No. 9 Tennessee just squeaked by Tennessee State with an 83-78 win, but head coach Rick Barnes didn’t sound like a guy celebrating a 3-0 start. Nope, he spent his postgame presser absolutely ripping his team, calling out their “sub-par effort” and straight-up demanding some leadership from his Vols.
Effort? What Effort?
It wasn’t just a tough night, either. Barnes saw the sloppiness coming early, saying they couldn’t even execute the *first play* of the game! Forget what was drawn up, a player with the ball just went rogue and called something else. Then you look at the stats from the November 13 win at Food City Center: 17 turnovers, giving up 24 offensive rebounds, whiffing on 13 free throws, and “countless assignments that went poorly executed.” That’s not just a bad game, that’s a *mindset* problem, and Barnes didn’t hold back. He said Tennessee State played harder, was better coached, and executed better. Ouch. When your coach says the *other team* was better coached than yours, that hits different.
Where’s the Leadership?
Barnes really hammered home that it’s not about technique, it’s about “a want to,” a mindset. The biggest issue? He’s still looking for leadership on the court. He likes his guys, says it’s his job to coach them, but “somewhere along the line, it’s got to come from within. We’ve got to get some leadership. We haven’t gotten that yet the way we need it.” This isn’t just a one-game fluke. Through three games, their opponents have created 43 turnovers and grabbed 50 offensive boards. Tennessee State won the rebounding battle 45-43 and scored 24 points off those Vols turnovers alone. These are mistakes born from poor effort, according to Barnes, and they are correctable.
Practice Doesn’t Make Perfect (Yet)
Barnes said he sees better play in practice, but it’s not showing up when it counts. You hear it all the time, right? “Practice habits translate to games.” Not here, apparently. He flat out said, “If you can’t close the possession out with rebounding the ball, you’re an average team at best.” He’s worried they aren’t learning how to finish plays defensively and aren’t getting to their offensive sets. This time, Tennessee State’s poor 32% shooting from the field saved the Vols from those 24 points off second chances and turnovers costing them the game. But that ain’t gonna fly against the big dogs.
Because the big dogs are coming. No. 5 Michigan State rolls into Food City Center on November 17. Barnes thought a preseason “drubbing from Duke” would have fixed these effort issues, but nope. He’s got three days to hope his team finally finds that mindset and leadership before their first true test of the regular season. If they don’t, it could get ugly fast.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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