University of Tennessee Athletics
Postgame Quotes: Vols 81, Florida Atlantic 62
December 16, 2015 | Men's Basketball
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Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes
(Opening statement)
"I thought Kyle (Alexander) maybe for the first time fought through fatigue. All those points that KP (Kevin Punter) started scoring through that flurry were really because of him. He did just a great job of fighting for his space and really doing this job. I thought he really got very conscience of getting down into his stance on the defensive end.
"Detrick (Mostella) is trying harder than he has really ever tried. He came into the game and really tried to play on the defensive end. Those two guys (Alexander and Mostella) are really a great example of two guys who carried over some of the things what we have talked about and hopefully we can continue to learn.
"We were too stagnant offensively but defensively, with our positioning and all that, it might have been as good as a defensive game we have played."
(On Brad Woodson making his Vols debut)
"I've been telling him I'm going to play him. He goes in the game, and he cut the way we want to cut. He got in a stance the way we want to do it. We have confidence in him. It's just a matter of putting him in. I think at some point in time, it gets to where I've told the guys I'm going to play them.
"You look at our turnovers. Shembari [Phillips] turned it over four times tonight. Armani [Moore] had a turnover. 15 turnovers is too many, but we're going to play everybody.
"I thought Ray [Kasongo] did some good things. There are some things he's got to continue to do better."
"The fact is, Brad [Woodson] can shoot the ball. He knows exactly what we're trying to do on both ends of the floor. I thought it was a good experience for him, and I'm not afraid to put him in the game. I probably should've used him more up to this point. I really planned on using him against Butler. We're going to use him. We think he can help us."
(On what improved on the defensive end)
"I thought more guys getting in a stance [helped out on defense]. There's no question, they did a better job with the scouting report - understanding what we're trying to do, and playing personnel. I thought our post guys worked really hard. I thought Admiral [Schofield] was really good with his post defense. Kyle [Alexander] got down in a stance and was doing some things. We did a better job for the most part of staying in front of the ball.
"You look at the fact that we out-rebounded them. When you hold a team to 34.5% shooting and they only have nine offensive rebounds, that's a pretty good indicator that you held position pretty well. We got 13 [offensive rebounds] ourselves tonight, which we haven't been doing much. Rebounding was one thing we talked about with them being a much bigger team.
" I don't like the fact that we turned the ball over 15 times. We're too casual. Most of the time, it was the cutter's fault - just too slow getting to the screen, and not changing pace, and allowing the guy to set the screen is what it really came down to. It wasn't necessarily the guy that threw the pass, it was the guys setting up the cut."
(On the team getting more inside looks)
"We worked hard before the Butler game, trying to do that. Admiral [Schofield] can score the ball there. Derek Reese used a shot that we worked on with him. He's gotten to where he can score the ball there. Derek, Admiral, Kyle [Alexander], and Ray [Kasongo] can get over the top of people, whereas Armani [Moore] normally plays around them. Those guys can get up over top, and it really gets back to space - doing the work early, getting ready to catch it and go to work.
" I just hope this is something that Kyle can really build on. He can run. He was getting down the floor. The next part of a break has got to be where we pick him up in transition - not necessarily just make him go down in the post, but look for him where he can get some easy looks. We did it one time with Ray. He caught the ball, but he wasn't ready to score, so he threw it out. I think if we get a `mike-runner' every time, I think it can really add a lot more to our offense."
(On Armani Moore's first half injury)
"He got a cramp. He must've not eaten something pre-game. I don't even want to get back in that cramp situation. That's all it was."
(On Kevin Punter's second half scoring)
"What he does is such an important part of what we want to do. It really is. We have to go after those elbows - that high percentage area. I thought the ball was sticking too much.
" I thought Admiral [Schofield] really did a great job getting it going, because he was getting the ball moving. I don't want to see a guy stand and hold the ball for two seconds. I talk about 0.5. Make a decision in 0.5 seconds - shoot it, pass it, dribble at somebody. Keep that ball moving. I thought Admiral did that; ran into a couple of ball screens.
