Tennessee basketball knocked off Florida on a snowy Knoxville evening, never trailing in an 85-66 victory over the Gators.
Dalton Knecht scored 35-plus points for the second straight game while Jonas Aidoo was also brilliant for Tennessee. Head coach Rick Barnes discussed the play of both players, his team’s selflessness and much more. Here’s everything Barnes said after the win.
More From RTI: Three Quick Takeaways As Tennessee Basketball Defeats Florida
On Dalton Knecht scoring 20 of Tennessee’s final 22 points in the first half and doing so all in the final seven minutes of the half
“That was pretty impressive. I thought his teammates started feeling it, too, that he knew that (Knecht) was in a little bit of, obviously, a good rhythm, a good place, and him trying to really get him the ball. And know that when he gets that look that he was going to go with it. And obviously we talked about it that last four minutes (of the first half) about, really, we didn’t close the first half at Georgia very well and (needed to do a) better job (against Florida). One reason we didn’t close it well at Georgia was we weren’t very good offensively, which led to not so good defensive possessions. But that was a good stretch for Dalton but also a good stretch for our team.”
On what he liked from Tennessee freshman forward JP Estrella in his minutes
“I thought his confidence looked good. And I think that happens when you’re doing what you’re supposed to do. I mean, he was really trying to work it, getting into his coverage with the ball screens and getting in a stance. And I think that when it goes back to preparation, doing your work, knowing it, when you’re called on, you’re going to be ready. And we’ve talked about what we need from him and if he’ll keep building, he can help us every game and he would, he will play every game. If he’ll come back, practice well Thursday, Friday, get ready for the game Saturday. And he gives us another big body and a guy that we think, I’m telling you, the guy can score the basketball and got good hands. But I thought today his confidence, I thought he looked good. I thought he looked like he truly belonged out there, but I will go back. It was his preparation, getting ready for the game.”
On Tennessee scoring 85 points but only getting seven points on two shots from Zakai Zeigler
“No, I’m not surprised. Because Zakai’s all about winning. And I think there are teams that probably come in the game thinking we want to make Zakai do everything. And I think that what you said, there are more than just one option, and we still haven’t got everybody playing at the level that we know we’ve seen them play at some point in time, as a matter of continuing to put it together. But Zakai is all about this team winning. Santi, Josiah, Jahmai, these older guys, they want a lot of it.
They want to win and they want to play well, there’s no doubt about it. They want to play well, but I don’t think any of them (are selfish). To be honest with you, I was oblivious about Dalton getting close to 40 points, but (his teammates) were trying to get it for him.”
On Jonas Aidoo’s success carrying over from the Georgia game
“Well, I think anytime Jonas is aggressive, I think that that’s the key word. When he’s aggressive and locked in he’s a major factor and again, another double-double by him and Tobe.. And they’ve got a really good front line. They’ve got four post players that they rely on and do a really good job. They’re a really good offensive rebounding team and they still had some success with that tonight. But Jonas, I think, obviously, guys are starting to understand each other. Where they need to get the ball when they need to get it. Jonas, we came out and started the second half and ran a little play to get him a little mid range jumper, again, was really great execution. Santi did his job to go get him open but it’s guys looking out for each other, trying to help each other be successful and if they play together I think they know they can score points.”
On how much better Tennessee is with Aidoo’s development after North Carolina game
“Well, not only him, but you go back a couple weeks ago Tove was playing really well and scoring the ball for us. And, again, you can throw Dalton in the mix too, where, you know, we kind of give him the ball off the block and let him do some things. But Jonas, I sat down with him maybe now two weeks ago and showed him all the post players that we played against and showed his numbers against them and some other players in the country. I said, ‘Jonas, I’m telling you man, you’re as good as these guys for certain. Maybe better. It’s consistency and you got to want to put these numbers up, man. But to do that, you’re going to have to really work hard yourself to want the ball where you want it and get aggressive.’ And he’s done that other than he didn’t have a great night defensively at Mississippi State, but his length around the basket is effective in a lot of ways, not only defensively, but offensively as well.”
On how he’d asses the defensive performance
“Well, as you know, they’re an outstanding offensive team. They are one of the fastest playing teams in the country. Transition defense was good for the most part. They got out in transition some off of our turnovers. But trying to keep them from those from no pass paint touches or one pass threes. Obviously trying to work hard on their ball screens, things like that because they’re, as you know, a very explosive offensive team. But, I thought overall defensively, we were good. At the start of the second half, not so good on our coverage to start the half, but, overall, you hold a team of 29% (shooting) you’re doing a good job.”
On how Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi are handling Dalton Knecht’s big scoring nights when they’ve been used to taking more shots in the past
“Those two guys are two of the most unselfish people I’ve ever been around in my life. They don’t (care). They’re happy for him. They get it and, believe me, they’ve embraced him because they wanna win. And there’s gonna be nights where as you know, they can go off too. I mean, you go back a couple weeks ago, Josiah has been our most consistent player all year, including Dalton. I mean, Josiah was the one. I just think once we get everybody going — we’ve got an unselfish team, we really do.
“The young guys are understanding and I hope they learn from you what that question would think a lot of teams, like players might be upset with that, but I can assure you that Santi and Jo, they’re not because, they want him to do it, you know, ’cause they wanna win. They’re gonna go out as some of the winningest players here at Tennessee. They are so unselfish but defensively, I think they worked so hard to try to help Dalton. Because they know that they want him on the court, but they also know late games, you gotta be able to do it on both ends. You go back, I think a little bit of where Josiah’s struggled lately is I think he’s played too many minutes and that’s my fault. And I can say the same with Santi, because honestly, those older guys, they’re my comfort blanket, you know? Because I know they’re gonna guard, but the job that those guys do, coaching these guys that are new to this, is phenomenal. I’m just telling you, they’re so unselfish, believe me. They’re happy for him and most of all, they’re happy that we’re winning.”
On how he’s seen Jonas Aidoo’s mid-range jumper develop
“Well, he does shoot the ball well. He’s got soft hands and when he gets his feet set, I mean, Jonas is one of those guys that we think, when he gets a good look, it’s gonna go in, but it all goes back again to work. He’s been really focused in practice. I’ll go back to every one of these guys. It’s all about consistency. We’re just getting started in the conference race here and a lot of basketball left. But it goes back (to) preparation. What you put into this game is what you’re gonna get out of it. And I think consistently that’s what — they play well, you don’t let up, you don’t allow complacency to become a part of your mindset. I always say, you gotta want more. There’s always room for growth and it’s about getting better. And I think that Jonas has embraced that in a lot of different areas, not just, we want him to score obviously some with his back to the basket, but we also like his little face-up, short, mid-range game.”
