Tennessee supporters were greeted by head coaches of the Vols, Josh Heupel, Rick Barnes, and Kim Caldwell on Tuesday night during the inaugural stop of the 2024 Big Orange Caravan in Nashville.
After the game, head coach Rick Barnes had a meeting with the media to go over a number of topics, including the roster construction of the Vols and the evolving collegiate basketball scene. This is everything that he
Regarding how exciting the past month has been for both Tennessee Basketball and him
“Well, given where we are right now and everything, I believe it has been an exciting time for everyone involved in collegiate athletics, especially basketball. Still, we believe that we are drawing nearer. However, we’ve been quite picky. My coaches and I really appreciate how well-informed they have been in understanding our preferences and what we believe would work for us. And we’re ecstatic about the ones we’ve received.
Regarding whether he intends to occupy every scholarship space at Tennessee or whether they will leave some open
“We might be completely full; I’m not sure. There’s plenty of time left to accomplish it. However, everything will need to match perfectly and ensure that the positions we want filled are filled. Although we’re happy with where we are at the moment, we know that we need to add a player—possibly two, depending on who that person is. And once more, we won’t take any action if we don’t believe that someone can actually assist us in getting healthier.
Regarding the impact of the transfer portal on college basketball, teams now need to drastically rearrange their rosters
“Well, let’s go back. Throughout the course of my 45 years in basketball, there have been a lot of changes. It used to be a big issue to run into problems for simply running into someone at a summer league game. However, a lot of the rules have changed. And in my opinion, the secret to everything—whether it a business practice or anything else—is to be open to changing with the times and willing to adapt to new developments. And I believe that’s where we are at the moment. I have no idea how or where any of this will turn out.
Furthermore, I doubt that any coach in the world would disagree that it is advantageous for players to be able to support themselves financially through the NIL. Furthermore, a lot of the children I know had to struggle through school. And I attended a school where many people made a lot of sacrifices in order to have the opportunity to use education to better their lives. So, I don’t believe any coach could criticize that. I simply believe that something will happen eventually to bring everything back into alignment. And I believe that’s what we’re all waiting for.
Regarding the significance of Nashville for recruiting and fan support
“Well, we take pride in the fact that we are the state university. We sincerely wish to be the state’s owners because we support everything this state stands for. East, West, South, and North. And we want all young basketball players—Josh Heupel, I’m sure—and football players—as well as all coaches—regardless of the sport—to grow up dreaming of being Tennessee Volunteers. And with that stated, the state where we will play in the SEC Tournament for the next, oh, ten years is smack in the center of it.
And this is a fantastic state for basketball. You go back and examine more than just what is thought to be the pinnacle. Even though we all have difficult jobs right now, I have a lot of respect for the other coaches in the state because of the way they develop their rosters, rebuild them every year, and produce really amazing results for the clubs in this state. But that’s not what we want—a Volunteer State.
Regarding his favorite aspects of the Big Orange Caravan
“I genuinely do enjoy people. Of course we want our fans—everyone believes there’s a better fan base in the nation. In my opinion, that is. However, the truth is that I’ve had the good fortune to visit numerous amazing locations, and this one stands out in that they cherish their volunteers and support the local sport during its season. I also had the good fortune to witness it when we were just getting started and weren’t very good. There was assistance available. Additionally, we’ve always had a fantastic night at Thompson-Boling, Food City Center, even when we were able to bring recruits in during a time when you might not think it would be a good night.
The truth is that we have a lot of great people who support us and have played a significant role in the history of this university. I’m not sure whether there are any special places, but special people are what make places special. Our fans are no exception. And now is our opportunity to show them how much we value what they do for us by reaching out to them and saying “thank you.”
On if it’s challenging to keep developing athletes in the conventional manner with everything that’s happening in college athletics right now
Hard is probably pertinent, though, because most managers, in my opinion, have a bad habit of playing their best players. Wimp Sanderson once claimed to have this bad habit. And I believe that to be somewhat true. Everyone that we desire, after all, should genuinely have the opportunity to live out their dreams, but we also understand that competition will get them where they want to go. And from the first day of every year, our goal is to get our boys ready to be the finest versions of themselves.
However, things have changed with the portal and everything else since in the past, you could post your roster based on how you planned to look at it three or four years from now. Those days are long gone, when you truly never know what would happen year to year. With the new regulation they’re talking about implementing, you almost really grasp that guys who aren’t playing at a certain point could depart in the midst of the season.
We have never assured anybody of playing time. We have given them a chance because we value each and every man on our team and we will be honest, sincere, and treat them in the way I believe they would like to be treated. And that’s with simply being completely honest with them and presenting our ideas of who they are and what we believe they are capable of. We will carry out all of our discussions with them if they are prepared to fulfill their half of the bargain. We firmly believe that the children we sign will fulfill their share of the responsibility.
About his understanding of Dalton Knecht’s draft stock:
“I believe a lot will depend on his actions when it comes to his interviews and other things. But he’s positioned himself well, and we’ve heard varying opinions about it; if it’s up to him, he’ll carry out his duties as usual. He is an expert at getting ready and training. That’s something he understands. People will view him as a guy who, like us, knows that he’s only just beginning to realize how amazing of a basketball player he can be after they get to know him and have a conversation with him.