University of Tennessee Athletics
@Vol_Hoops Report: Dec. 6
December 06, 2015 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee's journey through the early December doldrums reached Day Eight as the Vols bunkered down for another intense afternoon of practice at Pratt Pavilion on Sunday.
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Rick Barnes
(On what he wants to see out of Kevin Punter going forward)
"Consistency. I think the biggest thing we need from Kevin is defense. We're not asking him to be a lock-down defender, we're just asking him to be as solid as he can be and really work hard at staying in front of the ball. We just need him to be a really solid defender. As a team we need that."
(On the timetable for Robert Hubbs III’s return following an arthroscopic procedure Dec. 1)
“He’s doing great. Our expectation is (that he will return) as soon as possible, obviously, but we’re not going to put him in a position where we don’t give the surgery a chance to be successful. He’s doing what he needs to do. Your hope would be that he could get back for the next game. That’s probably highly unlikely, but that’s what we’re shooting for. That means that he also comes back without very much practice.”
Kevin Punter
(On his assessment of his point guard play through seven games)
“I think it’s going pretty well. I can always do better. But for the most part, I think it’s been going well. I’ve got a lot to learn still from coach, and I’ve got a lot to learn every day.”
(On his high assist-to-turnover ratio thus far)
“As far as making passes, I’m always cautious, for the simple fact that I don’t want to risk anything. If it’s a little bit too tight, I may not even risk it (by trying to make a tough pass). I’m just getting guys in the right spots and just being steady.”
Kyle Alexander
(On his role)
“To be on the court, you need to do what the team needs. So if the team needs some rebounding, that’s me. I’ve got to step up, play my role and do my part. I need to be a rebounder and do what the team needs, then hopefully we’ll be successful.”
(On the team’s 13-day layoff)
“It’s always good to have time to get better. This 13-day span will be good for all of us to get some work in. I’ll do some extra work with the coaches so I can improve for the next game. So I don’t think (this long break) is bad.”
Six days remain in UT's 13-day break spanning from its most recent contest against Nebraska on Nov. 28 and its upcoming tilt against Butler in Indianapolis on Dec. 12 -- six more days to grind out work on two key areas of emphasis: defense and rebounding.
"A big part of what we've tried to do is really try and stay in front of the ball so we can keep our position and rebound the ball better," head coach Rick Barnes said prior to Sunday's workout. "I think I've seen where guys understand that we need to get better [in those areas]. Learning to play defense is no different than trying to shoot the ball. You've got to get reps after reps after reps. It's a willingness to want to defend somebody."
Over the first five games of the season the Vols held their own on the glass, maintaining a rebounding margin of +11 during that span and posting a record of 4-1. But in two games at the Barclays Center Classic, Tennessee saw itself out-rebounded 47-30 against George Washington and 46-30 against Nebraska -- a margin of -33. To make matters worse, the Colonials and Cornhuskers each shot better than 45 percent from the field. According to Coach Barnes, the damage inflicted by those two figures in a pair of defeats are not mutually exclusive.
"We're not asking anyone to guard the ball by themselves," he said. "We want to have really good support behind us. But when you just let people just go right by you without any resistance it's virtually impossible to rebound the ball because you lose position and space on the floor where you really can't rebound it."
Guard Kevin Punter Jr. affirmed the focus of recent practices, but noted that the emphasis on defense and rebounding has been a steady one since preseason camp.
"It's always been the message, even before the season started," the senior said. "We knew that defense and rebounding would be key. It's just something we're trying to get better every day at and for us to be successful that's going to be something we have to get better at."
The Vols have got six more days to do just that as they zero in on a difficult road test against a Butler team ranked as high as No. 22 in the AP Poll this season. The Bulldogs picked up wins over Cincinnati and Indiana State last week and will play VMI on Monday night -- giving them three games since the Vols last took the floor for competitive action.
"I think (the break is) difficult for the guys because our practices are probably a lot harder than the games," Barnes remarked. "So I think they'd probably tell you they'd like to play every day as opposed to going to practice. But I think you can win games in practice if you do it the right way, and to be quite frank, we're still learning to practice the right way."
Freshman Kyle Alexander spoke in similar terms on Sunday, remarking on how the last week of practice has instilled a new focus in the Volunteers.
“I think the message was that we all need to buy in to what the coaches are trying to do. And if we do that, we can be really successful—if we play for each other and not ourselves.”
McGHEE’S DEPARTURE CREATES OPPORTUNITIES
Tennessee announced last week that redshirt freshman forward Jabari McGhee planned to transfer at the conclusion of the Fall semester. McGhee had been averaging 10.8 minutes per game off the bench, and his departure creates multiple opportunities.
Perhaps most importantly, for one or more players on Tennessee’s bench, an opportunity exists to step into an energizer role and provide the hustle plays that McGhee consistently brought to the floor.
“Jabari was an energy guy, and being that he’s not here with us anymore, guys are going to have to step up and play that role,” senior point guard Kevin Punter Jr. said.
Head coach Rick Barnes pointed to a pair of Vols he’d like to see provide more zeal and intensity.
“We should be getting (energy) from everybody,” Barnes said. “We think Derek Reese should be a high energy guy. And I do think that Kyle (Alexander) is getting better.”
In addition to energy, Barnes also would like to see more offensive output from his post personnel.
“We've made a conscious effort, not only with Kyle but with Reese and all our post guys, to put the ball in there a little bit more for them,” Barnes said. “We've got to develop them. Whether it shows up here in the next week, two weeks, three weeks, at some point in time we've got to have a presence in there. We know that Kyle's young and he hasn't played very much, and Ray has the ability, he just has to understand the consistency of it. But we have spent time the last couple days really trying to have a presence down there offensively."
McGhee’s departure also obviously leaves minutes to be filled in the Vols’ frontcourt.
“I’m sad to see him go,” freshman forward Kyle Alexander said. “He’s a really good teammate and a really good friend. But with him leaving, I think that could open up some minutes for a lot of guys at the four and the five positions. I see it as an opportunity.”
Alexander (6.3 mpg), fellow freshman Admiral Schofield (8.4 mpg) and junior-college transfer Ray Kasongo (5.2 mpg) are among the post contributors off the bench who figure to see an increase in minutes—if their practice performance during the team’s current 13-day break warrants a rise in playing time.
