Rick Barnes turned the dial back to 2003.
During Tennessee basketball’s film session Friday, Barnes pulled up his Longhorns’ regional final matchup with Michigan State from 23 years ago. Star guard TJ Ford landed on the floor awkwardly, less than 10 minutes into the game.
Barnes had to look elsewhere for production. He inserted Terrell Ross, a senior averaging 9.9 minutes per night, and the reserve held his own.
That film showing is what helped Ethan Burg flip a switch. And Burg, in turn, produced an 8-point, one-turnover outing across 18 minutes to help lead Tennessee to a 73-63 win over LSU.
“(Texas) needed him, and he stepped up, so that stuck with me,” Burg said. “And I figured that I just needed to be ready when my name gets called. And that’s what I was trying to do today — go out there, just be as solid as I can.”
The last time Barnes featured Burg in the rotation was a five-minute spurt against Arkansas. He had not recorded double-digit minutes in a game since the year turned over to 2026.
Burg’s 18 minutes on Saturday were the most since he played 24 minutes against Rice on Nov. 17, 2025. Since then, Burg has recorded nine outings where he posted sub-10 minutes of playing time, three of which were a singular minute logged — tallying seven games where he did not touch the floor at all.
“I’m not sure when was the last time I’ve had this many DNPs in my career,” Burg said.
Through the tough times, though, Burg stepped up in a role that Tennessee has needed help with the most this season. Barnes put the ball in Burg’s hands, and he gave the ball away a lone time.
It’s the culmination of a tough stretch of basketball Burg has endured since he fell out of the rotation. Barnes elected to put Burg on the scout team with one goal in mind.
“Just show me you can play without turning the ball,” Barnes said.
And he did just that.
His eight points came by way of a pair of 3-point shots he buried in the first half — helping build Tennessee’s game-best 12-point lead. He also dropped in a theatrical layup on the fastbreak on toss ahead feed from Jaylen Carey off a steal.
Burg stayed ready. He also adapted.
The long-time head coach keeps it honest with his players, and he keeps the interactions accountable. Barnes elected to ask Burg why he thinks he has not been playing.
“Honestly, because I want to do it my way. I realized my ways aren’t gonna work,” Barnes recalls his first-year guard answering.
The weeks of practicing on the scout team have compiled into Burg realizing what it takes to crack the rotation. Assistant coach Gregg Polinsky took notice, as did Barnes, and the two decided on Saturday that he would get the chance to prove himself again.
His in-game play allowed him to continue to earn chances. Burg tallied 10 minutes in the first half. He added eight more in the second half. Amari Evans, who has been a mainstay in the rotation since Burg fell out, flipped spots with him.
Evans did not play a minute in the second half. Barnes felt that Burg made more of an impact with his minutes than Evans did.
“I think it’s a great lesson for our younger guys,” Barnes said.
He made sure each minute was impactful because the role he envisioned himself in at this point is not the same role he has been playing — or lack thereof.
“I felt like the reason I got to this point is only because of me,” Burg said. “Obviously, I underperformed. But that’s the beauty of basketball. I mean, you stay ready, the season’s long, and you just keep working hard and keep believing in yourself.”
His performance was all the more special on Valentine’s Day. Burg’s mother, whom he hasn’t seen in seven months, made the trip to Knoxville to see her son play for the first time in college.
He’s reminded by the support everywhere. Burg felt it all firsthand when he finessed to the rack to get himself in the scorebook.
“Everybody wants me to succeed here,” Burg said. “And after that first layup I made, I just felt all that love, and I just felt like, ‘Damn, I need to do this on a daily basis.’”
