Postgame Quotes: Vols 83, Slippery Rock 48 (Exhibition)

Nov. 3, 2016

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes

(On forcing 30 turnovers)
"I didn’t think we started the game with the kind of aggressiveness we wanted to play with tonight. We’re still learning a lot these guys. I’ve said to you guys for a long time now that there’s not a big gap between any one of these guys. You see the minutes were spread out there. The first thing we need to learn to do is play as hard as we can. I think they realize it’s really hard to play ‘hard’ for two and a half minutes the way we need to play.

"We weren’t great offensively. I thought we turned down shots that we have to take -- rhythm shots. (Slippery Rock) was playing somewhat of a sagging, man-to-man, trying to get us to shoot the ball. I want to shoot the ball. We work hard at shooting, and I think we have a group of guys that can shoot it.

"We did rebound, and that’s one thing that we talked about. We knew that they were going to be aggressive, that’s what they do. They put it up, and their thought process is that’s when that game is on, and they did a great job getting that part of it done. We had some good things from different guys, and I thought when guys were called on, for the most part, they played with the kind of energy that we needed."

(On Kwe Parker’s performance)
"He’s a guy we think is a game-changing player. He can come in and bring some energy. He’s done a good job. He did a couple things that he hasn’t done on the offensive end and took a tough shot basically standing on the 3-point line. I think that goes back to fatigue. He likes to play hard and can play hard. He and Fulky (John Fulkerson) have brought energy two games in a row. Both of those guys are just playing all out and somewhat with reckless abandon, and that’s what we want to do."

(On whether or not the team now has a determined starting five)
"We told the team at halftime that we hadn’t. It’s easy to start who were going to start—I don’t think that’s a big (deal). I actually told them this last night. I said 'I wouldn’t be so concerned about who starts but who’s going to finish games.' The rotation is getting closer but I don’t think we’ve got it figured out yet. I’m not sure how long it’ll take, but we’ll play a lot of people. It’s obvious that we’ve got numbers. We want to force tempo and play with a lot of energy, so we’re going to use these guys. Robert (Hubbs) played 11 minutes ... he’ll probably play 13 more (in the regular season). He’ll probably be a 24-25 minute-per-game player. He’ll lead us in minutes. To answer that question, I don’t think we’ve got anything quite figured out yet."

(On figuring out the team’s chemistry)
"I think we’re too young. What we do have figured out is that we’ve got a good group of guys and a good team spirit about us. They’re starting to understand that they have to play hard and that’s non-negotiable. We’re still trying to forge that work ethic, and that’s every single day. What we didn’t do today… we didn’t take shots that we needed to take. We were open. But some of that has to do with it being their first time playing in front of people. Overall, there was effort. Some guys I still think will have to show us a little more effort, too. We took care of the ball. This was a game that was played quick and fast. We just weren’t really smooth offensively."

(On the team’s defensive performance)
"I think everything we do has a long way to go to get there, but I think we’re headed in the right direction with these guys. I thought for the most part, they worked hard to keep it out of the post. We’ve got some really good backside rotation. The blocks were there, and we took a number of charges, which is equivalent to a block. We know that we have to do that. We know that we have to swarm inside there. It was the second- and third-attempt rebounds that we weren’t coming up with, but some of that has to do with length, and second and third bounce. It also has to do with our guards coming down with some of those loose balls that were getting batted around."

(On the energy provided by freshmen Kwe Parker and John Fulkerson)
"Well you’ve seen it from John. He is a guy that can run the floor, and he’s playing harder than he’s ever played. He’s never played as hard as he’s played his last two times out. Actually a week ago, maybe, I told him he was our fifth post player. He responded and had two good days at practice, and he played really well. He was the most energized guy Saturday (in the scrimmage against Davidson) and tonight he was the first sub we put in the post because he earned that. He didn’t disappoint us. He plays hard. I’ve never coached a guy that sprints to the scorer’s table as quick as he does because he wants to get in the game. He wants to play. He took himself out a couple times, but I think that’s the start of understanding what you have to do. He played hard enough to get tired, and I don’t think he did that in high school. We saw the fact that he’s a guy that’s going to get his hands on balls, he’s going to rebound the ball, he can run, he can get out in the open floor and finish. He is a better low-post player than he gives himself credit for. He’s just getting started on how good of a player he can be.

"Kwe is a guy that when we looked at him, the way he is playing is the way we wanted him to play. We wanted him to be a guy that could eventually become a gnat on defense, just bothering people and letting them feel him and know he’s there."

(On Fulkerson’s development and the status of Lamonté Turner)
"Am I surprised by John? I was probably more surprised early with John because we think he is a tough worker and hard-nosed guy. He doesn’t get rattled, and he takes coaching extremely well. He bounces back because he’s one of those guys with a short memory. He listens and he doesn’t go in his shell when you get on him. I do think he took to heart when I told him that he was our fifth post player. He had some moments early in the year, he was playing really well—he and Grant (Williams)—and all at once Kyle (Alexander) took it to another level, and Admiral (Schofield) took it to another level, and Lew (Evans) took it to another level. And (John) and Grant didn’t bite back. But I thought Grant was much better tonight than he was Saturday (against Davidson). John played tonight very similar to how he played in the scrimmage. Grant played 15 minutes, which was six more minutes than he did Saturday. He was the one guy before the game that I singled out and said, 'We’re going to see if you’re going to improve on what you did the last time you went out.' And he did."

