What Rick Barnes said after Tennessee's win over FGCU

Everything Rick Barnes said after No. 22 Tennessee’s 81-50 win over Florida Gulf Coast Wednesday at Thompson-Boling Arena:

BIGGEST DIFFERENCE FROM COLORADO TO FGCU

“The mental approach to the game and the way we focused — learning a lesson the hard way by losing a game by just not being as locked in as we need to. Guys came out and we just beat a really good basketball team. We talked about our defense, what we want to be, who we need to be and how we’re going to get there. We knew we had to get back to the defensive team we know that we’re capable of and get better.

“Offensively, understanding we need to be an inside-out team. Put fouls on people, get guys downhill with the ball and you go back, today, if we would have made our free throws, I would sit here and tell you that it’s a great all-around performance. I told (Olivier Nkamhoua) that I thought he really did a good job because we worked hard yesterday really trying to play inside-out. I told him that although he had just one rebound, but it was a compliment to our guards. We had three guards — you look at Josiah out there, Santi and Zakai with six, and then Tyreke with three and Jahmai Mashack I thought — he’s going to really help us because he’s a guy that can guard anybody. It’s a mindset understanding that every time you go out — I’m not sure that you can win a game in the first six or seven minutes, but you can certainly lose one. I thought the mindset coming in early was good. The fact that we played well was a great compliment to Florida Gulf Coast because they do a great job. They’re sound, they guard, they play inside-out, they shoot 30 three’s and are averaging 80.4 points a game I think. The way we defended is a compliment to our guys.”

JAHMAI MASHACK’S IMPROVEMENT

“He did and defensively — I do think and I told him that at the end of the game I thought he got a little fatigued, but that’s really the longest stretch he’s ever really played. Defensively, we want to pressure, but not get beat and in the second half I thought there was a fine line of continuing with the pressure, but not fouling. And you know they have to drive the ball. You know they have to because we were defending the three-point line well. They did a good job of in the first half of working one side and trying to skip it over the top. When we switched, we did a pretty good job. We’ll get better there, but Shack, yeah, his role will continue to grow because the fact he can guard anybody on the court and is highly competitive. He is a guy that can drive the ball. You guys have seen it and he can shoot the ball. It’s just a matter of time before he brings that back out here.”

ZAKAI ZEIGLER’S RESPONSE

“I thought he was unbelievable. That’s the Zakai Ziegler that we know. He came in the game, just a year ago, that’s what he did. I mean the whole tempo of the game changed. And the guys that started were fine, but even a year ago, with Kennedy in the game, when he came in, it just went to a different level. I just really appreciate him. The other night after the game, as soon as we got back here, he called me and said, ‘Coach, tell me what I need to do.’ I told him, ‘I’m going to tell you what I’ve been telling you for a year and a half now. You can’t get away from who you are.’ We talked about his DNA and how infectious it is on our team. Again, I thought he was terrific and he played a few more minutes than we would probably would want him to, but with Santi picking up the early foul there and then we wanted to keep guys out there to really give Tobe (Awaka) a chance to play with some guys that are experienced. The same with Julian (Phillips). I really liked the way that the group that ended the game finished. I’m not sure where we were at rebounding, but I think they got us there. Z, that’s who he is. What he did tonight.”

DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT AGAINST FGCU

“I think it was more mindset. I think we weren’t shooting the ball well offensively and things weren’t going well on that end because we weren’t looking to have any sort of inside game. I think we let it affect us on the defensive end. And we got down. But to be quite honest, and I told these guys, I think they thought that we were just going to walk in and play and be fine. Even in the first half. I said it up there and I’ll say it again. I’m not taking anything away from Colorado. Because I thought Tad (Boyle) did a terrific job coming off the loss they had. The fact that we didn’t answer will always be on me. And as much we talk about it, the fact is, it’s mindset. It was totally different. You can never, ever underestimate anybody you play. That’s probably the biggest cardinal sin in athletics. Not being ready to play, not executing like we needed to. Looking back on it, who knows, it might be the best thing that ever happened to us. It might be. We’ll see. I know the way we responded tonight is a compliment to our players.”

JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES PLAYING WELL DESPITE MISSING THE PRESEASON

“I’m not saying I’m surprised. Obviously, conditioning wise, he’s probably a little bit better (that I thought). But I do know, even while he was out, he was doing conditioning in other ways. I think a lot of credit goes to Jo and Garrett (Medenwald) and Chad (Newman), the way they went about trying to get him right. I really wanted to play him a little bit longer tonight, for conditioning purposes, but he picked up his fourth foul. Chad and G are still trying to monitor him, see how long he can go. I’m not surprised because he’s been around. Older guys can do that. They know what they need to do. But he’s been, obviously, a guy that needs to play on the floor, which he did most of the night. I think there’s not a better passer. But he gets up there and the way he can stretch a defense opens up a lot of things we did tonight.”

JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES SHOOTING THE BALL WELL

“You go back, no one has improved and reconstructed his shot more than Josiah. That’s not an easy thing to do. All the time, even when he was hurt, one thing he could do was keep shooting. He would shoot, shoot, shoot. I’ll tell you, when he gets his feet set, he can really expand his range. He’s got great hands. Great hands. What I do like tonight is the fact that we were getting five guys to the ball. There were a lot of hard hits in there. Ball bouncing around. Our guards were able to come up with it. We need that. Jo gets his hands on a lot of those. Where I think you’ll see his biggest improvement is probably defensively. I think he’ll get so much better there once he gets back moving the way he does.”

Injury Update: Uros Plavsic (ankle) has ‘really responded well’

UROS PLAVSIC

“He turned his ankle. Actually Chad told me yesterday he thought it would be a two-week deal, but he doesn’t think that now because he’s really responded well. He feels like most of the swelling is gone. He’s walking. He told me today, I saw him prior to the game today, and he said coach I feel like I’m walking normal. I think he’ll be ready to play next week.”

JULIAN PHILLIPS GETTING TO THE FREE-THROW LINE

“I like it because he hasn’t been shooting it as well as he can. The fact that he would give us that. He really can finish. Every time he goes out, he’s going to learn something. He’s going to learn that gaps close up, guys are going to be open for a split second. If you don’t get it to him when he’s open, that lane is going to close down. He threw it away there at the end because on the other side of the possession, he missed a wide-open guy. We said hey man, you’ve got to give it to him. Being a young freshman, that meant he’s throwing it regardless. He turned it over. But that’s being a couple games into his college career. He’s just getting started. He’s working hard defensively. He’s still understanding how much quicker the game is. Like Zakai made a really good back pick today. It should’ve been Julian’s ball. That’s where he has to get active in the gap, know that. Our gap help early was really good. They were trying to get in there. But it’s going to be fun to watch him mature and grow. He’s not close to scratching the surface yet.” 

Up Next: Tennessee vs. Butler, Battle 4 Atlantis, Nov. 23

CHEMISTRY AGAINST FGCU VS. CHEMISTRY AGAINST COLORADO

“Again, a mental approach. I’ve often said, as a coach, most of the games you lose, you lose in practice. You lose it with your preparation. I think when game time comes, everybody wants to win, but if you’re not prepared, not just physically but mentally, as a coach, I felt it. I told those guys yesterday that after we beat Gonzaga there was a letdown that we had. It’s tough because we’ve 70-something practices since we started in the summer and haven’t gotten to play much, then you play a game and have a week off, it’s tough. The fact is we weren’t who we need to be, and when I say that, I don’t want to take away anything from the team who beat us, but the fact is that’s not who we are. We’re going to have to reestablish who we are, but we’re not going to be able to do it with a one-shot deal. The only way to do it is to come back and do it again and again and again.”

BEING COMFORTABLE WITH FRONTCOURT OPTIONS IF UROS PLAVSIC ISN’T READY NEXT WEEK

“That’s why we’re trying to get Tobe out there early and try to establish him. Think about it, he came up with 5 rebounds, and that’s what he does, but he can score the ball better. He’s putting himself in a bad position because he’s putting his feet too close together. He’s trying to figure out when he plays quick and when he has a chance to hold it and get a feel. He doesn’t understand where he’s on the court yet and where he needs to be consistently. Jonas will be fine. Jonas had a temperature yesterday and didn’t practice. He was here, but he didn’t practice. Today, one time we went big and they sized up with us, but for the most part they were playing with four perimeter players. I do think as time goes on we have to continue to develop that area. I do think people respect our perimeter 3s, even though we haven’t shot it great. Tonight, we had great balance, but we’ve got to be, like all great teams, an inside-out team, not only by throwing the ball to the post but driving the ball into the paint and kicking out. I thought Santi played really well tonight. One thing I did tell the guys is we don’t have to make shots to impact the game, and Santi in his own way impacts the game so many different ways. He actually jammed his finger pretty good but worked through that. Good guard play. Those guys knew it. I say it sometimes, but deep down they know it, too. I think who they are, they bounced back and showed that tonight.”

SANTIAGO VESCOVI’S PLAY

“I tell you all the time like I tell them, when you make a mistake, we can’t try to come back and fix it right away, but that’s the competitive spirit that we want our players to have. Zakai has that situation. He did it tonight. He knew he missed a guy and came back and tried to make something happen that wasn’t there. That’s the competitive spirit, but there’s a line you kind of have to dance on. When you’re not shooting well and you try to do too much, that’s where it kind of compounds, but this time of year you go through these painful moments and you have to deal with it. Santi has been around me, and what he has done here in his time here, the fact that he’s an All-SEC kid, and the great thing is we can get so much better, and we will because of the way these guys approach it.”