Vols head basketball coach Rick Barnes met with the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview Tennessee’s appearance in this weekend’s SEC Tournament. Tennessee will play 5-seed Florida at 2:30 p.m. ET on Friday afternoon.
Barnes discussed what it would mean to win the SEC Tournament, if his players realize what time of year it is, how the SEC Tournament can carry them into the NCAA Tournament, if he believes John Fulkerson’s performance against Florida last Sunday is a sign of things to come and much more. Here’s everything Barnes had to say:
On what it would mean to win the SEC Tournament:
“I think any time you can win a championship it means a lot. I think it sets teams apart. People recognize champions. As time goes by, they’ll bring back champions. To say championships aren’t important is not truthful, because the fact is, everybody wants to win a championship.”
On how the SEC Tournament can carry them into the NCAA Tournament:
“Once you get through the SEC tournament, then you’ll be going through a whole different tournament. You play on Sunday then turn around and play on Thursday — all those types of situations. I don’t know if there’s just one way to answer that, because sometimes you can say we benefitted from it, and other times you can say it wasn’t good. I remember the year we won the Big East championship at Providence. We came back and had to play on Thursday, and our guys were still in a celebration mood. The key is you’ve got to go one game at a time, and you’ve got to enjoy it, but if you don’t you’ve just got to get on to the next one. Your preparation is everything, but it’s not just physical preparation; it’s mental preparation.”
On if he thinks John Fulkerson’s performance against Florida is a sign of things to come:
“You hope. I feel like there were times this year where John had done some things in a game and it would get him going, but he still struggled at times with it. I thought most of the time when he struggled it was due to stamina. Being optimistic and positive, I hope it does. Nobody is pulling for him harder to carry over what he did Sunday than all of us who are involved with him. We want to see him do that, because we think he deserves it, but he’s going to have to do it.”
On preparing for the SEC Tournament without knowing who they’ll play on Friday:
“We don’t know who we’re going to play and we’re not going to speculate who we’re going to play, but in terms of getting ready we’ll practice today, we’ll have 30 minutes optional early in the morning for guys that want to get up and go shoot. It’ll be about our fundamentals. There are areas where we know that we have to get better that we’re going to see no matter who we play. Whether it be dribble hand-offs, ball screen defense, or post defense. So many teams do so much of the same types of things. We’ll work on the fundamentals that we feel that we need to continue to get better with.”
On the SEC Tournament being cancelled a year ago:
“It’s coming up on almost a year to the day. When we were walking into the arena and getting ready, I remember in the middle of an interview they came up and said the game had been canceled. The whole thing was surreal leading up to that, because it goes back to what happened in an NBA game where one of the referees tested positive. From that time on, I think that’s when a lot of people started asking are we safe, can we do this, should we be doing this? Then, games started being canceled. The most surreal part of it is we’re here a year later. In some ways it’s like it’s been forever. I think it’s been a long, trying year for everybody.
“Now that we’re here, you’re like has it really been a year? I know the players have enjoyed it as much as they possibly can — the fact that they got to do what they love doing. I think they would tell you that it’s been harder on them than any other time in their basketball careers. When you saw that games were being canceled, it was in your mind; are we going to get to play? There’s so many of those little things that went on in your mind when you were preparing. We all know that we’re not out of the woods.”
On playing one game over the last two weeks:
“I do think the week off helped us. We played hard Sunday. We were emotional. Once we settled in, we played 25 good minutes. I’m not saying we didn’t play well to start with, but we had the tempo going, we had shots that we didn’t knock down. I do like the fact that it’s allowed us to get healthy. It’s allowed John Fulkerson to get a little more rest. It’s allowed him to get his hand right—his shoulder right. Maybe for younger guys it’s probably been good mentally. This time of year, young guys have played more and done more than they’ve ever done. I’d like to think we could go to Nashville and play for a championship and get back into that rhythm. Overall, I do think this time has helped us.”
On Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer’s development throughout the season:
“They have made a lot of progress, and they’ve had to do it at times where we’ve been struggling. They didn’t get a typical offseason. Just like all freshmen coming into college basketball, it hasn’t been the normal year for them. That was a major disadvantage for all freshmen coming in. They have done everything that we’ve asked them to do. They’ve had to learn multiple positions probably for the first time in their careers. They’ve been asked to do a lot more from a thinking the game aspect as opposed to just using their abilities to overpower people. We’ve enjoyed coaching them, because they’re competitive. They want to win. They have dealt with the ups and downs of what I think college freshman can go through. Right now, more than ever, I hope that they can just put it all together for themselves and for us. We have high expectations. They have high expectations. Overall, I think they’ve been terrific.”
