Freddie Dilione V leads Tennessee to 97-57 exhibition win in Italy
If Rick Barnes had one regret this summer, it was that Tennessee point guard Zakai Zeigler was not lining up across from Freddie Dilione V, his redshirt freshman counterpart. Few can match the intensity that Zeigler brings day in and day out.
“He’s starting to understand how to play with good players,” Barnes said recently of Dilione, Tennessee’s point guard while Zeigler continues to rehab the torn ACL he suffered on February 28.
Dilione showed as much on Friday.
He got the start at the point for Tennessee and led the Vols with 13 points in a 97-57 win over the Lithuania U21 national team in Florence, Italy, the first of three exhibition games the team will play during their 10-day Italian tour.
Tennessee will have a rematch against the Lithuania team on Saturday (1 p.m. Eastern Time) and play A.S. Stella Azzurra, a professional club, on Monday in Rome.
Freddie Dilione V was No. 44 overall player in 2022 recruiting class
Dilione was a four-star prospect out of Word of God Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C. He’s was No. 44 overall prospect nationally in the 2023 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He was ranked No. 3 among shooting guards and No. 1 in the state of North Carolina.
He enrolled early at Tennessee in January, joining the Vols in the middle of the season and sitting out as a redshirt before making his unofficial debut Friday in Italy.
“I think he’s starting to realize he’s going to have to make better decisions at the rims,” Barnes said last week, “in terms of knowing he can make a play late with his drives. Defensively, he’s gotten better. He’s got to get a lot better, but he will.”
What Barnes learned this summer about Dilione is that getting better starts with pushing his buttons.
“I found out if you can get him angry, he competes at a higher level,” Barnes said. “So he needs to find out how to get himself angry before he starts. The fact is, I do think when Zakai does get back, it’ll be one of the best things that will happen for Freddie.”
Up Next: Tennessee vs. Lithuania U21, Saturday, 1 p.m. ET
Barnes found one surefire way to get Dilione angry in summer workouts. Make him play defense, then more defense, then more defense on top of that.
“Over and over,” Barnes said, “and tell him he’s got to get a stop. He’s competitive. Freddie is very competitive.”
So competitive that it doesn’t take much for Dilione to get angry with himself.
“Because he sets a high standard for himself,” Barnes said.
Tough coaching only intensifies the situation.
“It’s just the fact that it’s a staff that is continually pointing it out that it’s not good enough,” Barnes said. “You have to be better, whether it’s closing out with your hands up, your stance on the ball, little things like that.
“And like most young guys wanting to go for the home run and go for the steal … at this level, you better get it or the other team is going to take advantage of it.”
