NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: FIRST ROUND - LOUISIANA VS TENNESSEE

March 15, 2023

Rick Barnes

Santiago Vescovi

Josiah-Jordan Jones

Olivier Nkamhoua

Amway Center

Tennessee Volunteers

Media Conference

Q. Santiago, three games without Zakai, what have you learned and what's been the biggest adjustment to your new role?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: Definitely learning to play more on the ball now. We're definitely missing a big part of our offense with Zakai not being out there, but I think the other guys are doing a great job stepping up. The old guys and the new guys are doing a great job of sticking together, and at this point if we want to win, we know we're going to have to play together, even more now that we don't have Zakai.

So everybody is going to have to put more effort on offense and defense every single time that we're out there. We definitely miss him, but we've still got enough players to go out there and do our thing.

Q. Josiah, obviously you flirted with the NBA Draft last year, you came back, you're in the tournament. Obviously there's been some injuries this year, but any regrets in coming back, and when you sit up on this podium, what are the emotions knowing that this is the big dance?

JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES: Yeah, I'm really excited to be back. I wasn't really able to go through -- I got invited to the G-League combine. I wasn't able to go to that because of my knee surgery that I had at the time, so it held me back. And 100 percent if I had to make the same decision, I'd do it over again.

I'm so glad and so happy that I got to come back, especially being able to play with these two guys for one more year. I have no regrets about it at all. I got some good feedback from the teams. I feel like this season we set some goals, some goals that we achieved, some goals we haven't, but the main goal that we set out is still out there.

There's a lot of happiness in the locker room knowing that we're here and knowing that we're a part of this tournament. We don't take it for granted, and we're just excited to get it started with Louisiana on Thursday.

Q. What have you seen from Jordan Brown on film? What makes him effective and how do you go about trying to slow him down?

OLIVIER NKAMHOUA: I feel a big part of his game is the pieces they have put around him. They do a really good job of giving him the ball on his spots, so I think it'll be a full team challenge for us. Our guards will have to help the bigs and the bigs will just have to be aware where he wants to catch the ball and push his catches out, knowing he's trying to get to that left hand. And trying to make him work that off hand a little more, and just being physical and keeping him out of his comfort zone. He's a good player, and he knows what he wants to get done.

Q. Josiah, talk a little bit about Jaylon and your relationship with him, you've got Furman here, College of Charleston here, lots of familiar faces?

JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES: Yeah. It's awesome. Me and Jaylon, I was at Porter-Gaud, he was at Pinewood. We were always arch-rivals. And then in our AAU days, TMP we became teammates, we became great friends, and I actually watched his tournament down -- I don't know where they were playing but when they played Chattanooga, I FaceTimed him right after, sent him a text and he was in great spirits.

And then he watched our first SEC tournament game and he's been texting me throughout the season and vice versa. I'm just so happy for him. He's Player of the Year in his conference. He deserves it. I'm excited to see what his future holds, not only within this tournament but after the tournament because he has a really bright future. He's actually only staying a couple miles away from our hotel, so I'll probably get to hang out with him and chat with him before everything gets rolling tomorrow.

But I'm really excited for him. I'm really excited for College of Charleston. I just know through social media that they have the whole city of Charleston rocking this whole year. They've been one of the best teams in the nation, and I'm happy for the whole state of South Carolina and especially the city of Charleston.

Q. Josiah, I know your family travels everywhere, but how special is it for your grandpa to travel to all these games and now your brother came back from overseas, and he said a big reason was he wanted to see you play. How special is it that everyone can come together for this career at Tennessee?

JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES: It's awesome. Basketball for me ever since I've been a young kid, it's been a family affair. Basketball runs through our whole family. It's all I've known since growing up. So just being able to have my family come and support me, it means the world to me. Everybody on my mom's side, everybody on my dad's side, just coming together. They always tell me no matter how I play, no matter the score, they're always proud of me because they've been able to travel and watch me play places that they never would have thought of going.

I owe them a lot of credit. I wouldn't be in this position without them, so I try to play for them, play for my teammates and the University of Tennessee.

Q. Santiago, the way you're defended out there, every game it's always been so physical. I wonder at what point this season did you notice how much different it was going to be with the way people were sort of hounding you and focusing on you, and what have you had to do with your own game to adjust to that?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: One year from picking up the season and just play out there. Talk to the coaches and see what we can adjust every single day.