On COVID-19 protocols now that they’re in the postseason:
“Normally, we’ve been able to schedule our off-site practices. We’re not allowed to do that. We use that optional shooting time early in the morning in the arena and then we go to Memorial (Gymnasium). In the past, we would schedule at Lipscomb or Belmont and go at the times we wanted to go. This time of year, it’s tough to stay in hotels, but that’s what we’re going to be mandated to do. The other thing that’s different is the fan’s that come around. That’s going to be much different. In terms of the way we have gone about our business dealing with COVID protocol, the only thing that’s different is we’re getting tested every day.”
On if Tennessee will travel straight to Indianapolis for the NCAA Tournament following the SEC Tournament:
“We don’t know yet, I don’t think we’ll make a decision until we see how things play out.”
On if he thinks tournament play is in favor of his basketball team:
“I do. We’ve seen enough different styles of basketball and with what we’re going to see, I would like to think that we’re ready for it. I know our guys have given us everything they have, I do know that. Like I said, we’ve seen different styles in the league, and different ways that people play, but I don’t think that now of anyone to show us something we aren’t ready for, because in my mind when we think about this time of year, we go back and think about every possible situation. Whether you’re up in the game trying to get after them that way, or playing against a team that’s going to continually try to pressure you. It’s teams that play a three-quarter court, types of zone presses, or zones. With all that stuff in your mind, you want your guys to be prepared for all of that. Like today, those are all the things we’ll be working on along with our own stuff. All of the fundamentals, not just defensively, but offensively, and know that whatever someone throws at us, we’ve got something for it. Special situations and all those types of things getting down to the end, when you know you’re going to be in possession of the game if both teams are playing and it’s going to be a close possession game, you have to be able to execute in those special situations.”
On how important it is to play the SEC Tournament:
“I think it’s really important, I do. I think it’s been great for our student-athletes to have a season, even though some are different than others. Again, I’ll go back and tell you, over Christmas when we talked about — and the first time I’ve been in charge of making decisions about people going home for Christmas, this is the first time we’ve never done that. Before I did it, I talked to some parents, and certainly wanted to hear their opinion. Coaches talked to parents, and one thing with family’s said is, ‘We don’t want to do anything to jeopardize our sons with playing the game they love.’ So, if they had to come there, they’d come there. Whatever it is, we want to do that, because we know how much this game means to them, and we want to see them doing what they love. So, I think that tells you how much it means, not only to our players and players around the country, but parents see it, and they know this is what their kids love to do and the fact that we’ve been able to get it in.
“You go back to where it started with football or baseball, you knew there was going to be stoppages. And when you think about it, the majority of teams have been able to get 20-plus games in, which I think anyone involved with the NCAA and the tournament would say if they can get 20-to-22 games in, as a majority, we’ll be able to put together a really good postseason tournament. We’ve gotten to that point to where people know that you can see the excitement when you watch these mid-level teams that have are one-bid conferences that win, and the excitement, whether it’s the fans or not, it’s neat watching players doing the snow angel with the confetti. So, if you don’t think it means a lot, all you have to do is watch that, and know what it means to players.”
On Vols senior forward Yves Pons being named to the SEC All-Defensive team for the second time:
“Well, it means a lot, because he knows that he is gifted and he’s able to do that. We go into every game knowing that if some player gets going, post guy or perimeter player, we will have to use Yves, even though when you take him away from the basket, it takes away what he loves to do, and that’s blocking shots. The fact that you have a guy like Yves, who has the mindset and the love to go out and try to defend the other teams’ best player, block shots, rebound, and I think he’s done a great job rebounding the ball for us. If we can keep him active like that, and make plays like that on the defensive end, that’s when I think he’s also best on the offensive end, when he’s playing at a high level defensively. But I think it’s a great honor for Yves, to have people to recognize something that he is very good at.”
