NFL 2022 Draft Preview: Who Are The Top-Rated QBs?
Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes met with the media Monday following a 2-0 week for Tennessee and ahead of a road test at Mississippi State.
Barnes press conference began with bad news as the Vols’ stated that power forward Olivier Nkamhoua will “likely” miss the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
Replacing the power forward is no easy task, but the Vols are turning to a trio of freshmen to bring consistency— particularly on the defensive end.
What that does is open up minutes that other people can grab and every guys is here because we recruited them to be here,” Barnes said. “Whoever gets those minutes will be the best defensive player or players. Olivier had really started doing good stuff there. Obviously his shot blocking gave us some rim protection. … We can swing Josiah to that spot a little bit more, but we’ll need some other guys. It’s a great opportunity for some guys and we’ll see who wants to capture it and go with it.”
The Vols have been leaning on their small-ball lineup more as of late and that trend will likely continue with Nkamhoua sidelined.
Tennessee’s weakened front court will immediately face a challenge at Mississippi State Wednesday night. Four of Mississippi State’s six “significant offensive contributors” are front court players including double-digit scorers Tolu Smith and Garrison Brooks.
Still, everything for Mississippi State’s strong offense runs through star point guard Iverson Molinar.
“Well first, Iverson Molinar is a candidate for SEC Player of the Year,” Barnes said. “I mean he’s phenomenal around the basket. You look at what he does around the rim, you have everything you can imagine a terrific guard would have. That’s the guy that’s getting game planned for every night and he still delivers.
Molinar leads Mississippi State with 18.2 points and four assists per game while shooting 49% from the field.
Barnes also discussed Kennedy Chandler’s defensive growth, Zakai Zeigler earning SEC Freshman of the Week honors and more.
