Postgame Quotes: Vols 59, Alabama 54

March 4, 2017

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes

(Opening statement)
"Sometimes with basketball, you don’t know. I’m really proud of the way our guys came back in the second half. Really and truly, you have to give Alabama credit. They’re a team that they do so many good things; they put your defense in some tough situations. Defensively, they do a great job of switching. They shot the ball well in the first half. They average making six threes a game and they made seven in the first half. They shot a very high percentage. Right before the half we tried to through our zone in there to break their rhythm a little bit, a little three-quarter court press. The second half we came out and we were going to pick up, just do what we could to break rhythm. I thought the difference was really our defense and rebounding. They do a great job of rebounding the ball, and the fact [Alabama] only got five offensive rebounds is a big number for us. We got on the glass and got 15 of them. I’ve told you guys before that Lew (Evans) can help us. I told him that he definitely earned his keep today. The fact is his defense was outstanding. He did a lot of really good things for us. I’ve seen a lot of things happen on Senior Day. We had it going there at the end, the last three or four minutes, we knew Robert (Hubbs) wasn’t in the game. We were gong to get him in the game. He looked at me and said, ‘No, Coach. You have to let these guys do this.' I think that speaks volumes of his character, and how much he cares about winning. I just felt like we might need somebody else out there to help score, but he just said, ‘No, Coach. You have to let these guys do this.' We got him back out there later not for any other reason but that we wanted him in there to handle the ball and to make free throws. We needed it. That’s kind of the way he and Lew have been all year. They do look up to him. Robert struggled again today offensively. We needed him early in the game when we weren’t scoring. Grant (Williams) and Robert and Admiral (Schofield) were struggling to score. They found a way. I think you to give these guys credit for finding a way and sticking together."

(On hitting contested threes late)
"They were huge, just as big as I think theirs were huge in the first half. We think we have guys who can shoot the ball, but what we need to be able to do on those shots is run those rebounds down. I thought Shembari (Phillips) was really good today. I thought a couple times we left him out on an island and he had to make some things happen. Lamonte (Turner) came in gave us some minutes. At the end Admiral’s (Schofield) threes were huge. Lew’s (Evans) three was a dagger. We went to our movement game and just said, ‘Don’t look to score so much on the first side. Let’s just keep twisting them up and see if we can break and pop one,' and we did. That’s pretty good for [Lew Evans], who stood right in front of the bench and held the ball for five seconds and missed it. I don’t think he even hit the rim. I asked him in the locker room. He told me, 'Coach, shooters shoot. You cant make the next one if you don’t shoot.' He did. He came up big today. I’m telling you, it’s his defense as much as anything. At halftime, I asked him the question, 'Lew, you don’t seem to have much of a problem getting into the lane when you want to.' I told him, 'Tell these guys why you do that.' He said, 'It’s because I am determined to get it there.' I told them, ‘At some point in time, some of you guys are going to have to be determined to get it there. You guys are going to have to make some plays.' This time of year it’s a players' game. I thought we had some guys who were willing to go make some plays. Grant (Williams), I think he tied a record for blocks today. He also set one for getting his shot blocked three or four times today, too. He was determined. Admiral, at the start of the game broke down and gave up eight points early, but I thought he stayed in it. When he came back in and started rebounding the ball, that kind of flipped it for us. We started coming up with defensive rebounds and getting out on the floor and running."

(On what was said at half time)
"It was very calm. I typically give them a few minutes to themselves and when I walked in I heard Admiral say, 'If we work hard we will start to make shots.' We keep a stat board in there and the most glaring statistic was we want three consecutive stops four or five times a half and we only did that once in the first half. Whether we stopped them or they missed shots, they had four and that was the difference in the game at that point in time so we knew we had to flip that. When we came out, we were going to try to change the flow of the game and I thought they stayed together. In the second half they shot 25 percent percent and we shot 44 percent [after] they shot 56 percent in the first half. Another good thing we did was that we got to the free throw line more than they did. They get about 45 points a game in the paint and tonight they got 18 and they normally make 15 free throws and tonight they made eight, so in the end it worked. Again, I am happy for our guys because it has been a hard couple of days and I think they have learned something. I told them at the beginning of the year there were no expectations and then we created expectations and we didn't handle them very well. Today I said at the beginning of the game that this is the last time we are in the building this year and I want to see us play hard. That is all I want to see them do is play hard and compete. And I thought in the last 20 minutes we did that. That is a team that wanted to prove something early in the year when there were no expectations, and like I said, when the expectations go up is when you have to take it to another level and we didn't do that for three or four games. That is how easy it can flip. We got this one and now we have to go to Nashville and see if we can win and make you guys work a little longer. Jimmy is ready for his vacation."