"I just thought we were running through - almost like watching dummy offense, as opposed to playing it. I don't want guys to run offense. I want them to play it. I just felt we were looking to run offense as opposed to reading it, making the cuts we need to make out of it. It gets back to ball reversal. Every time we got the ball reversed twice, something good would happen for us. We got the transition game going. I told [Kevin Punter Jr.] that we've got to attack the elbows. Kyle [Alexander] had a lot to do with that. He ran and got down there, and got his guy on his back and opened up that driving lane, then good things happened."
(On Kyle Alexander's response in practice)
"He's a great kid. I'm probably harder on him than I normally would be. The fact is, we've got great expectations for him. He's going to end up being one of the great running post guys that we've had. He's got great hands. He over-thinks things. He's probably harder on himself than I am on him. He's hard on himself, but I'm not going to let him off the hook. I love him to death. I think he can be terrific.
"I think this is a really big year for him, and I thought tonight he really got down and played. He acted like he had some energy. He was absolutely awful at Butler. To flip it around and do the things that he did tonight, I think is really a testament to his mental toughness. He doesn't like it when I tell him he's soft. I think he showed some mental toughness tonight, because he knows that he wasn't very happy with the way he played. Every minute he plays is like putting money in the bank. His account's going to grow and grow."
(On the accomplishments during tonight's game)
"We didn't shoot well tonight, we turned down some shots. I think it's a combination of the fact that we're playing four guards. We had a great officiating crew; they were a final four crew today. I still don't think that we're running the offense the way that we're capable of. Actually when Brad came in today for Detrick that place he played with is what we are looking for. The fact is that we scored 81 points tonight and we only made three (3-pointers). That may be the lowest of the year. During the first half, Armani had five points on the board and missed free throws. I don't know if the rules are factoring in like people thought they would. The clock was on five seconds and I don't even want to see the clock get down to 10 really. I do think that we've got some skilled guys and we've got Hubbs back and we'll play fine if Kyle continues to do what he's doing. Ray has shown some signs but he's got to get more consistent. He had his best practice yesterday. We weren't very good offensively in the first half or defensively. We've got to get where we can work on both of that and then put them together."
(On Hubbs returning to the court)
"Today is the first time he somewhat went through a game day walkthrough. He shot and worked on offense but not at full speed. I don't think he will play Saturday or before Christmas but he is making progress."
(On Kyle playing against bigger guys)
"Kyle actually wanted to take himself out and we wouldn't take him out. He asked to come out of the game and we told him to suck it up. He was terrific and I think it was just another step that he had to take. He works with me and normally he's the last guy to leave the gym every day and he's working on his secret weapon. (He wants to) shoot a three so bad he can't stand it. He's a good shooter but I think he knows that we need him to do some things inside and he's getting better with that. I thought tonight was huge for him because he wanted to come out and he couldn't but he didn't let up. I think that was great for all of us."
(On the trip to Seattle to face Gonzaga)
"It's a tough trip, plans were for Friday but we're going to get up and leave tomorrow. We're going to get out there and play and then turn around and play East Tennessee State. I know we're going to be gone for a long time but we scrimmaged them every year that I was in Texas for the past 10 years I guess so we know each other and we know his program and he knows us. Once I got the job here the one thing that we wanted to do right off the bat was get the schedule at a level where we wanted. (Gonzaga head coach Mark Few) was the first person I called. He said absolutely and they needed someone to play in the Battle in Seattle and I didn't know we were going to have to play at eight o'clock at night, but we couldn't control that. They've got an injury to a very important player to them and I don't know where he is or if he's going to play. I don't know anything about it but it's a bonus. I'd love to have Hubbs but I don't think that he will play."
