Rick Barnes calls out Santiago Vescovi for lack of consistency

Rick Barnes was not a happy customer in any regard following the 100-92 loss that Tennessee suffered in Chapel Hill on Wednesday. The performance from fifth-year guard Santiago Vescovi, though, really didn’t please the Volunteers’ head coach.

Barnes shared his criticism of Vescovi’s inconsistent play and effort after the eight-point defeat to North Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge. He said that the limited minutes for one of their best players last night should be enough to proof that he doesn’t mess around when it comes to erractic outings that the team can’t rely on.

“Consistency – I mean I just told the team the one thing that I’m really, really guilty of is complacency. I can’t stand it. I don’t care who it is,” said a frustrated Barnes. “To be honest with you, if we hadn’t got back in the game? He wouldn’t have played. I don’t care who it is. I’ve been like that my whole career.

“It’s a privilege to play this game. We can’t score 92 points and him not have a point,” Barnes added. “I mean we’ve got to know what we’re going to get. We’re looking for consistency.”

In 14 minutes, one of the fewest minute totals of his career, Vescovi went scoreless by missing his only attempt of the night. Beyond that, he recorded two assists, steals, and turnovers apiece while also finishing with four fouls.

It was clear that Barnes wasn’t tolerating Vescovi’s play as he appeared in just four minutes of the second half, especially since they only came after a late injury to Dalton Knecht. Still, Barnes wasn’t having it as he needs to know what he is going to get from his players, specifically his starting contributors, game in and game out.

“We can shoot the ball, we’re going to make some of those shots. I mean we can’t get some of those dialed up better. But it has got to be consistent,” Barnes continued. “Two guys that we’ve counted on, Santi and Jahmai (Mashack)? Their plus-minus wasn’t where it needs to be. We need those guys. But we need to know what we’re going to get every single night from everybody – not just those guys.”

Tennessee clearly has plenty to clean up after dropping their third-straight inside the Dean Dome. However, it seems consistency is clearly at the top of that list for Barnes based on how he handled Vescovi against the Tar Heels.