(On guard Jordan Bone)
"Our guard defense has been so bad this stretch and we made a decision as a coaching staff that we are going to put our best defensive guards out there and that is what we were going to do. I thought Shembari (Phillips) was terrific. The other night he guarded (Antonio) Blakeney at LSU better than anyone has all year. He was terrific. I thought today he came in and set a good tone for us and that was the whole decision for us. We just hadn't been very good. Our guards, Jordan (Bone) is learning and Lamonte (Turner) is too and today he was better. Lamonte had a good day in practice yesterday. They were putting all of this pressure on our post guys and hitting screens and stood on the side of them and didn't try to get back in front and tonight between Lew (Evans), Grant (Williams), Admiral (Schofield) and (Robert) Hubbs. I think those guys played four different spots on the court because they are smart guys and you can do a lot of things with them. Shembari's defense was good and he did a good enough job to keep the pressure off the post guys and we are going to switch some things, but that was the reason Bone didn't play as much. We couldn't keep getting hurt from that position."

(On controlling the boards)
"I thought on the defensive end that Lew (Evans) and Admiral (Schofield) started that. Lew made some nice plays and after [Alabama’s Jimmie Taylor] came out and made a couple of those jump ups we were going to double team him and Lew said he would guard him. He scored on Grant (Williams) and went around him, but he said to let Lew guard him and Lew did a good job. And getting [Taylor] in foul trouble was huge too. On the offensive end Grant started to go and get it and Admiral got a couple and Lew kept one alive so it was a big part of it. When there is a lot going on you have to get those extra possessions and those extra possessions led to some baskets for us."

(On the comeback effort against Alabama)
"I think it speaks volumes of them. These guys have worked hard. They went through something that they’ve never been through, and they didn’t handle it very well. This time of year, you can’t stay where you are. You have to keep building. Some guys get side-tracked. They’re kids, and they can get to thinking about things that they should be thinking about. It’s a process you have to go through. If you don’t go through that process mentally-- I asked Kyle Alexander the other day, because he’s normally a guy that has a lot of energy, and he said to me at LSU, 'I don’t know why.' Well that’s something that he has to figure out. If you want to be a player there’s a process you have to go through. This time of the year it does get down to how bad you want to keep playing. These guys have learned a lot. They have. But you have to give them credit for it. They stayed in there. What Lew Evans did today was huge. He did a lot of good things. I can’t say enough good things about Robert Hubbs, and the fact that he told us to let those guys do that because he felt that they were in the rhythm. He didn’t want to break that rhythm. We’ve said all along that we have a group of guys that really like each other. We’ve struggled. I hope they know that they have to turn it on and see what we have to do there."

(On if Grant Williams has exceeded Coach Barnes’ expectation this season)
"No, he really hasn’t. I’m still disappointed in him. I really am. I’m not kidding. I think he’s tougher than what he’s shown and I think he’s too emotional. I think he’s too immature. I think he could be so much better. He’s done things that people didn’t expect, but we thought he could come in here and be the Freshman of the Year in this league. That’s what we thought. You can’t do that unless you’re tough and you can handle the ups and downs of it. What happened to him is that he was moving along pretty good and everything he wanted to do was score. In the last two games he’s gotten back to what he should be, a double-double player. When he’s only getting two or three rebounds, that tells you that his mind is not where it should be. I said to him, ‘You should want to come in here and be the Freshman of the Year in the league’. I think he made 10-of-11 free throws the other night. He went 5-for-9 tonight. That’s a tough one. He can shoot the ball. He can shoot a three and make it, then shoot an air ball. It’s all toughness. That’s what he’s got to understand. To be the player that I think he should be, he should be consistent. He’s competitive, but I think he’s got to get more competitive. I think he’s got to continue to get into great shape. People will say that he’s had a great year when you look at the numbers, but I’m telling you, I think he could get so much better. He better get better or I’m going to kill him. I probably shouldn’t have used that term, but the fact is, I think he can be a really special player. He’s got to mature. That’s the bottom line. He’s got to mature mentally."

(On what Lew Evans and Robert Hubbs have meant to the younger players on the team)
"I’m hard on Lew and Robert. Those guys understand that you have to coach guys hard, especially older guys who probably don’t need it as much as younger guys. Younger guys can’t take it. Older guys pretty much take what you give them, but they love Robert. They know that he’s gone through a lot. He’s had his knee drained here twice in the last three weeks. He’s fought it. One year ago he probably wouldn’t have. I think they do like Lew. They know that he’s not afraid to play. They know that he’s going to go make some plays. He’s the guy in the first half who was ready to make plays. Every one else was just tentative. We’ll miss that. We’ll have to hope that we can go back to Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield. Someone has to fill that role. I don’t think that we’ll even have a senior on the team next year. But the fact is today, as a group, was a collective win. I don’t know of any guy that went into the game that didn’t do something."

