a lot. Last year was my first year. I had a lot of experience there, but, that’s a guy that’s been through it. It’s lean on him through the tough times, too. He’s a guy that’s outspoken. He encourages guys, too. So, I love Dai Dai. He’s a hooper too.”
On how much he has played against some of the other guys who are now his teammates
“I played against Terrence in EYBL. Juke (Harris), I’ve played in so many tournaments and stuff. I probably played every single one of these guys. These guys can go. I’m excited. I’m excited to play with them for sure.”
