DURHAM, NC − Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes had a laundry list of complaints after the Vols dropped their second and final exhibition game to Duke.
The No. 9 Vols get pushed around, the same as they did in the loss to Xavier, by the No. 2 Blue Devils in a 103-64 defeat at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Oct. 20.
“Really disappointed, and I told (Duke coach) Jon (Scheyer), I'm sorry we didn't give him a better challenge tonight,” Barnes said.
Tennessee doesn’t have the look of an elite team right now. It is a long way from even looking like the style of team Barnes has typically fielded, with strong rebounding and defense as calling cards.
Scheyer pointed out that the Vols didn’t have a complete roster available for this game.
Tyler Lundblade, the
team’s best shooter, is still sidelined while recovering from back surgery. Starting point guard Terrence Hill Jr. went down with an ankle injury less than five minutes into the game.
Then there’s Vanderbilt transfer Jalen Washington, who is ineligible while awaiting the result of his lawsuit against the NCAA.
“You know, we haven't been able to put the whole team together yet. But that's not what happened here,” Barnes said. “We didn't defend the way we needed to, didn't attack the way we needed to attack, with the force that we needed to.
Barnes said his disappointment in the performance peaked late in the second half, when some of his freshmen − Marquis Clark, Manny Green and Chris Washington Jr. − were “flying around” on defense in the second half. He didn't get that same effort from his starters, players he expects to rely on.
Through 80 minutes of preseason basketball that doesn’t yet count, Barnes said the Vols aren’t getting nearly enough from the transfer class that headlined their offseason roster rebuild.
Juke Harris has two rebounds in 51 minutes played. Jalen Haralson has nine rebounds, but also nine fouls, across 34 minutes. Miles Rubin and Christian Fermin, two senior transfer centers, have combined for 10 rebounds.
Across the board, the Vols aren’t doing a lot of the things that, to Barnes, indicate toughness − getting shots at the rim (then making them), rebounding and defending one-on-one. He said Tennessee needs to develop a stronger “competitive spirit” in order to turn the corner.
“I don't think guys understand how … we have got to be a gang-rebounding team,” Barnes said. “And it's determination, it's guts, it's just doing it, just finding a way. I'm not even sure how much the technique really matters. … Guys just not doing the things that I know that we're capable of doing.”
Barnes doesn’t see it as a lack of desire, but rather a lack of understanding about what it takes to win at the highest level. And the players recognize how short they’ve come up in these first games, too.
“We’ve got to be tougher,” forward Braeden Lue said. “A lot of the past Tennessee teams, they say they would lose a game, but they wouldn’t lose the fight. I feel like these last two games, we’ve lost the fight. We need to be tougher all around.”
No one is throwing in the towel yet, because Barnes believes everything holding Tennessee back is fixable.
There are still two weeks before the Vols open the regular season against Wofford at Food City Center on Nov. 3 (7 p.m. ET, SEC Network).
“We got away from so many different things that we like to do that we practice,” Barnes said. “But the season hadn't started yet, and now we've got a chance to maybe try to become one of the most improved teams in the country over the next couple weeks.”
What Rick Barnes said about Terrence Hill Jr.’s injury
Barnes said Hill “turned his ankle” when it was inadvertently stepped on and that he doesn’t know the severity of the injury yet.
Hill was helped off the court by trainers and spent most of the first half in the locker room. He returned to the bench with crutches in his hands.
He scored two points on a pair of free throws. Sophomore Troy Henderson replaced Hill, then Dai Dai Ames, Clark and Green filled most of the available minutes in the second half.
Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What disappointed Rick Barnes most in Tennessee basketball exhibition loss at Duke