Tennessee forward Lew Evans

(On his Senior Day)
"The biggest thing was, I just wanted to win. I just wanted to go out on a winning note, playing my last game at Thompson-Boling Arena, as well as helping Robert (Hubbs) win his last game at TBA. I was going to do whatever it took. That’s kind of my mindset coming in. I just really wanted to win. So whatever I needed to do, I did."

(On how many game he’s helped his team win)
"I don’t know. I couldn’t really tell you that. I’d like to say a lot of them because I want to be a big impact in winning. That’s why I chose to come here. I thought I could be a big impact in winning. I think I’ve done that for a lot of games. It’s my teammates as well. Those guys, they want to fight every night for each other. That’s what we’ve got to do. We’re guys that stuck together and we’ve been through tough workouts all summer. So now, leading up until today, I think that’s what happens."

(On having his teeth knocked out against LSU)
"My teeth are really bad right now. I’ve got a headache. I haven’t really eaten anything since I got them knocked out. So I’m very low-energy but I had to do whatever it took to play today."

Tennessee forward Grant Williams

(On gaining maturity to be more consistent on the floor)
"There are times where I talk too much. There are times where I just need to listen to other guys on the court, because I say things and they say things as well. But even though I say it, they don’t say it all the time. So, I need to learn how to listen to those guys when they say things that I’ve done and take criticism."

(On being appreciative of Coach Rick Barnes’ criticism of his play)
"I do (appreciate it). I know he’s going to coach me a lot harder from here on out. He’s going to push me harder and harder. I’m excited for it, kind of nervous, but excited because when he says 'kill me,' it’s more about me getting my body in-shape. (It’s about) being able to run longer and play harder because I show more athletic spurts during pick-up and different games. If I do that, like I did tonight, I’ll get better."

(On making Coach Barnes happy)
"I think he smiles. No matter what he’s going to tease you. Sometimes in practice he’ll get on you super hard. You get really nervous, and you kind of get in your little shell. Then you turn around and he’s smiling with all the other coaches behind you. So it’s all out of love. He’s trying to get us better. So I think we’re making him happy. I think we’re going to keep fighting for him and we’ve just got to keep going from there."

Tennessee forward Admiral Schofield

(On inspiring his team’s second half comeback)
"To be honest with you, I really think we’ve based our team success around making shots recently. We work really hard and we’ve been at this thing for a while, since the summer time. A lot of teams are doing the same thing, but they’re not doing the same things we do here. We work really hard here. As a young team, a lot of guys come out of high school and when it gets to that midpoint in the season, some guys don’t know how to really balance that, how to take care of the ball, how to play at a certain level. So I think that weighed a big thing on us in the losing streak that we had. But tonight I went in there and I just said, 'Guys, listen. At the end of the day, we work really hard. We’re playing decent defense. I’ve had a couple of plays. I’ve given up a couple of threes and a couple of shots on me. But at the end of the day, we go into this half and we lock down. Play together and shots will fall.' Shots started falling. We played hard and it just fed into our defense. We just really got back to being that team that really had no type of expectations, that had that chip on their shoulder in the middle of the season. That was tough. I’m glad to see that as the last game and let’s see if we can roll that into Nashville."

(On what led him to speak up to the team at half)
"At the end of the day, I know I have a voice on the team because of my work ethic. I’m a 'walker-walk' type of guy. I go in, I work hard. I do everything that Coach (Rick Barnes) asks me to do every day. S, I have the respect and ear of the guys. At the end of the day, I know that no one is perfect. I think, in that moment, me giving up those points, I just had to step up and show them that at the end of the day, I’m here to compete just like anyone else. I think if we all put our personal goals aside, focus on what we need to do to win, we’ll be good."

(On the importance of the win)
"For us, it was just a confidence booster. I think the biggest thing now is we’ve just got to really focus in this week, and really take a look at that second half and see what really got us going. That was our defense. We started locking down on the end, and as bigs -- me, Grant (Williams), especially — we committed to just dominating the boards. I think we won the boards by like seven or eight tonight. Like I said, in the middle of the season, Coach (Rick) Barnes always told us that turnovers and rebounding wins games. If you win those battles, you win games. So tonight, I think we did a better job with that. Like I said, shots just started falling for us. We’re a really good shooting team. We haven’t been in the past couple of weeks, but I hope that we start getting our confidence, our swagger back, start playing with a little more emotion, a little more energy, a little more pride, and take that into Nashville and get some wins."

