What Rick Barnes said after No. 13 Tennessee's 94-40 win over Alcorn State

Everything head coach Rick Barnes said after No. 13 Tennessee’s 94-40 win over Alcorn State on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena:

If that was the most complete game Tennessee has played this season

“Before I answer that, Alcorn, I’ll tell you, our guys I think gave them the ultimate compliment, because they were locked in, ready to play. We had watched enough tape with them to know they put as much effort in guarding and defending as anybody we have played. The fact is, they were down two, three guys tonight. Haven’t played a home game yet. Think about that. I have a great deal of respect for that coaching staff because they kept coaching their guys up to the end. I thought our focus on the defensive end, again, we got better offensively. And we can get better offensively. We called some plays tonight that we didn’t execute. Got to do a better job of that. Just the mindset coming in, I think it’s really a compliment to Alcorn State. Because we showed them how hard they fight. They don’t ever give up. We actually said the other night against McNeese, we won the game but we weren’t the hardest-playing team on the court the other night. We wanted to see if we could do that tonight.

“I would say that (it was the most complete effort of the season). When you look at it, the fact that we assisted 27 on 33 baskets, I guess. That’s how we’re at our best. And we were able to turn some turnovers into some baskets, obviously, that makes it easier in some ways. But that was a good defensive effort. Overall I would tell you that it was our most complete game on both ends in terms of concentration.”

Santiago Vescovi ‘day-to-day’ with shoulder injury

When Tennessee ruled out Santiago Vescovi (shoulder sprain) and his timeline moving forward

“I would say day-to-day. We knew he wasn’t going to play today. Yesterday we knew we were going to limit Josiah to some minutes today, because he’s feeling better, obviously. Again, I think Santi would be day-to-day.”

Tennessee turning defense into offense

“We need more of that. The effort was there, definitely there. Like I said, they were missing a couple key guys. We were really concerned with the fact, and they did hurt us still, they drove a certain guys. We knew the game would turn into some one-on-one situations. We had a couple ball-screen breakdowns where we, again, didn’t do a great job. You realize we’re looking for perfection and we’re trying to get it. The fact is, we can come up with those deflections to get out in the open court, you need those kind of baskets. Where every time you come down the court you don’t feel like you have to grind.”

Zakai Zeigler and the other guards

“I thought Zakai (Zeigler) really did some good things, especially in the second half. Where he’s starting more and more to understand our transition game and what he needs to do. Tyreke (Key) had to play some point. I thought Jahmai (Mashack) went in and, again, we have high expectations for him. But our post guys had some really good interior passing. Something we had worked on hard the last week, where they’re understanding they don’t have much time in there. They don’t have much space. If they want to be effective, they’re going to have to do their work early. And we have to also get it there. It’s not as easy as everybody might think. We’ve got to learn to give up positions and maintain possessions. We lost it two or three times tonight putting it in there. But I thought it was more the post not going to get the ball than because the passer.”

The minutes for Tennessee freshmen BJ Edward and Tobe Awaka

“I thought their preparation was good. Tobe is a guy that is prepared. I think BJ is understanding the importance of it. But again, these games are important. Not that we take anybody lightly, but the fact is, they better make the most of those minutes. Like the first half, we had BJ out there and we took him out because there was a loose ball that he should’ve had. Because we want to understand that every possession matters. And if you’re tired, you have to learn to fight through that. That’s where cardio toughness comes in. But BJ is going to be a good player. Tobe, he got five rebounds. They’re out there, they haven’t settled in, obviously. Their instincts haven’t totally taken over. I think once they can get minutes, and I do think before the year is out, those guys will help us in games that people might not think. We’re going to need them.”

Who impressed him the most

“Again, I thought our post guys got into some switches that we had to stay in front of a few times. I would say the constant pressure Jahmai (Mashack) and Z(akia Zeigler) put up. It’s hard to do what they do. It’s really hard. I’ve often said that to our post guys, we should let you guys go out there and do what they do and you’ll realize that your job is difficult and hard but what they’re doing is really tough. They’re out there trying to disrupt things. Tyreke (Key) is starting to get better with it. Jo(siah-Jordan James) is a solid guy. Even the minutes he plays, he impacts the game. He gets his hands on things. He rebounds. What we’ve got to do is we have to get a team full of guys that want to be defensive player of the years. That’s what we have to continue to get and that means post guys doing their job consistently, especially in ball screens and when  we switch containing the basketball.”

The Orange Bowl matchup between Tennessee and Clemson

“I can answer that real easy. It’s great to be a Tennessee Vol. It’s great.”

Up Next: No. 13 Tennessee vs. Eastern Kentucky, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Production in the post, with Tennessee scoring 50 points in the paint

“What I like today, I like it when our post guys are in there carving out there space and able to make good passes in tight areas. The fact that we did keep the ball up a lot tonight. They do really come in and swipe at it. Early in the game Jonas got a rebound and brought it down and they took it from him. Then we started playing over top of them and keeping it up. We have to get better at that because the last two teams have done that. They’ve really hit us hard in the post. We keep talking about carving out your space where you need it and I thought tonight Tyreke is still turning down too many shots that he needs to take for us from the perimeter. It’s that balance we’re looking for and we’re getting closer. When we do hit the paint with it and it comes back out we expect those guys to shoot it because we think they can shoot it.”

 The importance of Tyreke being aggressive offensively

“It’s really important for him. I think somebody told me this, Tom you would know. I think Santi’s taken 30 more threes than him coming into this game. I don’t know what the number was but that shouldn’t be like that. Think about tonight, he charged one time. He came off and got fouled at the top but that play’s designed to shoot the ball. He’s got to understand when we design something and get the shot we want we have to shoot it. He’s got to understand it. He’s learning the offense. I think he has to continue to get better at screening. He’s got to do what Santi does a lot— screen to get himself open. Again, we want him to be aggressive. We want him when he’s open, we expect him to turn it loose.”

Julian Phillips finishing well despite his smaller frame

“Well he’s got a terrific feel for the game. He sees the court for the most part. He’s learning. He’s still learning how hard it is to play defensively. It’s hard to play this game at this level regardless of who you’re playing at the intensity to get yourself up to 40 minutes. We’re not there yet. We’re about halfway where we need to be with our effort on both ends but I hope we’re not as good as we’re going to be right now. I think we have a chance, like there’s a lot of teams that know they can get better. We’re one of them. But what he does, he does have a terrific feel for the game. He’s had a lot thrown at him. He’s competitive. He just has some instincts you wish you can teach a lot of guys but he’s got it. But the fact is he’s extremely coachable. He wants to be good. He wants to be good on the defensive end. This is all new to him and he’d tell you from his body— he’s worked so hard. Most guys come in and we know they’re going to get bigger and stronger but some guys you have to lose weight. The other way (gaining weight) is probably more challenging. I think Garrett Medenwald would probably tell you that Julian has spent as much time as anyone we’ve had since he’s been here working on his body To get it. He knows how important that is but he’s really put time in. I think we’re all going to see him grow up a lot between now and before he’s finished.”