Tag: Rick Barnes

Vols fall to Auburn, Bruce Pearl

Recapping Tennessee’s loss at Auburn Saturday.

Inconsistency has been a description of Tennessee’s men’s basketball team during the 2021 calendar year as the Volunteers have only won consecutive games three times since January.

Tennessee, the No. 25 team in the country, lost at Auburn, 77-72, after knocking off Vanderbilt in Nashville Wednesday night.

It also marked the Tigers’ sixth straight win over the Vols under former Tennessee head coach Bruce Pearl.

Pearl continued his dominance over the Vols and head coach Rick Barnes.

Pearl defeated Barnes twice during his time at UT when the current Vols’ head coach was in the same capacity at Texas.

Feb 27, 2021; Auburn, Alabama; Tennessee Volunteers guard Keon Johnson (45) shoots the ball against the Auburn Tigers during the second half at Auburn Arena. Mandatory Credit: John Reed-USA TODAY Sports

In the latest installment of the Auburn series, Tennessee (16-7, 9-7 SEC) had three players post double figures in the scoring column. Freshmen Keon Johnson scored 23 points and Jaden Springer added 20. Senior Yves Pons scored 10 and pulled down eight rebounds.

Victor Bailey Jr. scored nine points for the Vols, who trailed 34-30 at halftime at Auburn Arena.

Allen Flanigan led the Tigers’ balanced offensive attack as he finished with 23 points. Devan Cambridge added 15 points, Jamal Johnson scored 14, while Jaylin Williams totaled 13 and JT Thor finished with 10.

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Rick Barnes recaps Tennessee’s loss at LSU

Tennessee lost to LSU, 78-65, Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Tennessee (14-5, 7-5 SEC) lost to LSU, 78-65, Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Following the contest, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes discussed his team’s performance. Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

On where the defense came up short:
“I think one on one defense—normally we do a good job at guarding sets, but we just did not do a very good job with our one on one defense. We don’t ever want to leave someone on an island by themselves. I didn’t think we did a great job getting in to our gaps to help, and I also felt like because our offense wasn’t what we wanted it to be, that hurt our defense today as well—to keep some pressure there to feel the need to score when they come down. One on one defense wasn’t very good, and we fouled shooters a couple of times where we didn’t need to do that. I don’t quite get it. I didn’t think we listened today. Our team, the young guys are learning obviously. We told them that you’re not going to be able to drive and spin—because people are going to come do that. It took us to long time to adjust with that, but we still need more from other players. We can’t ask Keon (Johnson)and Jaden (Springer) to guard the other team’s best players and then come down and end up with the ball in their hands because other guys aren’t trying to get involved when we aren’t executing the way we need to execute.”

NEXT: Rick Barnes postgame continued

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Rick Barnes recaps Tennessee’s loss at LSU

Tennessee lost to LSU, 78-65, Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Tennessee (14-5, 7-5 SEC) lost to LSU, 78-65, Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Following the contest, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes discussed his team’s performance. Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

On where the defense came up short:
“I think one on one defense—normally we do a good job at guarding sets, but we just did not do a very good job with our one on one defense. We don’t ever want to leave someone on an island by themselves. I didn’t think we did a great job getting in to our gaps to help, and I also felt like because our offense wasn’t what we wanted it to be, that hurt our defense today as well—to keep some pressure there to feel the need to score when they come down. One on one defense wasn’t very good, and we fouled shooters a couple of times where we didn’t need to do that. I don’t quite get it. I didn’t think we listened today. Our team, the young guys are learning obviously. We told them that you’re not going to be able to drive and spin—because people are going to come do that. It took us to long time to adjust with that, but we still need more from other players. We can’t ask Keon (Johnson)and Jaden (Springer) to guard the other team’s best players and then come down and end up with the ball in their hands because other guys aren’t trying to get involved when we aren’t executing the way we need to execute.”

NEXT: Rick Barnes postgame continued

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Rick Barnes recaps Tennessee’s win against Georgia

Tennessee defeated Georgia, 89-81, Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee defeated Georgia, 89-81, Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Freshman Jaden Springer scored a career-high 30 points in Tennessee’s win. Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week Keon Johnson finished the game with 11 points.

Following the Vols’ win over Georgia, UT head coach Rick Barnes met with media to discuss his team’s performance. Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

Tennessee Head Coach Rick Barnes during a basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. © Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC

On the frustration of all the turnovers in the last few minutes of tonight’s game:
“It is frustrating, but I think you have to give Georgia credit. They got up there and they got their hand on it and would break it loose. But we did not make an adjustment when we went to our drive game. We said you’re not going to be able to drive and spin back and toss the ball like that. But it’s the ones out front where you’re just standing very casual with the ball, and they break it loose and go down and get those. But I think you have to give Georgia credit for that; they got aggressive and they took the ball from us in those situations. So you have to give them credit for that, but otherwise, there were a lot of good things tonight. A lot of guys had some heavy minutes, and maybe fatigue had a little bit to do with it I do not know. Jaden (Springer) I think played the most minutes that he played in his collegiate career. He had a nice night, and Josiah (James) had a lot of good things. But what you said the frustration part is the turnovers. Our three guards had 14 of those turnovers. That’s the frustrating part, but otherwise, it’s never going to be easy. Games are never going to be easy when you play anybody in this league. When they are down, they are not going to stop playing. It is a long time over 40 minutes, but we can’t give up 55 points in the second half. And some of those we had no defense for because of the turnovers.”

