The Southeastern Conference held men’s basketball media day on Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama, as the season rapidly approaches.
The Vols have two exhibition games set for late October including a Halloween night showdown against Lenoir-Rhyne in Knoxville. Tennessee will then officially open the season on Tuesday, Nov. 6, against Tennessee Tech at Thompson-Boling Arena at the Food City Center.
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes is entering his ninth season as the Volunteers’ head coach as Tennessee looks to improve on a Sweet 16 berth from last season.
Barnes met with the media in a smaller format with the local media and also took questions on the main stage during the event on Wednesday.
“I think it’s a huge advantage when you have older guys,” Barnes said. “I would tell you I hope we always have older guys. We still believe in what we try to do with our player development. Getting old, staying old, I think is really important. You look at our league this year, this is an old league. It’s an athletic league. It’s a skilled league now. I think it’s the best basketball league in the country.”
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Check out both interviews from Rick Barnes at SEC Media Day in Birmingham on Wednesday below. Additionally, check out interviews with Tennessee guards Zakai Zeigler and Santiago Vescovi from Wednesday’s event by clicking here.
Rick Barnes on SEC Media Day Main Stage
Rick Barnes with Local Media in Birmingham
