University of Tennessee Athletics
Vol Hoops Media Monday
February 26, 2018 | Men's Basketball
On the difficulty of staying sharp when getting a big lead:
"Yeah it is difficult. I do think that teams get caught up in the game and just a couple possessions can switch the whole momentum of the game. It's also difficult when you're playing and you start getting wide open shots early, and it's hard to turn down wide open looks even though at the time it may not be what you want. You may get three straight great looks and not make them, then you turn it over and they convert those baskets, so yeah I do think it's hard to maintain what you're doing. But so much of the time when you get a lead, take the game Saturday, our offense was bad. We had bad offense that let them go down and score within two or three seconds. So a 20 point lead can get away from you really quick when people are scoring easy baskets two, three, four or five seconds because of turnovers."
On if he appreciates the NCAA Tournament talk more this year:
"I've always appreciated it. I've said it year after year, you don't take it for granted, because it's difficult to be a postseason team, it's difficult to get there, and that's why you have great admiration for the teams that seem to get there every year, because it's not an easy thing to do. Everybody has a different route that they play to get there, but if you're one of the 68 teams that get a chance to play for the big trophy, that has to be your goal. But it's something that you never take for granted."
On Jordan Bone's improved play:
"I think he's playing better, I don't think there's any question about that. And you would expect him to, we're at the end of his sophomore year, even though he missed nine or 10 games a year ago at a crucial time. The key word for him will always be, and I think for most players, consistency. That spot calls for it more than any spot on the floor, you have to have a point guard that really can direct things and know how to have a great feel for the game, when you have leads in the game, knowing what's going on, knowing how to keep your guys engaged and if they're behind they see confidence in you and what you're doing. But he's worked hard, he's really improved a tremendous amount from a year ago and he has good practice habits and now the part that he has to continue to develop consistency in is the mental side. I think he does understand how demanding that position is, but embracing it to where he can do what he needs to do every day."
On Lamonte Turner as a sixth man and if he should be an SEC Sixth Man of the Year candidate:
"Well I think he's been awfully good for us. And again, I don't look at him as a sixth man, I don't. Lamonte's done some really good things, but I still think he could be better. I think he can be more consistent. When he plays his best basketball is when he's really locked in on the defensive end. When he plays his worst basketball is when he's thinks shot first. So it's still a mindset that he's developing. I just think that when you look at our guards, the key word that we've searched for all year is consistency. But I don't look as him as a sixth man even though he doesn't start. He's finished a lot of games for us."
On Grant Williams's response to criticism:
"Grant is probably as good as any player that we've ever coached in terms of taking criticism, whatever it may be. He takes it, but he's also still learning how hard it is to be good. He's understanding day in and day out the consistency of being a top flight player, a player of the year type of candidate. A lot goes into it. He needs to get back ton kind of rebounding the ball and going after the ball. He needs to stay away from the silly fouls that he's been getting himself into, but in terms of taking coaching criticism, he wants it as much as any player that we've coached."
On if he considers being one of nine Tennessee teams to win 21 games an accomplishment:
"To be honest with you, I don't know if I get caught up in all of that. I've been doing it too long to think about anything other than I want this team to max out. I want them to be the best that they can be and we wanted that with our other two teams here as well. You want to get better. You want to be a team that's relevant every year and I just know that this group of guys has worked really hard. We've been going at it a long time, we started almost immediately when the season was over last year, and I don't think that's any different than anyone else. But they've learned a lot. And they're still learning. Every film session we go into, we keep talking about a lot of things over and over, which tells you that we don't have it yet. But the fact is, we're going to get it at some point in time. With this team, everyone will be back on this team a year from now with the exception of one player, and we'll add some to the mix I'm sure. But the fact is, every game we go into, we've tried to set the standard that we want to play with and that's what we'll continue to do and hope that we can reach it."
On Admiral Schofield's improved consistency:
"He has improved, and we need him to keep doing it. Admiral and Kyle have been with us since the get go. They know what we need and what we want and they've been working at it really hard for a long time. When Admiral plays within himself, when he's rebounding and playing physical, that's when he's his best. When he takes good shots, he shoots the ball well, and we know that. We know he can go inside and score. Defensively, I think he's really improved a lot this year, going to the perimeter for the first time. I think he has really done a good job there and he'll continue to get better there. The one area that I do think he can get a lot better in is rebounding. He can do a whole lot better rebounding. He gets rebounds, but he gives up three or four every game that he should have. He's a guy that really could be a double-double guy every night if he would finish the rebounds that he gets his hands on but doesn't come up with."
