Following his team’s six-game winning streak, Tennessee basketball coach Buzz Peterson said he wasn’t ready to talk about the postseason. Now after a two-game losing skid put an NCAA Tournament bid in jeopardy, Peterson decided it was time.
“(On Monday) I just finally let it out,” Peterson said. “(The team) discussed things about the postseason, we discussed people’s roles again, we discussed attitudes.”
Peterson held a team meeting Monday after watching film from the loss to Alabama.
Instances like C.J. Watson opening the game with a 3-pointer and Elgrace Wilborn taking a 12-foot jumper led Peterson to talk to his players.
“You watch that tape,” Peterson said, “and you got guys doing things they haven’t been doing … We had to redefine some (of our) roles.
“Even before the win streak, I thought we were playing as a unit, and everybody knew their roles.”
As the Vols (15-8, 7-5 SEC) travel to Rupp Arena tonight for a game at 8, Peterson said he hopes to see the Tennessee team he saw before it was cast into the national spotlight.
He said the expectations had risen with wins over ranked teams, but getting “back to the basics” with his players would help the Vols improve before facing No. 2 Kentucky (22-3, 12-0).
“We’ve got to get back to how we use to be,” Peterson said. “(The players) saw 26 or 27 clips of them playing how they should. They just need to accept their roles and do what the coaches tell them.”
Peterson said players like Brandon Crump need more consistent scoring if the Vols are to have a chance against the Wildcats. He said he wanted his team to attack more in the paint, before falling back on the outside shot.
“Other teams have been getting more physical with us,” Peterson said. “We just have to keep pounding it in there, get (Crump) more shots, get (Slay) more shots. That’s the key to our offense.”
Crump only took three shots against Alabama, something Peterson said is due to his mental toughness.
“When Crump gets the ball, he thinks about three or four things before he decides what to do,” Peterson said. “We want him just thinking about one thing – shoot the ball.”
Since a close loss to the ‘Cats earlier in the season, Peterson has recognized the improvement Kentucky has made to its defense.
“They’re definitely playing as well as anybody in the country right now,” Peterson said. “Defensively, they have really picked it up. As long as we stick to what we do well, our roles, we should be okay.”
Hopefully for Peterson and the Vols, falling back into old roles won’t include the common role of loser. Tennessee has only won 15 times in Lexington since 1910, the last coming in January 1999.