NEXT: Rick Barnes postgame continued

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Rick Barnes previews Tennessee-Ole Miss game

No. 10 Tennessee (12-3, 5-3 SEC) will play at Ole Miss (8-8, 3-6 SEC) Tuesday.

No. 10 Tennessee (12-3, 5-3 SEC) will play at Ole Miss (8-8, 3-6 SEC) Tuesday.

Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. EST. ESPN2 will televise the contest.

Ahead of the matchup, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes previewed the Ole Miss game and the Vols’ victory against Kansas on Saturday.

Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

On if it is concerning that the team had opposite performances in the games against Florida and Kansas:
“Well, I think you’re always concerned when you don’t do the things that you feel like you’re capable of. I also know this—that old saying in coaching—you’re never as good as you think you are and you’re probably never as bad as you think you are. We’re somewhere in the middle probably. To answer that is the word consistency. Can we get consistent with it? Again, when we’ve had everybody healthy, I think we’ve been better. I don’t think there’s any question about that. Even with that said, I think that we are a good enough team that we shouldn’t get beat as badly as we did at Florida. So much of the game is mental and you can get rocked back a little bit, and sometimes it takes you longer to get out of it. We cost ourselves in games because we would not shoot the ball, and that led to a lot of turnovers. Like I said here against Mississippi State the other night when I was talking about kind of the same situation that you’ve asked me about, we finally started shooting the ball. They didn’t go in, but then the challenge was would we continue to shoot open shots. We did that other night against Kansas, and I would be very disappointed—I will tell you this, too. Yesterday during film, I got onto Santi (Vescovi) about turning down some shots that he’s got to take for us. The key going forward will be if we do that, I think it takes a lot of pressure off. You’re not going to make them all. Nobody makes them all against us and we’re not going to make them all, but I think we’re all looking for consistency from everybody. I think that discrepancy—I can’t tell you why it’s like that other than I know that it gets back to consistency.”

NEXT: Rick Barnes media availability continued

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Rick Barnes previews Tennessee-Ole Miss game

No. 10 Tennessee (12-3, 5-3 SEC) will play at Ole Miss (8-8, 3-6 SEC) Tuesday.

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No. 10 Tennessee (12-3, 5-3 SEC) will play at Ole Miss (8-8, 3-6 SEC) Tuesday.

Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. EST. ESPN2 will televise the contest.

Ahead of the matchup, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes previewed the Ole Miss game and the Vols’ victory against Kansas on Saturday.

Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

On if it is concerning that the team had opposite performances in the games against Florida and Kansas:
“Well, I think you’re always concerned when you don’t do the things that you feel like you’re capable of. I also know this—that old saying in coaching—you’re never as good as you think you are and you’re probably never as bad as you think you are. We’re somewhere in the middle probably. To answer that is the word consistency. Can we get consistent with it? Again, when we’ve had everybody healthy, I think we’ve been better. I don’t think there’s any question about that. Even with that said, I think that we are a good enough team that we shouldn’t get beat as badly as we did at Florida. So much of the game is mental and you can get rocked back a little bit, and sometimes it takes you longer to get out of it. We cost ourselves in games because we would not shoot the ball, and that led to a lot of turnovers. Like I said here against Mississippi State the other night when I was talking about kind of the same situation that you’ve asked me about, we finally started shooting the ball. They didn’t go in, but then the challenge was would we continue to shoot open shots. We did that other night against Kansas, and I would be very disappointed—I will tell you this, too. Yesterday during film, I got onto Santi (Vescovi) about turning down some shots that he’s got to take for us. The key going forward will be if we do that, I think it takes a lot of pressure off. You’re not going to make them all. Nobody makes them all against us and we’re not going to make them all, but I think we’re all looking for consistency from everybody. I think that discrepancy—I can’t tell you why it’s like that other than I know that it gets back to consistency.”

NEXT: Rick Barnes media availability continued

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Rick Barnes recaps Tennessee’s win against Kansas

Tennessee defeated Kansas Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

 Tennessee defeated Kansas, 80-61, Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The contest was part of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge.

Following Tennessee’s win, Vols’ head coach Rick Barnes met with media and discussed his team’s performance.

Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee of Barnes discussing the Vols’ victory.

Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James (5) and Tennessee forward John Fulkerson (10) celebrate a play during a basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kansas Jayhawks at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, January 30, 2021.

