Tennessee men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes is not one to take an opposing team lightly, and that trend continued Thursday afternoon.
Surrounded by reporters prior to the Vols’ afternoon practice at Thompson-Boling Arena, the veteran coach’s focus was as sharp as if he were prepping the team for an NCAA tournament game.
He also offered praise for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, and specifically, their head coach.
“I’ve known Bob Marlin for a long time. His teams are so well-coached on the offensive end,” Barnes said. “They’re aggressive and they do a number of different things on defense. They’re as well coached of a team as we’ll play all year.”
Coming off of an emphatic 45-point victory over Lenoir-Rhyne on Tuesday, the Vols will look to improve upon their highly-anticipated season debut.
For Barnes, that starts with every area on the floor.
“I don’t think there’s one area I could pinpoint,” Barnes said. “We have to get back to details, be more conscious of them and sustain effort.”
Tennessee is coming off of a performance in which it limited the opposition to just 11 points in the second half on 13 percent shooting.
Jordan Bone was the team’s leading scorer with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, followed closely by Kyle Alexander with 16.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Vols, and Yves Pons provided a spark off of the bench using his explosive athleticism.
Despite being without Lamonte Turner and Jalen Johnson against the Bears, Barnes believes his rotational pieces must continue to improve for Tennessee to get where it wants to be.
“They know they have to continue to get better,” Barnes said. “Throughout the year roles can change…the better they get individually, the better our team becomes.”
A strong believer in ongoing improvement, Barnes and the Vols are on the verge of the program’s first top five ranking in over a decade.
The last time Tennessee was ranked that high, Chris Lofton was entering his final season, and Wayne Chism was just a freshman.
With the opening three games of the season all scheduled to be played in Knoxville, the Vols will be looking to take advantage of their home crowd before heading to Brooklyn for the NIT Season Tip-Off.
Not only is Louisiana 1-0, they are the reigning Sun Belt Conference Champions, having claimed 27 victories a year ago.
The Vols certainly aren’t backing down, but Barnes remains mindful of the fact his team is not where it wants to be just yet.
“It goes back to us shoring up the details in half court (situations),” Barnes said. “Hopefully we can continue to add to some of the things we’ve already put in.”
Establishing a family-like atmosphere among the players upon his arrival, it’s the belief Barnes instills in the team that keeps them together.
No matter the situation or status, Barnes’s outlook remains the same, something that has boded well for Tennessee in the past.
“Every one of them to the last man is very valuable,” Barnes said. “It’s up to us (as coaches) to continue to remind them of that.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and can be viewed on the SEC Network+.
