Everything Rick Barnes, Vols said after 71-45 win over Butler in the Bahamas

What head coach Rick Barnes, sophomore wing Jahmai Mashack and senior guard Santiago Vescovi said after No. 22 Tennessee beat Butler 71-45 in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis Wednesday in the Bahamas:

Head Coach Rick Barnes

Opening Statement

“It was a very physical first half and I thought the way we closed the first half was a very important part of the game. We got some great play from our bench with some key guys in foul trouble not playing the minutes they normally play. Overall a terrific team win for us.”

What went well defensively 

“The mindset. We’ve always built our program on that, really trying to defend people. We have guys that are competitive and understand they’ve got to do a great job not only with our team concept but with their individual matchups. Both teams, you have to give a lot of credit to Butler too with their defense. It was really a hard fought, physical game. It really was.”

If fatigue played a role for Butler, with only nine players available

“I would think it played a bit of a role into it because we do have depth that we’re excited to use. I do think that. We do want to push pace too and what we ask our guys to do is hard. We want to play with an uptempo on offense but defensively we know we can put people in long possessions and have to play it out. That’s tough but yet the fact that we have the bench that we have, I do think it played a little bit of a factor in the game.”

Defensive execution throughout the game, shutting Butler out on multiple runs

“I do think we were pretty in tune with the scouting report. I thought the coaches, again, did their job in preparing these guys with the scouting report. But I also think the fact that we have the ability to switch. And we have some guys that can make what we call ‘fix-it plays.’ (Butler) screens, they cut hard. We really started getting to the glass, cleaning it up there, only giving them one shot at it. I just think the fact that we can fix it, help each other. When teams run good stuff, you get clipped a few times. The fact that, again, you can fix it is a mark of what I think we’re capable of doing.”

Josiah-Jordan James (knee soreness) missing the game

“We felt coming in (that he would be out). We knew that he wasn’t going to be available today. We’ll wait and see. He’ll be questionable tomorrow. We’ll decide. Day to day.”

The role Jonas Aidoo and Jahmai Mashack played for Tennessee

“I was just sitting here looking at the stat sheet and when Jahmai is on the floor, he is a plus-33. When he is on the floor, Jonas is plus-18. I thought Jonas, in our defensive package, we switched some. He switched out. In out-of-bounds situation we went to what we call hot alignment, where he could up on a guard. I thought he really worked hard. Jahmai came in and does what we need him to do. He is going to guard. He is going to stick his nose in there and give us extra possessions. Those two guys were really key. Zakai came in tonight and I thought his energy his was contagious, too. We will need them all again tomorrow because it is a quick turnaround. We have to come back and try to do it again, try to do it again better.”

Tennessee’s defense in the first half

“When you are not making shots, it is obvious as a player. You want to make shots, especially as a player. You get lost in the game, we tell our guys defensively like they did, a lot of things happen. You can break it loose and get out in the open court. A lot to different things can happen. When you play as hard as they play, sometimes it is difficult to get a flow on offense. We are putting teams in long possessions often. We expect our guards to do a lot of different things. We expect everybody to do a lot of different things. We want to be a team that on nights we are not making shots, we know we can find a way to win basketball games. We do know there will be nights when we can put it all together. That is exciting. We just have to keep getting to that point. Hopefully, we will come out of this tournament with a little more rhythm. We haven’t had a chance to really get that rhythm hat we know we can play with.”

The performance of Julian Phillips and if getting to the foul line was part of the game plan

“It was. I thought Julian took some big steps tonight. I thought Jonas did too. It was a really physical game. Probably the most physical game Julian has ever played in. It was really physical. Against, I think he took some big steps tonight. When we weren’t making shots, obviously we want to play inside-out and I think that’s where we are as a team right now. Trying to figure out when to shoot the ball, but when guys like Santi and Tyreke and Zakai — (when) those guys get looks, they have to take them because — first off, Santi doesn’t get many. He’s so guarded so differently than most guys, they don’t want to leave him, so he has to work not only what he’s doing on the defensive end, but what he does on the offensive end as well just trying to get open. He does a great job of getting his teammates open, too, but we do think we have the ability to post some different guys and now we have to do a better job of making free throws.”

The offensive spurt in the second half

“I do think we’re a good offensive team, but we’ve had no rhythm to our season so far. Play a game, off a week — we haven’t played in a week until tonight and knowing that you’re coming here to play three games, it’s not like we’re able to do what we normally would like to do once we get a routine down.”

The importance of Tennessee’s Santiago Vescovi seeing a shot go down

“Santi, he’s been around. When he gets going, I don’t think there’s any question. Not just Santi, but anybody. We’ve seen Tyreke (Key) get going and we’ve had — really this reminded me a lot of the Michigan State scrimmage in the fact that it was so physical in that scrimmage and then all at once we were able to erupt there in the second half, we just think that if we do what we do, practice the way we practice, believe in what we’re doing, that we’ll find a way to generate enough offense to win it if we can defend consistently like we’re capable of.”

Tennessee sophomore wing Jahmai Mashack 

What went well defensively for Tennessee 

“For me, we just knew that the first thing coming into the game was defense. That’s what we hang our hat on. That’s what we’re known for. We knew if that dropped everything else would drop so we knew coming in defense is going to be an important part— defense and rebounding would be an important part of winning this game. Everything else just connected from there.”

Tennessee senior guard Santiago Vescovi

What went well defensively

“Same thing. Defense is really important for us as a program and I think more in the second half it was more of a mentality thing. I think in the second half too we got the rhythm and I think the most important thing we have to do is let the defense dictate our offense. I think that’s what happened in the second half. I think we got the rhythm on defense and that’s what got us going on defense.”

What got him going offensively in the second half

“I think what got me going was my teammates, no doubt. I think the energy that they brought on the defensive end, I think it’s just something contagious, that gets everybody going. Then knowing that coaches and also my teammates trust me shooting the ball. I think everybody on my team was the main reason for me getting it going.”

His offense in the second half

“I think I kind of already answered that question. It was definitely my teammates that got it going. It’s just something contagious, and also I think when other guys get it going like Tyreke shooting it, it creates a lot of space for everybody else. (Zeigler) got it going as well, (Nkamhoua) got it going inside, we’ve got (Mashack) cutting to the rim. Plus everyone is locked in on the defensive end. You can just feel the energy from everyone. I think that’s when we’re at our best. That is just something contagious for everyone.”