On not allowing any second chance points:

“We are proud, the only thing that bothers me on that stat sheet is the turnovers. They had 19 points off turnovers and some of it is because they switched aggressively and we weren’t being as aggressive as we needed to be driving the ball because we knew we were going to have to do that. But the fact that we could take those other buckets away from them was good for us. Overall defensively, we were really solid. I would be shocked if everyone wasn’t on the positive on the defensive end.”page1image962098144

On Keon Johnson and Jaden Springer starting tonight for the first time and Josiah Jordan-James coming off the bench:

“I thought it played out well. A couple of weeks back we thought we were moving in that direction because when Jaden got hurt it slowed him down. This week in practice they got practice together but I thought Josiah, Olivier Nkamhoua and Victor Bailey all played well off the bench. I would say it worked and they combined for 21 points. I’m not sure about how many turnovers they had combined, maybe five or six but that’s what they have to cut down on.”

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Tennessee basketball offers in-state forward

Tennessee Vols’ basketball recruiting news.

The University of Tennessee basketball program is looking to bring another talented in-state prospect to Knoxville.

UT head coach Rick Barnes and his staff have offered 2022 forward Braeden Moore a scholarship.

Moore plays for Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville.

He is a 6-foot-8, 210-pound prospect and rated as a 3-star by the 247Sports Composite. Moore is also rated the No. 5 prospect in the state, and the No. 32 prospect nationally.

 

Kansas, Georgetown, Auburn, Cincinnati and Ole Miss are among several schools to have also offered the in-state basketball product.

Tennessee does not currently have any prospects committed to the 2022 recruiting class.

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Rick Barnes recaps Vols’ win at Texas A&M

Tennessee defeated Texas A&M, 68-54.

No. 9 Tennessee (9-1, 3-1 SEC) defeated Texas A&M, 68-54, in College Station, Texas.

The Vols improved to 3-1 in Southeastern Conference play.

Following Tennessee’s win, Vols’ head coach Rick Barnes discussed his team’s performance against the Aggies.

Tennessee guard Jaden Springer (11) dribble past Texas A&M guard Andre Gordon (20) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Sam Craft)

Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

On how important sophomore Santiago Vescovi’s offense was during Saturday’s win:

“It was really important. It reminded me of his first game here when he walked on the floor with two days of practice against LSU. I remember he came out and hit some shots like that. He has struggled a little bit lately. I think some of it is me maybe asking him to do a little bit too much. He knows that he wants to be good. He was playing with a lot of confidence today and every game. We’ve still got to get his teammates wanting to go get the ball some and let him not have to work so hard bringing the ball up the floor. People are going to try to do that all season long to try to wear him down. Santi was terrific. Jaden Springer, I thought, played his best game. He had some turnovers there at the end that he shouldn’t have, but those are learning experiences.”

On freshman Jaden Springer’s performance in Tennessee’s 14-point victory:

“I thought he was really solid defensively and he’s going to learn so much as he continues to go. These next couple of weeks are going to be huge for him, Keon (Johnson) and the other guys that we get out there. These minutes are really valuable. Jaden handled himself really well today. He’s a really gifted player, certainly offensively. I think he’s deceptive in what he does. He made a great pass. We ran a little set to get he and Fulky (John Fulkerson) down there in a two-man game. He made a great pass to Fulky. Fulky missed the dunk but that was a great pass. That’s talent – seeing it and making the play.”

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Rick Barnes recaps Vols’ loss to Alabama

Alabama defeated Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee (7-1, 1-1 SEC) suffered its first loss of the 2020-21 season Saturday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Alabama defeated the Vols, 71-63.

Following the loss, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes met with media and discussed his team’s performance against the Crimson Tide.

Below is a transcript provided by the University of Tennessee.

On John Fulkerson and Josiah-Jordan James impact in tonight’s game:
“They did exactly what we thought they would do. Get Fulky out there and get matchups with him there where we knew they were going to try to drive and make him play defense. We knew that was going to happen. Offensively, he never established what we needed to get done. We got the ball there, but he went three-for-eight from the free throw line. That is tough when you got a guy, you’re counting on to give you something around the rim or get you there. I thought Josiah tried to do what he needed to do. At the end we had to just get a group of guys out there that we felt could guard, because we did not do a very good job of that. With all that said and done, offensively we were terrible to start the game. We turned the ball over three times to start it, travel calls, falling over ourselves. Santi gets stripped but give Alabama all the credit. There was nothing that they did that we didn’t talk about for a couple of days and what we needed to do. We didn’t stop it. We knew they would shoot threes. In the second half they shot 8-of-11. Our offense was terrible. Again, give them credit for that. I thought Yves not being in the game really hurt us. I thought that was a big thing, because he’s a difference maker out there. He had a couple of tough calls that went against him, but I really thought he made good plays. Jaden would thrive in a game like this and him not being there—even with all that said and done at the end of the game, if we had taken care of the ball and made a couple of shots, we had a chance. They were missing their free throws and gave us a chance, but we didn’t get it done. You have to give them credit, they came in and had a plan, they worked it better than we worked ours.”

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