Q. Josiah, every player goes into the season wanting to improve on a particular part of their game. What were your goals going in to improve, and where do you think you've improved from the beginning of your career to now?

JOSIAH-JORDAN JAMES: You know, my main goals and the feedback that I got from the next level is just they want me to be a better defender. I feel like I've stepped up in many ways. They want me to be able to guard 1 through 4. Not only for the next level, but for my team, I want to be able to be relied on on the defensive end, and I think I've made a huge improvement. Batting through injuries has been tough but I still feel like one-on-one I think I can win any matchup.

Coming in to college, I was naïve. I thought I knew about everything. I didn't think that there was much more for me to learn. I quickly found out that that wasn't the case. I just feel like on the court, my IQ offensively and defensively has grown tremendously with the help of my coaches, with the help of these guys and my teammates. They've been on me and vice versa, and I feel like I've grown as a leader.

But I feel like my game as a whole has just transformed. I wasn't a very good shooter coming out of high school. I feel like that's one of the better things that I do now. I feel like in every aspect of the game of basketball, I feel like I've grown and gotten better.

Q. Santiago, what's worked well for you the last two, three weeks?

SANTIAGO VESCOVI: Definitely the whole team. I think my teammates put me in a great spot every time. Same thing with the coaches. I don't know, just going into the game, just letting the flow of the game go, and see what we can get. Not really out there thinking about scoring for myself or anything.

The times that I get to score, I've got to give a lot of credit to my teammates. They really put me in the right spot and the right time every single time. Like I'm not worried out there. Like if I get to shoot it, I'm confident in myself. If they get to shoot it, I'm even more confident in them.

I think that that freedom that we get to play with out there, knowing that we're going to have each other's back no matter what, I think that's what gets us a great sense of being confident.

Q. For Olivier, we've asked a lot of other guards how things are different without Zakai out there. For you and the rest of the big men, how different are things? Is it different in transition? Is it different in the half court? What, if anything, has changed for y'all?

OLIVIER NKAMHOUA: I think just maybe if you would put it in simple teams, Z's speed is something. For the bigs, it's something we got used to early on, what kind of speeds he plays with, and he knows how to get to his spots. Now we have different guards that play at a different pace. Still a good pace, but just the speed that he used to play with. We had to adapt to that. And now we're working to adapt to our -- we've got bigger guards and we got guys like Shack who can physically get to where they want to get to, or Santy where he's more trying to give it to you and then go off that pass. And then where Jo, he's pacing himself using his size to get to his spots.

Just the speed that he used to play with, he was one of those faster guards, probably one of the faster guards in the country. Really I think that would be the main adjustment for the bigs.

Q. When you get in these tournaments, when the underdog gets rolling, they've hit a lot of threes. How big of a point of emphasis is guarding the three-point line tomorrow?

RICK BARNES: Well, it's important. I think when you look at teams this time of year that can shoot the ball, they stress your defense on the perimeter, but they have also got a terrific post player that they play through that they love getting him the ball. And he can move the ball and he really has gotten a lot of attention from a lot of different opponents this year. We're going to have to have not only just great perimeter defense, but we're going to have to have great post defense.

Q. Can you talk about your relationship with Coach Bob Marlin?

RICK BARNES: Yeah, I met Bob, I don't know how many years ago, when he was at Texas and I was at Sam Houston. We always seemed to be in the same place at the same time recruiting. And have just the utmost respect for Bob and the job he's done everywhere he's been. He's a terrific basketball mind, his teams everywhere he's been, he's played at a high level, been in this tournament many, many times. And just does a great job of putting his guys in position to be successful.

You look at this team, and he really spaces the floor well to give them a chance to not only put the ball inside but play off their post player, and then they certainly shoot the ball well.

But as a human being, too, as I've gotten to know Bob, he's just a wonderful person, and it's been a blessing for me to get to know him.

Q. Just talk a little bit about Josiah James. He came back for his fourth year, fifth year. Talk about that decision to forego the NBA and what he's meant to the program the last for our five years?

RICK BARNES: He's meant a lot to our program in so many different ways, not only on the court but the way he handles himself off the court. And has had to deal with injuries throughout his career, but he's always worked as hard as he can to get back. And I know he's been frustrated at times because he obviously is the kind of person that wants to try to do more and help his teams. And when he got back, then he got hurt again with a high ankle sprain, which happened at a tough time of year. But he continues to do everything he can to help us, but from the time that he's walked on campus, he's been a very important part of our program.