On the importance of the SEC Tournament:
"Well everyone has all these theories about winning conference tournaments, but to be honest with you I don't understand why you don't want to win every time you go on the court. Players would much rather play games than practice this time of year. Coaches would rather play games than practice this time of year. We've done a lot of practicing. With conference tournaments, a year ago, we needed it. If we were going to be a postseason team we needed to have a deep run to play ourselves into the postseason, whether it be the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. So I think conference tournaments are a good thing. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the Big Ten tournament this week, they start Wednesday. They moved it up to get into New York and they're going to have a whole week off. So there will be people talking about that theory. I do think this, that it's a really tough turnaround on Sunday to have to play or Thursday. I think that is where a conference tournament can play against you. But otherwise I think that everybody goes into the conference tournament wanting to win the conference tournament. And whatever happens, you deal with it, and if you're fortunate enough to be able to be in a position to go on to another postseason tournament then you have to get ready for that one."
On what challenges the matchup with Mississippi State presents:
"If you look at what they've done, they're playing as well as any team in the league. Their guards are terrific, they have four guards that go at the rim hard. They play downhill really well, great size inside, lots of ball screen with Lamar Peters at the point. He really creates a lot of things for his teammates, he's a terrific passer that gets downhill and really does a lot of good things. They're right there with anybody as a team. They could finish in the top four in the league, and if you're doing that this year in this league, there's not much else that needs to be said."
On early fouls taking Grant Williams out of the game:
"Yeah, I think it does, but I think those fouls are form being lazy, too. His first foul the other day, he and a guy from Ole Miss get locked up, and the fact of the matter is by rule, you can't bar up somebody and face guard them. When guys hook up arms right there, the best thing to do is to just get out of it, you can't keep pushing and shoving. I understand at the start of a game adrenaline is going and those type of things happen, but I don't think there's any question that other teams try to get to him too. They're going to try to block him out, try to get him tangled up, and he had one the other day where the guy before him stumbled and he stumbled over him, so a foul had to be called. Those fouls happen, so you don't want the other ones to happen, the ones you can avoid. There was one where he set up for a charge, but wasn't even close to picking up a charge, he started falling beforehand. Those are the plays where he should be making basketball plays. He can take a charge, but if he has that much time to set up and start fading away, he should be going up and blocking shots. So some of it is that he's going to get tangled up inside, and like I told him, the best thing is for him to get away from it as quick as he can. But yes, those fouls affect him, there's no doubt they do."
On Derrick Walker's performance at Ole Miss:
"When Derrick does what he does, and he fights for his space inside offensively, Derrick's a good passer and player. When he's not playing well it's because he tries to do too much, but when he buys into his role, he's a really good defensive player, he does as good of a job as anyone on our team with our ball screen coverage, he brings a physicality that we need, and when he gets the ball in certain areas on the floor, he can score it and he can pass the ball. He has a chance to be a really, really terrific player. This will be a major offseason for him where he needs to get himself in great shape, and learn to play harder for longer periods of time."
On if paying players will remove corruption from college basketball:
"No. Think about the percentage that agents get for signing a top player. Whatever you pay them, there's someone that can pay them more. The guys that they think are going to be pro prospects, when they leave, they become very hot commodities. Kevin Durant, his first year out of college, was the 14th highest paid athlete in the world, he made $27 million. And agents don't take percentages of these set contracts, but there was a shoe deal that was negotiated, a car deal that was negotiated and other things. So an agent is getting a percentage of that. And then you talk about financial planners. They see this type of money. So do I think paying players would stop that side of it? I don't. If you're working in that business, that side of it, what are you trying to do, are you trying to do? You're trying to develop relationships to get clients. Paying players I don't think will solve all the issues that we have, no I don't."
On the high amount of assists against Ole Miss:
"I think it suggests that when we know what we're looking for and the passer's engaged and we're getting the kind of movement we want, yeah I do think we have guys that can deliver the ball. And again, we can be so much better with it. Just a couple feet on the floor makes a huge difference. Where you deliver a ball so that the guy doesn't have to reach back for it. We could be so much better if we could just put it into a pocket more consistently. And like I said earlier, we still need to get back to making the early pass, especially on the perimeter."