Tennessee guard Robert Hubbs III

(On the dog pile at the end of the game)
"No, I didn’t expect to go back there for it, and next thing I know, I’m feeling somebody's lap. I just didn’t want to fall, but that’s all love and excitement, right there. That’s a good way to go out."

(On the mentality of coming back from 16 points down)
"I just told the guys in the locker room to stay poised. I knew once we’d make a run we’d get the crowd involved, get that energy flowing. It was going to be our game. I just told them to stay the course and do what we do. Just play basketball. Go out there and play with confidence."

(On Alabama limiting Tennessee in the first half)
"They hit some tough shots. I think they hit nine threes in the first half, a couple of those (were) really tough threes. Games go like that, but you can’t let that affect the way you play over the course of 40 minutes. We came out and I think we held one of their players to like zero points in the second half. So that’s a positive for us. We came out with the win. We just fought."

Alabama head coach Avery Johnson

(Opening statement)
"Tough finish for us tonight. Give Tennessee credit. They came out and really were the aggressors in the second half. They had us on our heels the entire second half. They got in the bonus really fast, just putting their heads down and driving the ball to the basket. We fought with a little foul trouble with our big guys, but give Tennessee credit. Give Coach Barnes credit. He’s been an unbelievable coach his whole career and it’s great to have him in the SEC. We did a nice job in the first half. That was picture-perfect. Good balance, great defense, made shots, hit the open man. Then in the second half it was kind of a microcosm in terms of getting stuck and having too many wasted possessions in terms of offense. We had a five-point lead late in the game. We turn it over and they come back to make a three to seize the momentum the rest of the way. Give them credit. We’ve had a little bit of a roller-coaster in the regular season. We’ve had, probably, three or four games in the SEC and right there, like this one, and came up short."

(On the difference in 3-point shooting between the first and second halves)
"In the second half, if I’m not mistaken, there were two or three threes with about one or two seconds left on the shot clock with one of our guys right there in their faces. I don’t know how many times they’ve been making those shots all year, but those are tough threes. The only thing we could have done better is block their shots with being right there in their faces, but give them credit. They made the shots. We had some wide open looks in the second half that just didn’t go down for us."

(On Tennessee winning the rebounding battle)
"I don’t know if they beat us out in our own game. There was one possession early or midway through the first half where they got four offensive rebounds on one possession, or three on one possession. They got to the lane. They are big guys and work hard inside. They’re tough. We just couldn’t come up with those defensive rebounds, but I don’t think that was necessarily why we lost. We just didn’t make great decisions on offense. If we had played the type of offense we played in the first half, that type of rhythm and scoring, we would have had a better opportunity to win this game."

(On Alabama guard Dazon Ingram’s play)
"Give Tennessee credit. They scouted just like we scouted. He probably was the A-list candidate in terms of their scouting report with limiting his touches and putting pressure on him defensively. Offensively, when he had the ball, they got two on him and trapped him a little bit more than we’ve seen recently. We just have to get to our spacing properly and maybe he could trust our offense in swinging it a little bit more. We don’t like to try and single out any of our guys. It’s a team game. We just have to do a better job in executing as a team."

(On Tennessee forward Grant Williams’ play inside)
"He is relentless. He is a young kid that never gives up. He rarely complains to the officials out on the court. I am sure from Coach Barnes' standpoint he is just enjoying the coaching because he is just putting on his hard hat and it doesn’t matter to him how undersized he may be. I have obviously watched 10 games this year leading up to this game, and he is a fighter. He works hard inside and what he lacks in size he makes up with heart, physicality and toughness. He has that no-quit attitude."

(On preparing for the SEC tournament after this game)
"We have been a pretty good road team all year, but obviously it is a neutral site. We have been a pretty good road team if you look at us and some of the games we have had in the conference. There have been some unbelievable efforts. This game could have gone either way. We won at Georgia in conference, Mississippi State, LSU. We won on the road. If you would have told me we would be 5-4 on the road in conference with this particular team in our second year back in June I would take it. We just did not play as well as we needed to at home or we did not play as well as we needed to in close games. We turned it over. We missed free throws. We had a game this year where we were 9-for-26 against Kentucky from the free throw line. That is not going to win that many games for you. We understand where we are. I still believe, based on my evaluation on the SEC conference, that I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a sleeper who wins the tournament. Our top teams are unbelievable teams, but I think the rest of us who are in the four, five, six, seven, eight category or any of those teams if we play the right way and get a couple of bounces out our way can win the SEC tournament. We will go back and take tomorrow off and get back to work on Monday. I am excited to get to Nashville because you just never know what could happen. We may be that Cinderella story."