(On what he was looking for out of the freshmen tonight)
"Execution, details, and offensively… I thought we moved the ball, but I don’t think we we’re making scoring cuts or setting scoring screens or getting down looking for cutters. They were sagging off, and we had chances to come off and put the ball there and raise up and shoot shots that we practiced. We didn’t do that. We didn’t do a lot of what we can do. We were looking for more in transition than we probably got tonight. There were some good things, but yet there is a lot more work to be done."

(On finding the balance, with a young team, between playing fast and making mistakes)
"We practice faster than we play. That was the one thing that came out of the scrimmage. The guys felt like the game had really slowed down based on the tempo we go with. I think asking them to play fast… they don’t know how to play fast. They all say they want to get out and run and play, but, think about it, I took guys out tonight for not shooting the ball. I don’t think as a player you could ask anything more than a coach to say we want you shoot the ball. Even when you miss them, you have to take your shots because we have rebounding set up. When you shoot the ball, it allows guys like John, Grant and Kyle to go get it. Even those guys early didn’t fight for the ball the way they need too. I don’t know if we want to play fast, I think we want to play quick. We want to be sharp. We just do not want to be in a hurry. Tonight at times, we were a bit hurried."

Tennessee guard Robert Hubbs III

(On this team)
"We definitely have the talent. We have a lot of young guys who are athletic, they can get up and down and we start pressing the second half trying to see what guys can do. It is good for us. The young guys got their feet wet so they start getting comfortable. It is a part of playing basketball and it was good for us."

(On tonight's game)
"I expected most of it. We still have to work on the offensive rebound and defensive rebound. They had a lot of defensive rebounds today so that is something we are going to fix and change. Overall I think it was really solid."

(On the first game against Chattanooga)
"Chattanooga is a good team. They went to the tournament last year. It will be a tough test for us, so we have to bring our A game. We can’t slouch at all. We have to have a good week of preparation and get our minds right and get focused."

(On the progress he has made)
"I think I've become more confident. It’s the same thing as last year with this team, just taken to another level. Confidence and being more accurate. I go into the game with a different mindset, you know. It leads to other things so that is my mindset now."

Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander

(On Tennessee’s ball pressure)
"I think we had some points where we did things that show how we do not want to look, but i think for the most part we went out and ran. We focused and did a great job with loose balls. I think some of those possessions are what we want to look like this season. We want to be known for our on ball pressure. Guys like Shembari Phillips and Kwe Parker did a great job on that tonight."

(On the team)
"We have a very very athletic team this year and when we start getting out and running it can be really fun for the fans to watch."

(On the new players with Coach Barnes)
"Seeing some of these guys in practice and their reactions (to Barnes) and how they act after practice, it is funny sometimes because we have all been through it and we don't always know how Coach Barnes works, but sometimes we know how his coaching works. We are able to tell the new guys that he is saying this to you because he wants a certain thing from you and he wants you to react a certain way. It is good for us to be able to coach them like that."

(On excitement for this year)
"I just love that we are so deep. We have 16 guys who can really play including our walk-on players—they can shoot. Everyone brings something to the table so it’s exciting to see people subbing in and out and the energy. We are a family and we love watching each other do well. I love watching the freshmen do well. I love when John (Fulkerson) runs the floor and gets a dunk. I love watching us be successful, so it is something I am looking forward to."

Tennessee forward John Fulkerson

(On Saturday’s scrimmage against Davidson compared to tonight's game against Slippery Rock)
"Knowing my role I think is the biggest thing and playing hard, doing what coach says."

(On difference in pace from high school to college)
"It’s different, but by going hard in practice you get used to it. It’s just like the game."

(On execution and speed for team)
"The game is always in a hurry, the game is always fast. Like Coach said, in practice you have to get ready for the game by playing fast."

Slippery Rock head coach Kevin Reynolds

(On Tennessee’s performance)
"Impressive. Tennessee played very hard. Obviously well coached and have some really good athletes in the back court; a lot longer in person than what you would see on film. I think they did a good job. Their coach is recruiting guys with great length even though some of them aren’t that tall. I bet you their wingspan is 3 or 4 inches better than their height. I give credit to their coaches. They played real well together, I think that was a good strength of theirs, and obviously they rotated a bunch of guys in and out and wore us down. And they have SEC players. Credit to them. They didn’t take us lightly and sometimes you go into these games and the teams we play, mainly two like this in a year, come in and take it lightly. Tonight, other than the first 10, 14 minutes, I think they made that little run. Got two or three steals and we kept turning it over. So, credit to them. Their guards are very good defenders and I think they’ll be successful at this level and the SEC level as well."

(On moving forward and this experience)
"This is great experience for our guys. A lot of my guys in the locker room, they’ve dreamt of playing at this level. Obviously it didn’t happen for them, so the opportunity to get out here and play on the big stage against a great school like Tennessee, one of the greatest basketball venues in the country, we are very appreciative of Tennessee to give us that opportunity and Coach Barnes and his staff. We need to get better than what we played today. In other games, against Division I teams, we’ve had more success than tonight. I don’t know how much watching of film we’ll do. I think they overpowered us and really got us down. That’s a credit to them, but there were some bright spots. We rebounded like we normally do, but when you turn it over 30 times you don’t give yourself a chance. Just like any sport—if you’re in football or basketball—turnovers are the name of the game and they scored 44 points off of 30 turnovers. I actually thought it was more than that. I was impressed with them, not as impressed with my own team unfortunately."

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