POSTGAME QUOTES: Tennessee 88, Presbyterian 53

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes

On UT's defensive performance:
"I thought it was good. Overall, it was a good team win. Everyone we entered had their mind set on what we wanted on the defensive end. I'm really impressed with the fact that we had 25 assists on 33 baskets. I thought we moved the ball well for the most part. I think we have a good group of guys. They want to be a good team. They know we've got a long way to go to be where we need to be, but overall, everyone who played really tried to focus in, especially defensively, to do what we needed to get done."

On UT's offensive performance:
"We scored 26 points off turnovers. We got the ball inside. We run somewhat of a pack-line defense. We started out bogging down just a little bit. I thought the mindset was we weren't going to settle for three-pointers early. We worked the ball into a high-percentage area. I thought Jordan Bowden opened it up early for us. Admiral Schofield struggled the last couple of weeks, but I thought he settled in tonight and was very efficient with his time. We put James Daniel III out there to start because of his defense in the Clemson exhibition game. That guy out front is normally the guy that's going to get it started defensively, and I thought he set a good tone for us early. All the guards came in and did what we wanted them to do. Chris Darrington hasn't practiced very much. We wanted to get him some minutes. I wish Yves Pons would have had the chance to play more, but he turned his ankle again. We just feel like we have to rest it and get it ready as quick as we can. I think overall we moved and shared the ball and got some pretty good looks at it."

On having no turnovers going into halftime:
"It is something we're happy with, and we talked about that. Then, we came right out and turned it over twice. I don't want to have turnovers with guys that shouldn't be handling the ball. That happened early. Then, we had some illegal screens called. I think Kyle Alexander had one in the second half where they called him for posting up, which I think is the first time since he's been here that he's been called for that. When you're subbing as much as we did, it's hard to get some flow sometimes. One thing, to Presbyterian's credit, they are a really well-coached team. They really do run some good things. We worked hard to not let them run it, and in the second half, they stayed in it. It was good, and I'm really happy for Jalen Johnson. I tell you, he's been waiting a long time to get out there and play. I think it shows our team, how unselfish they are, because when you think about it, he's been waiting for a long time to play. He actually took himself out because one thing we have asked our guys to do is play to exhaustion and take yourself out. In a situation like that, we probably would have left him in as long as he wanted to stay. I think that's really a compliment to him that he wanted to do what we've asked him to do."

On John Fulkerson's performance:
"I think he has to become more disciplined. When you think about it, he goes for a steal and gives up a basket. Then, he gets a steal and misses a dunk. I think both of those plays turned into three-point baskets for the other team. He's got to get back to where he does his work early. He's playing behind right now, waiting to make a spectacular steal or something as opposed to getting himself in position to where he needs to be. One thing he did do, he posted up hard and should've gotten the ball way earlier than he did. That was another one of those second half turnovers. We need him to get back, but he'll get it back. It's just a matter of time. Even with James Daniel III, he didn't play a year ago. We've still got to get through some of these nagging things that everybody goes through. I just like the mindset, and we've got to see if we can come back and do it again Tuesday night."

On Presbyterian head coach's comments about Tennessee playing with a chip on its shoulder due to preseason projections:
"I don't care anything about where other people pick us. We want to set our own standard. It's not just who we're playing, it's about us. They work just as hard as most other teams. They have to respect that hard work that they put in. When the lights come on, that is not a time to back off. That is the time to get better. I don't care where other people picked us. It doesn't matter really. We're going to set our own standard and see if we can live up to it."

On if Yves Pons will be ready to play Tuesday against High Point:
"Yeah, he probably could have gone back. He wanted to, but he's a tough kid. He's not going to sit out if he doesn't have to. Again, that was our choice to hold him, and hopefully, we can treat him and get him ready because he has been dealing with that now for a couple of weeks and we didn't want to aggravate that."

Tennessee Guard Jordan Bowden

On the 28-0 run:
"What set it up was our ball pressure and just trying to speed them up and take them out of their offense. We had 25 assists tonight, and that's something we can do. I think we can do a good job with that."

On the defense:
"In the first half, we held them to 14 points. We were big ball pressure and running them, but we slacked a little bit the second half. We brought it back up, though. I think Jordan Bone and James Daniel III did a really good job pressuring the ball tonight."

Tennessee Forward John Fulkerson

On the motivation for the team:
"We want to prove a point. We are definitely playing hard and playing with a chip on our shoulder. It's not because of where we were picked, but we want to set a standard."

On playing the full court press:
"Our bench is deep, so we know we can give it our all and then we have somebody who has our back so they are going to give it their all. We just have to keep wearing teams down."

Tennessee Guard Chris Darrington

On how it felt to get back out on the court after injury:
"It felt good to be out there with my teammates, but I'm not 100 percent. I'm still hobbling around a little bit, but it felt good to get out there. I still have a little ways to go to get back to 100, but I'm going to be back. It felt good to be out there."

On what he can be and wants to be for the team:
"I'm just looking to bring whatever they need. Right now, we are picking up full court, pressuring the ball, and not letting people run their offense, so that's one of the biggest things I've been trying to bring here. And, just being ready. We have a great player in Grant Williams, and teams like to double team him a lot, so (our guards need to be) standing on the outside, ready to shoot the ball. There's nothing better than having a catch-and-shoot wide open. I'm just doing that."

Tennessee Forward Derrick Walker

On how he would grade his progress thus far:
"I'm not where I want to be, but I'm still learning. I'm still learning the plays, the defense, and just getting better."

On how the team performed getting rebounds and the rebound margin:
"We can do better. We are a physical team. We have some big guys. We are gritty. We like to go at each other in practice. We can always be better offensively and defensively."

University of Tennessee Athletics

Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes

Tennessee Guard Jordan Bowden

Tennessee Forward John Fulkerson

Tennessee Guard Chris Darrington

Tennessee Forward Derrick Walker

Players Mentioned

Kyle Alexander

Jordan Bone

Jordan Bowden

James Daniel III

Chris Darrington

John Fulkerson

Jalen Johnson

Yves Pons

Admiral Schofield

Derrick Walker

Grant Williams

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