Tennessee basketball worked at Pratt Pavilion on Thursday afternoon as it works closer-and-closer to Monday night’s season opener against Gardner Webb.
Before we fully dive into a shorter notes and observations story today, let’s start with some roll call. Neither forward Darlinstone Dubar nor combo guard Bishop Boswell participated in practice on Thursday. Dubar was out with a personal matter while Boswell is in concussion protocol. Dubar was at practice but was in sweats.
Tennessee did some scout work ahead of its season opener against Gardner Webb on Monday. The Vols worked five-on-five in the half court with five players going up against the scout team. Then Tennessee did a bunch of good-on-good, four vs. four work both in the half court and in the full court before eventually morphing the full court work to five-on-five.
The Vols wrapped up practice by doing end of situational work like side in bounds and shooting free throws when you have to intentionally miss to try and get the rebound.
Throughout practice, Rick Barnes had a real emphasis on getting the ball inside. That wasn’t necessarily on post ups but by driving the basketball and by dishing it to the big man on the pick-and-roll.
Felix Okpara was Tennessee’s most consistent post scorer and had an abundance of success against both JP Estrella and Cade Phillips. That’s certainly a good sign for what Okpara can bring Tennessee but a bit of a concern with Estrella as he struggled a bit on the defensive end in his limited playing time last season.
More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said Ahead Of Tennessee Basketball Season Opener
But on the other side, Estrella had the best practice I’ve seen from him this preseason. He played with some real aggression at the rim and also showed his touch around the basket. Estrells tried to dunk on Okpara once and drew a foul. He also scored on a couple put backs
Barnes talked about Cam Carr having his most locked in two weeks of his career before practice and there were some solid moments for Carr during practice, particularly on the offensive end. But it’s easy to see the frustration from Tennessee’s coaches towards Carr. He had multiple defensive breakdowns including a bad foul right after he made a tough two t the end of shot clock on the other end.
Two other guys that found themselves on the wrong end of Barnes’ hard coaching were Igor Milicic and Chaz Lanier. Milicic just had a touch day all around and took multiple trips to the Versa Climber. Lanier had his bright moments at practice and honestly had a nice practice shooting the ball. But his decision making and defense led to moments of frustration for Barnes.
Nothing ground breaking here but Zakai Zeigler looked like Tennessee’s best player on Thursday. Which, he is. I will say, he shot it from the perimeter about as well as I’ve seen him shoot it all preseason.
It was the last open practice before the season opener which means this will likely be the final practice notes and observations until next summer. Appreciate everybody that’s read along. Now to the real fun. Tennessee opens up its season against Gardner Webb on Monday at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