On if the NCAA selection committee has a tougher job this year:
“I don’t know how much they are getting to use the formulas they’ve used in the past, and I don’t. It’s something that when Mitch Barnhart comes out and talks about the field, he’ll explain the different things they’ll have to do. Knowing Mitch and his diligence and the committee’s due diligence, there’s no doubt they’ve done their due diligence in terms of trying to get the very best teams and looking at it being fair as they possibly can be and taking the information they have.
“Would you say it’s more difficult? I don’t think there’s any question it’s more difficult, because everyone is not playing the same amount of games and everyone in conference play has had to play different ways to get to their conference tournaments, and every league has had to adjust some way or somehow. I go back — with that committee, it’s a hard job, but it’s easy with the automatic bids obviously, but when you get down to the at-large, every year there’s a lot of thought that goes into it. I would imagine this year it will be more difficult than it’s been in the past, even though I think it’s difficult every year, it’s more difficult this year.”
On if fatigue from COVID has affected players:
“I do, I don’t think there’s any question. I’ve seen it, and I’ve talked to a number of coaches around the country to find out how they’ve dealt with stuff, and I don’t think there’s any question that it’s not only affected our players, but other players as well.”
On how many positive teaching points there were in the Florida tape:
“That’s a good observation, and I think there’s a lot of good things we can take from the Florida game on both ends. I do. When you go back after each game and watch it, there’s obviously things you can take from it, but what we always say, ‘You’re never as good as think you are, and never as bad as you think you are.’ But knowing as good as you were, and as much as you might think you are, you have to have the mindset to get better. We’ll always go back to fundamentals, and I go back to every game effort wise, I don’t think there’s been a game where our guys haven’t wanted to play hard and haven’t tried to play hard. Have there been games when they’ve been more locked in mentally? Absolutely. We’ve tried to analyze that in many ways as we can in terms of did we do too much? Or not enough? And all kinds of things that go through your mind when you’re not as consistent as you want to be.
“As much as second arm chair quarterbacks’ question to what’s happening, nobody’s going to do it more than the coaching staff. I’ve always believed the best leaders are the ones that have great leaders with them. I go back to our staff, I’ve got a staff that is willing to voice their opinion, which is very important. So, we’re constantly analyzing and looking at it, but what we don’t want to do is try to fill our players up to where they become too analytical and not playing off instincts. So, I think there are much more good things we can take from our game against Florida on both ends.”
On being able to score efficiently against Florida despite not shooting the ball well:
“I think the key is to execute and guys should take shots that they should take within the offense. When guys force shots, we had high numbers of turnovers. We want guys to shoot the ball. We want guys to play to their strengths, whether that’s shooting a wide-open three or taking a one-dribble pull-up. 95 percent of the time when we turn the ball over, it would not have happened if somebody took a shot they weren’t supposed to. All we can do is keep encouraging guys to shoot the ball because I have played the game, I know what it’s like to not make a shot. We keep telling our guys to get it up there on the rim because it gives other guys a chance to do what they do best.”
On the SEC Tournament not being in front of a full crowd:
“It will be business as usual. It’s going to be different because of the fans that are there. It will be divided into an almost even number of fans rooting for each team and that will be different for us because some schools have more fans there than others. A divided crowd will be something we haven’t been up against yet this season because away fans haven’t been at as many road games this year.”
On Tennessee’s mindset going into the SEC Tournament:
“Players know that it’s time to buckle down. They’re excited and with the weather being nice, it allows them to get out more but they know it’s tournament time. In some ways, everyone has to hit the reset button. Look at Appalachian State who lost six out of seven games before the conference tournament started, then got an automatic bid. That’s what makes tournament time special, we’ve lived it and seen those types of things happen and those things can happen anywhere at any time.
On what a good coaching staff can mean this time of year:
“They do and they’re already scouting our future opponents; looking at the bracket and seeing who we could potentially play. We will go there knowing all of our possible opponents and how they play but we don’t want to overload the guys. We should be able to say to them during a game and say we need to change our ball-screen coverage, here’s what we need to do. There’s going to be a lot of game prep in a ballroom of a hotel and that’s how we’re going to prep for the tournament. That’s where having a great staff comes into play where they can help prep for the games anywhere and they also know how to get the kids excited and ready to play.”
On if Tennessee is good to go from a COVID standpoint for the SEC Tournament:
“Everything has gone well up to this point but you look around and see what happened at Kansas who lost two guys to screening. To sit here and say that I’m not concerned would be a lie because every morning you’re just waiting for that test to come back and be negative.”