Q. When Danny White left Orlando to go up to Tennessee as the AD, can you speak to what that's been like? What did he do to right the ship in the athletic department?

RICK BARNES: That would probably take all afternoon to tell you everything that he and his staff have done. It's been an incredible turnaround. The fact that they've done so many things -- obviously what's happened with football has been great -- and it probably happened quicker than we all could have imagined it would happen.

But with everything, there's an emphasis placed on winning but doing it the right way. There's a great emphasis placed on integrity, protecting the university.

But the leadership that he brought in and has a big job in terms of continuing to bring our facilities up to where they need to be because we're in the best athletic league in the country. But there's not one area of the university that he hasn't impacted in some way, our fan interest has just grown leaps and bounds in the last couple years. I think our fan experience at games, not just basketball, football, he's put a great emphasis on that.

I think he's put a great emphasis on trying to include everyone that we can to not only expand the great base that we have with Vol Nation but everywhere. Just to bring -- he said to me one day that everybody that moves in Nashville, Tennessee, we need to make then Volunteer fans. He's a guy that really thinks outside of the box. I would say he's one of the most competitive people I've ever been around. And he's got a staff around him that they want to give us a chance to have everything that we need to compete at the highest level.

I could go on and on, but the fact is what he's done in such a short time is something that he should really be commended for and people should take recognition to it.

Q. It would seem that you can't outrun your ACC past, either. You're here, and also Virginia and Duke. Virginia, although in the other bracket, and Duke possibly in your way. Have you had a chance to catch up with either staff and compare old-time ACC notes with them?

RICK BARNES: No, I did bump into Jai Lucas who played for me at Texas and now Jai is on the staff at Duke, and we were able to cross paths when we were at the practice facility earlier this morning. But you know, you look at both of those staffs, and certainly Virginia and what they've done over the last -- they've been a model of consistency with the way they do things. And Jon Scheyer's first year has been a terrific success in the way that he's built this team. He's continued to get better.

When I think of Tony Bennett, I knew his dad, coached against his dad. Again, just really great people. I'm not surprised by the success of either one of them.

I think both of those guys have walked into jobs that are really pretty much made for them, and they've taken it and they've ran with it. If you know them, I don't think anybody would be surprised at the success they've had and what they're going to continue to have.

Q. You've talked about opposing defenses taking away the three-point line. What do you guys got to do to avoid that? How do you keep a defense from taking away the three-point line?

RICK BARNES: Well, again, if they're out that far you've got to be able to drive the ball, you've got to make them respect the fact that you go to the basket. Some teams do it different ways. Some teams will just simply stay out there and dare you to go in there with it, and we've been faced with that some this year. And obviously some teams would prefer getting in the gaps and trying to reach and take the ball that way and make it more difficult to pass from a drive and kick situation.

At this point in time I don't think we'll see -- we've seen pretty much every defense you could see this year. It's going to come down to the way people play personnel. We need to, again, execute what we do. We need to make sure our spacing is where it is and move the ball and pass the ball and make sure -- throughout the game you've got to make adjustments and that we're alert enough. And when we come out of time-outs the adjustments that we call for, that we can execute them.

Q. You've been coaching this game for a while. You've been in this tournament a long time. Some teams head into this thing and they've won nine of their past ten, sometimes five of your past ten, whatever it is. In your experience how much does any of that matter once this tournament starts?

RICK BARNES: Well, you know, you go back through history, there's teams that have limped into the tournament and won it. There's teams that have come in at a 12 seed and win a National Championship. There's teams that got beat by 15 points in our conference championship and lost four games in February in a row, maybe seven out of nine.

I think that when you get here, it all starts over. Certainly you'd like to think that if you've had that momentum coming in -- I would just say, I think when you get here, it all starts over and you'd better understand the urgency of taking care of all details with it. You want your players to really enjoy it. I don't think you want to do drastic changes with your team because I think you send the wrong signal to them doing that.

I think you've got to get them to believe that what got them here is good enough to win it. I would say a lot of teams have gone through some ups and downs this year, and we're no different than that. But right now we've got to rely on the work, everything that we've put into our program. We believe in it and know that if we come out and compete -- and that's the main thing, we'll compete at the highest level -- we feel like we can give ourselves a chance to win.

And I would think any team in the country would have that attitude.