On if he’s had conversations with their seniors about the possibility of coming back next year:
“They’ve occurred a little bit. More in passing than they have in any kind of seriousness at this point. I think it’s one thing for football to have that conversation five or six games into a season. We haven’t even stepped onto the court yet for our first game yet. So, I think those conversations will happen, but I think the season will tell a lot for anyone who has that opportunity.”
On if this team has the potential to be a good rebounding team:
“That’s a really great point and we know it needs to be. We can’t be the team we want to be if we don’t rebound the way we’re capable of. Adding E.J. was a big piece of that, but as you mentioned, Olivier and Uros have done a really nice job in the preseason with rebounding and we need it to carry over. When those guys get their opportunity on the court it has to carry over. It has to carry over with defensive rebounding and it has to carry over with an identity that we want to have, which is as a great offensive rebounding team. There’s been a great emphasis on that in the preseason, in our film sessions and in practice.
“Just as important for that though is the guys who need to improve their rebounding is Yves Pons. Yves Pons should be in the class with those guys as a rebounder and he needs to take a lot of pride in doing that and needs to make a concerted effort to go beyond the glass on both sides of the ball. Someone who’s done a really good job of it—and his numbers showed it a little bit last year—but he’s been really effective this preseason particularly in offensive rebounding has been Josiah. Josiah-Jordan James has done a really nice job offensive rebounding. We had a scrimmage yesterday and he probably kept four or five balls alive while crashing the offensive glass. He has a knack to rebound the basketball and on the defensive side where that can really help us is if he rebounds the ball, he can lead the break, because Santiago or any one of our guards can run the wings. Whether he’s at the two, the three, the four, or the point guard spot, if he rebounds and he can lead the break, that puts in a really good position with our transition offense.”
On what E.J. brings to the table:
“Extreme blue-collar toughness, rebounding, energy and a guy Rob that has played for what’s on the front of his jersey from the minute he stepped foot in the gym. Because of the unique situation with his sister Nicky being a Lady Vol, he stepped in right away with the mentality that he is playing for Tennessee and he is all about the team and the right things. A grad transfer is a unique thing. You’ve got someone coming for one year. They may have been somewhere else for four years, developed a lot of pride at whatever other university they were at and they come in looking for something specific for one year. E.J. is different. E.J. deep down inside has always been a Vol. And we wish we had a chance to have him for four years, but the fact is that he’s come in with the mentality of this team’s DNA and culture from day one. That’s as big as anything and is really important. He plays that way, we love him for it, he’s an extremely high energy and high motor player and he has been very impressive on the glass and that’s what this team needs. He plays the game within our culture and he gets it.”