(On his introduction to Gonzaga head coach Mark Few)
"I think I met Mark for the first time back when I was at Clemson. It may have been the first or second year at the Top of the World tournament up in Alaska. He was the assistant coach and they beat us. We've gotten to know each other and he's a wonderful person and great guy. We just kind of clicked a little bit but that was the first time I would've met him. I think that would've been my third year at Clemson maybe in 1995 or 1996."
(On the competitiveness of this season's schedule)
"You have to have that conference play with a pretty high RPI. They told me yesterday that our strength of the schedule is (number one). I think you have to have a lot of teams playing big schedules and you're going to win some of them but I do know this: you get rewarded for playing a tough schedule as long as you're competitive in those types of games. That's one thing you have to appreciate with the NCAA committee does now. They will be aware that we went to Butler and played (well). They know that. They're going to know all of those types of things where you can get into one of those situations and get out. They know the strength of the schedule and all of that is going to matter but I think if you look at our league we've probably haven't had enough big wins as a conference and it's going to make it tough to get to the teams that we want in it. Gonzaga lost two games at home and they never do that and I think with Arizona and UCLA, you'd have to look long and hard to find the last time that it happened. We have a chance to do something in January with the Big 12-SEC challenge. I've always said that we do what we've set out to do and play a demanding non-league schedule to do something league."
Tennessee guard Kevin Punter
(On scoring 11 straight points in the second half)
"I was in attack mode, coach always tells us to attack the elbow. I was talking to myself and telling myself that no one can stop me, I was just trying to be aggressive."
(On help from Kyle Alexander)
"Kyle really helped me, he ducked in and the defender would literally run into him. Kyle did a great job ducking in and helping me draw the foul calls, and when I didn't draw the foul I went all the way to the rim."
(On preparing for Gonzaga)
"I have seen them play on TV a few times. Those guys are really smart and a great ball club. Coach already has a game plan, and we just need to do what coach needs."
(On how he attacks bigger guys)
"I may go into the body, but I mostly try to just put the ball over you. If they keep trying to block me, I play a little game with you where I act like I'm attacking the body, then I just put it over your head."
Tennessee forward Armani Moore
(On what the freshmen post players mean to the team)
"It takes a lot of stress off the guards. I think there was a stretch there where Kevin Punter scored almost 14 straight points, and it was because Kyle [Alexander] was sealing his man and allowing Kevin to drive down the middle of the lane. It's just little stuff like that, that goes unrecognized. I think the big guys did a great job tonight. Ray Kansongo came in and got some key blocks tonight, some big rebounds. Both of those guys are getting better. They are competing in practice."
(On the offense)
"Coach always tells us, we're not gonna run offense, we are going to play offense. The last thing we want to do it to run down the court and be stagnant. He wants us to be aggressive at all times and try and get to the free throw line, and I think we did a good job of that tonight."
Tennessee forward Kyle Alexander
(On his adjustment to college basketball)
"The speed of the game is a lot quicker in college than it is in high school. My teammates and my strength coach are really helping me adjust to that as well."
(On what he learned from tonight's game)
"I learned to buy in to the little things. The little details that coach emphasizes in practice. It's the little things that make a big difference. Everything helps us as a team. It's a team effort."
(On getting rebounds)
"We are kind of an undersized team, so there is more of a role for when me and Ray Kasongo are in the game to get the team what they need. We have to get lower, box out our assignments. We have to do our part to help the team win because it is a team effort. We just want to do our part to help the team win."
Florida Atlantic head coach Michael Curry
(On Tennessee's play on Wednesday night)
"I thought that Tennessee's defense did really good. I also thought that we worked hard. We had great opportunities. We had 17 points today and 20 points off of turnovers."
(On sophomore center C.J. Turman)
"C.J. should have had more than one block. The way these guys blocked the basketball, we should have had more than one block."
(On senior guard Solomon Poole)
"I think that those two games got Soloman prepared and really grabbed his attention."
(On his team's defensive performance)
"I think we did a great job holding them at the three point line -- that's big. We didn't give up that many fouls. If we could hit some free throws it would have been a different ball game. If we kept them off the free throw line, it could have been different."
