Tennessee basketball assistant coach Gregg Polinsky met with the local media on Friday before the Vols host instate rival Vanderbilt at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Saturday evening.
It’s the second meeting between the Vols and Commodores in the last three weeks after Tennessee knocked off its instate rival 75-62 in Nashville last month.
Polinsky discussed facing the Commodores for the second time, Jonas Aidoo’s big game at Arkansas and much more. Here’s everything the Vols’ assistant coach said.
More From RTI: Jonas Aidoo Is One Of The SEC’s Most Improved Players
On Tennessee doing a better job of sticking to the game plan at Arkansas despite the Razorbacks hitting 3-pointers early in the game
“Yeah, A&M, you’re right, our plan was to make it difficult to get to the rim, do those type of things where we’re effective. Making them play inside out. I thought Coach Gainey, our players, it’s always the players man. They get the credit for having the focus, the level of concentration. And I thought sticking with what we wanted to do, based on the fact that (Arkansas) hit some threes early, which is not the strength of the team overall, its transition, getting to the free-throw line, getting downhill. So I thought it was really impressive that our guys, from a maturity standpoint, went out there and executed in a really professional manner and got it done.”
On the importance of consistent play from Jonas Aidoo
“Well, I’m not supposed to do any advertising, so I’d say like the Waffle House, you know? When you went into the Waffle House, you know what you’re getting every time, don’t you? I say that to my daughters, but it didn’t resonate. So I think just the fact, can you be trusted? Can the Coach (Barnes) count on you? And can your teammates count on you? An illustration being like, if we’re in a rotation and we’re asking our big to rotate over, does the guy on the backside really come down, smash down, get to the block, take away his man from the play?
So if that post guy doesn’t feel like he’s going to get that support on the backside, I think that’s what we’re looking for. The best teams at any level play with a high level of consistency and I think that’s what Coach (Barnes) is talking about. A level of trust amongst teammates that, I got your back, you got mine.”
On how big of a piece Jonas Aidoo is to Tennessee’s offense when the Vols score 92 points at Arkansas but only hit five 3-pointers
“It’s gigantic. I can’t remember exactly what we got in the paint, 48 points? So I think when you’re not making threes, and Coach (Barnes has) talked about this too all year, that we have to have a balanced attack. We have to be able to get the basketball inside right? And be effectively efficient. That comes from driving the ball our post guys. But we have quality post guys here — Tobe, JP (Estrella), Cade (Phillips, obviously Jonas. “And I think now the step for Jonas is can you do it against the bigger and more physical guys in the league? He has proven that he can be really effective and he’s been a factor in a lot of games and does a lot of things for us defensively as well at the rim. He’s a lot to handle. But when we get play from our inside guys, we’re impactful.”
On if Jonas Aidoo needing to be more physical is also part of the Waffle House analogy
“I only get the eggs and a waffle. You know, you get that, is it the All-Star Breakfast, right? Yeah, I think that’s really coming at it. So when we can get that kind of effort, build walls, eat a lot, it’s good. Healthy appetite.”
On the challenge of Tennessee facing a team a second time in three weeks
“I think getting your guys to lock back in, to get them to understand that there are some changes. I mean, Vanderbilt is playing better. They led South Carolina at the half. If South Carolina doesn’t have a few guys step up and make some key threes in that game, Vanderbilt’s there the whole way. Coach (Barnes) will say this, Coach (Jerry) Stackhouse probably runs as good an offense as anybody in this league, at the high end. They’re going to tweak what they do, they’re not going to show you the same thing. They’re able to make some changes that are difficult to deal with. From being here, they’re always going to play us very tough. They’re very capable. I think (beating) Texas A&M is a testament more to Vanderbilt, right? Having won whatever they won, coming into that game and going out and playing the team that just took care of us pretty good. And then Vanderbilt going and beating them on their home court.”
On what Dalton Knecht did defensively at Arkansas
“Yeah, I don’t think we’re not looking for perfection. We’re looking for progress. And I think there was progress made in that game from Dalton. And Coach Gainey one time had him on their top scorer (Tramon Mark) and wanted his length. And sure enough, Dalton blocked the shot. Great move, great matchup. But at the same time, that’s Dalton, give him credit for kind of upping his game, if you will, at the defensive end of the floor. And we still know there’s a lot more to go in a good way. So Dalton can keep getting better there.”
On what this season has been like for Tobe Awaka
“Well, number one, if you know Tobe— he’s one of those guys that, he can marry my daughter. Like he’s an outstanding high character (person). There’s character off the court, he’s got that and then there’s basketball character. They’re two different things, right? I learned that during my little tenure in the NBA, right? There’s basketball character and I think Tobe’s got both. So you count on that with him, his work ethic, his preparation. He’s still, coach (Barnes) says this, he’s still young to the game. He’s still learning all the time. I think there’s at times where Tobe probably feels like any player should, he’s hungrier for more minutes. So like coming off the summer, like you said, he had a double-double, was terrific on USA Basketball. But a little different, right? What’s expected here and then the emergence of Jonas. But I think Tobe has managed it well. I think he’d like to play more and obviously you want anybody on your team not being comfortable sitting, right? You want them to want more minutes. I think he’s managed it well. I heard the stat the other day, you guys correct me, if he had played enough minutes, he’d be the number one, which I thought at the beginning of the year. Number two, offensive rebounder in the country. So what he brings to the table, I think if you’re the other coach and you look down there and you see him checking into the game, there’s really not much preparation for Tobe. Like you could tell your guys to block him out, to hit him, to drive him out. Good luck.”
On what it means for Tennessee to promote organ donations with its “Donate Life” game
“It’s awesome.You know how Coach Barnes is and anything that we can do that helps others and thinking about other people. I myself am one (an organ donor), I don’t know at my age if anybody would want my organs, but it’s something, it’s a gift of life. It’s something that we are all capable of doing via anything medically that would prohibit that. So I think it’s very important to us as a team. I think our guys recognize what it means. And I know our coaching staff and the University of Tennessee understands it.”
On how big of a boost it is when Jordan Gainey is coming off the bench hitting shots
“It’s huge. I mean, coach calls him lightning bolts, I think that’s a great word for it. He comes down, even the first ball he shot from the corner after he’d made a couple of tough shots going in mid-range. I thought it was down. It looked great. He’s just been playing with a lot of confidence and I love how he responded. He’s another guy with a quiet mental toughness to him. He didn’t shoot it particularly well to A&M, didn’t phase him. I think three out of the last four games maybe? He’s been really effective. And even when he is on the court, you know, there’s a gravity score, who knows what that means? Raise of hands, raise the recorders. Alright, gravity score is how close do I play to someone? How good a shooter is he when he’s in the game? Terrible shooter? So I can really get off and help in my gap. But if a guy can really shoot it like Jordan, what he does is he opens up gaps for other guys. He opens up the game for Zakai, for Dalton, for Santi, Freddie, whoever it might be. So just the fact that he’s a threat makes him valuable, if that makes sense.”
On the challenge of embracing the backup center role for Tobe
“Yeah, I think Jonas went through pretty much for a while here, right? So I think he does. I think the great thing about us is we do have a high character bunch of guys that really care about each other. They know this is a team sport and it’s, no offense with bowling or anything, but if you want to do an individual sport, it’s a great sport, right? I guess there’s team bowling, I don’t know. But the point being those guys help each other and they’ve all been in that role. I think empathy and true leadership comes from when you’ve been in a role and you know how that felt. And now you can relay that to somebody else, whether it’s in the working business, in your profession or on the court, guys that have come off the bench that had to do it the hard way. And I’d say Jonas did that. I think that’s a big help to Tobe.”
