Vols assistant basketball coach Desmond Oliver met with the media on Thursday afternoon to preview Friday night’s game against Tennessee Tech.
Oliver discussed the matchup against the Golden Eagles, what he’s learned about the team over the first couple games of the season, why Tennessee’s five-stars are so unselfish, improvements the team has made in practice and the team’s chemistry.
Here’s everything Oliver said about Tennessee’s game against Tennessee Tech:
On Friday night’s matchup against Tennessee Tech:
“Tennessee Tech is a team right now that we are still trying to figure out, because their roster hasn’t been complete most of the season. They have played four or five games with some key guys that were missing, so their record is a bit deceiving. They are a lot better than what their record indicates. Their top two players just came back a game or two ago and they are night and day different as a team. They are more explosive, they score better, they are more athletic. We are expecting those guys to be a lot like App State in a sense that they are coming in with some confidence. They are going to be aggressive and we have to guard really good drivers and guys who can score the basketball.”
His takeaways from the first three games of the season:
“Yeah, first couple games, certainly are unique with COVID-19 and missing practices and trying to figure out how to keep your guys fresh and skilled and making plays. It has been different; everything has been different. The first game against Colorado with no fans, you come out and you really get a taste of it. It is one thing watching it on TV but, when you come out, it has more of a scrimmage feel to it, which our guys are not used to. One thing that separates us from most universities is, when you are in Thompson-Boling, for any game, the atmosphere is unique, the energy level is exciting, and sometimes when you need that extra burst of energy, our fans always give it to us. I think trying to adjust to that is as important as any opponent. Adjusting to the fact that our fan base is not going to be there, and we just have to find ways to continue to bring our own energy.”
On where Tennessee needs to improve most moving forward before SEC plays:
“You know what, I think we’re all learning something different every day about our guys. Certainly, our defensive ability to guard the ball, our ability to make plays off the ball. This could be the best defensive team that we have certainly had here at Tennessee and one of the best maybe in the country in a long time, if these young guys continue to get better and we can continue to improve and do the same thing in the SEC conference when our conference games come. We are athletic, we can switch one through five. I think John Fulkerson has gone from a guy that we were worried about a couple of years ago maybe switching onto a quicker guard to a guy that can handle his own against one through five on the court. Our ball screen defense can shift and do different things. That has been the biggest surprise is how quickly we have emerged defensively. I think the offense is going to come. I think as we get comfortable, as guys are back to their normal routines, getting into gym and getting shots up, you’ll start to see offensive scorers really find their niche and find their shots that they should take into our offense.”
On how the roster changes because Tennessee has multiple guys who can create shots:
“It changes because your team changes. Even though the majority of our team from last year came back. The reality is, every time you start a new season, if you do add one more piece, it’s a different team. They are running some different stuff, different sets, the vibe is different, your leads are different. I think with adding those freshmen and adding our transfers; our team is different. We are still trying to figure out who we are. It has happened for years with Coach Barnes. Coach Barnes is one of the best in the country at helping people figure out their roles. It truly is that you are going to create your role by how you play in practice. Our better scores are going to figure out that they’ve earned the right to take more shots and the guys who might not be scoring or realize that they’re defenders and rebounders and they’ll get their shots in the offense and by maybe game seven or eight or nine you really start to get a feel for who our top three or four offensive players are going to be.”
On how Tennessee has improved its zone defense and rebounding in practice:
“Well, we really worked on it. Part of it is getting into the gym and working on your transition game and trying to get some easy baskets. As a staff, we talk about the fact that this team could be the best defensive team and country and we should be based on how athletic we are. We should be the most exciting transition team that there is. Get a stop and throw lobs, get a stop and pinch down the court to our wings and feed the post. I think we are starting to figure that out. I think as our rotations start to get shored up a little bit more, you will start to see a lot more offensive clicking. It is all about role definition. If I do not know if I am a guy that should be shooting that quick three, then there is some grey area. I think the first couple games against high-quality opponents like Colorado and Cincinnati, when they went zone against us and now on offense you cannot really run your system. That was a little bit of a challenge. Now we’re working our zone much more in practice and you’re starting to see how explosive our offense can become.”
On how impressive freshmen guards Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson have been on defense:
“They are different. They have always been guys—even in the recruiting process watching those kids play — we just felt like they were unique that it was not just about offense with them. Neither guy wants to be scored on and that is rare. Most high school players are caught up in getting their numbers and scoring their points. They can defend you, they can make you miss a shot. They do not want you to score and they want to dominate you on the offensive end. That is what made us want to recruit them. I am just surprised how early they picked up our system and became two of the better guys on our team at guarding the basketball. They came in with that ability from day one.”
On how Tennessee can improve its rebounding:
“We are coaching it as hard as we have coached it in a long time. Our frontline isn’t the typical frontline where we have a 7-footer or a 6′ 10 guy in the paint. John’s a bit of an undersized post player. Yves (Pons) is a combo forward, kind of a three or four player playing the post. We’re kind of undersized inside the paint. So, then you must do different things. You have to be tougher and more physical to do your job, so we’re coaching rebounding every single day in practice. If you don’t do it then we can’t play you as much. Then you add (Jaden) Springer and Keon Johnson, you add VJ Bailey, who is just a heck of an athlete. VJ may not have the size of Josiah and those guys but he gets off the ground like a rocket. So, adding athletes to the table and you’re talking about the fact that we weren’t a good team last year at rebounding the basketball and you put emphasis on it and guys are going to get better.”
On this team’s chemistry:
“I’ve been shocked by it. Against Cincinnati, coach subbed Josiah (Jordan James) and VJ out for Keon and Jaden. I know when I was playing there was no way as a starter that I could have gotten subbed out of a big game, late in the game and sat there and rooted for my teammates. I wasn’t mature enough. These guys are incredible. They are locked in as a unit. Josiah walked up to my chair and started coaching me on how to coach those two guys of how to help Santi play against a press late in the game. Clearly, they’re good kids. They’re mature. They came here for one reason and the reason is to win a lot of games and make our fan base proud. They’ve bought into that. We have five-star guys who don’t ever act like five-star guys. They act like they’re just regular guys who are just happy to have a scholarship at the University of Tennessee. They never talk about the NBA. It’s all about winning and getting better. I just hope that we continue to get lucky in recruiting. Because, sometimes it’s luck. You can talk to a kid every day and the kid arrives here and he’s someone different than you thought they were. Luckily, these guys have come in and they’re better than advertised as people. That’s what has really helped us, our team character.”
On how much the coaches will be able to learn about this team with three games in six days:
“I think it’s a great experience, because it gets you ready for postseason play. All of these opponents are different. Colorado is different than Cincinnati. Tennessee Tech is different than App State. When you make the dance and you go game-to-game. One game you’re playing a mid-major who might be a small driving team and matchups are different. The next game you might be playing a power five team that has size. It makes you think on the spot quickly, it makes you adapt, adjust and have quick turnarounds in your scouting report. I told our guys last night during the Tennessee Tech scout that as I was watching our guys, it reminded me of the Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield led team when they won the SEC Championship, in that every guy was locked in. I’m watching to see if there’s anyone dozing off, tired, or talking on the side and every guy was locked into every word coach Barnes was talking about in reference to our offense. Then, when I got an opportunity to speak about Tennessee Tech, every guy was locked in. That’s rare when you’re talking about a team coming off a 41-point win over App State to stay focused with such a short turnaround.”
On if you need to build a team for the postseason with a focus on defense:
“I do think to win a National Championship and to get to the Final Four, we have to be elite defensively. Our defense also has to create offense for our program. Defend, rebound, run, execute is going to be really, really big for us. I just hope that we don’t max out too early and look too good defensively early, run into a couple of juggernaut offensive teams who score a lot and then our guys lose confidence. What you want to have is a steady climb in how your teams are doing. In the first few games our offense sputtered and now we’re getting better. Our defense, I still think there’s a different level our defense can get too. Even if teams score more points and our numbers don’t indicate that we’re dominating teams on defense as much. I think our defense can get better in the sense of: we can guard the ball better one through five, we can dominate the glass better, our off-ball defense and our ability to guard the drive while not fouling. There are still areas we have to improve in and in the SEC there’s so many teams that can hurt you with different things. We have to be able to adjust when playing against teams like Kentucky who have size, Auburn who may have smaller guards who are quick and athletic, while making those adjustments within 24-48 hours.”
On the impact Rick Barnes has made on his coaching career:
“There’s no coach in the country that makes a bigger impact than coach Barnes. He’s pretty clear on what he wants. There’s no one more consistent on what he wants, how he wants it and when he wants it than coach. It’s really easy to understand your role as both an assistant coach and as a player. It’s pretty black and white and you know what? It works. When we talk about our buy-in and chemistry, I think it all starts from the top. When your head coach is as consistent as any head coach in the country it makes it easier for our guys and our staff to be the same way.”
On if Tennessee tries to identify selfless traits in players they are recruiting:
“I’m going to answer this as honestly as possible. No. In recruiting it’s hard to get involved with great players. It just is. There’s so many great programs and coaches out there, that what I try to do is to do a good job with our area. So, from four-and-a-half hours from our campus driving is to be involved in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. So, I can’t say that we can just pick and choose guys at that level. What we do is, we do pick and choose character. So, if I look at a kid and he’s a four or five-star good player and I just feel like he’s not going to fit our community, our campus and our staff, then I’m not going to recruit him no matter how good he is. If he’s in our back yard and he doesn’t fit, then I’m not going to recruit him. I found this out. The reason those guys who graduated and left were so good is because they fit. Even though on paper it’s hard to write a description of what’s going to fit every time, those guys fit because they bought in. Every guy bought in differently. Some guys came in bought in and for some guys it took some time. We’ve gotten lucky in a sense, but now we’re looking for a certain type of kid knowing that it’s hard to hand-pick it. A little bit of it is luck and a lot of it is research. Trying to recruit a lot of people. Get to know them and then gradually shrinking your list to a group of guys you feel like are going to get better. So much of what we do is about improving and getting better. As a coach, I feel like I’ve grown as a basketball coach more in the last six years being with coach Barnes—I’ve been a coach for 27 years, I think I’ve learned more in six years being with coach Barnes than in any other program I’ve been at combined in my career. So, imagine our players who come in from high school and are learning this for the first time at this level. Imagine the level of growth there. You have to accept that as a player. You have to want to get in the gym and work and watch film and video to improve and that’s where we’ve been lucky. Our best players have been the most coachable. So, now when you’re the best guy and you’re buying in to what we’re doing, the 13th guy and the 12th guy had better do it, because the first, second, third and fourth guys have bought in.”
