Head Coach Rick Barnes

On how many of the threes taken versus Texas Tech were quality shots…

“I talked with our guys about it yesterday. We rushed at least six of them where we didn’t have the ones that we wanted to take. We knew against them, going in, the way they packed the defense and tried to keep it on one side that we were going to get looks. We told them we should be excited about it because we think we’re a good shooting basketball team. I thought we started the game with some of our good shooters taking off balance shots. I say this all the time, a really good shooter can shoot his way into a bad night by being edgy, trying to get his shot up and being off balance. I do think when we shoot balanced threes, and the ones that we practice, that we are a really good shooting team. The other night we had some point blank looks at it that we didn’t make, but all that can happen if you get off to a bad start where you start doubting yourself a little bit.”

On importance to find another inside scorer to help the offense…

“I think it’s extremely important. I think that Olivier (Nkamhoua), Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) and Uros (Plavsic) going forward (can fill that role). I do think that we’ve got to be a more physical team. Those guys are guys that can provide that for us. Our guards are pretty physical. I think people look at them and see how hard they work at running through screens and getting through screens, but around the rim there’s no doubt that we need those guys to continue to get better.”

On what Olivier Nkahmhoua is doing differently that is not allowing him to play as many minutes…

“We trust our guys, but I’ve said many times that we can look at our guys’ body language because we are around them so much and we know them so well because of the time that we spend with them. We can tell when we felt like they’re really locked in to doing what we know they’re capable of. I will say this, in the Texas Tech game, he made some nice blocks and some extra effort plays as we like to call them. He made some plays, helped, went over and blocked a shot, things like that. We need that more. Obviously, we need him to be a physical rebounder inside. I think that where Olivier’s got to continue to improve is where he missed an easy shot. He came right down the floor and then took a shot that could he make? Probably, but being off balance like that it’s not a high percentage shot. So, it’s almost like in his mindset, I think he felt like when he missed that little bunny around the rim that, ‘I’ve got to get it back.’ He doesn’t have to get it back. He’s too good of a player and we’ve got great confidence and trust in him. That’s where he’s got to continue to grow. It’s tough when you miss those right around the rim when nobody’s guarding you, it really is. The fact is, in the last game against Texas Tech, we were just trying to get the best. We knew we were struggling to score. We felt we could guard them. We had four guards out there at one time, because they tried to post out guards and our guards were not going to have any of it. We felt we just needed to try to get the guys out there that could get some points for us.

On if amount of free throws the team takes per game is concerning…

“When you kick out for a bunch of threes, you’re not going to get fouled a lot. We need to get better physically at driving the ball. Santiago (Vescovi) and Zakai (Ziegler) both go in there and they’re willing to put their body on you and try and create some contact when they’re going at a good speed. The other night, we had a chance to put the ball inside some and our passes weren’t on time. We threw passes at people’s feet. When you’re playing against a team that is going to collapse really quickly, you’ve got to be clean with that delivery or the guy catching the ball is going to have absolutely no room to work. That goes back to the pass being delivered where it needs to be delivered on time.”

On if there is a certain number of free throws that he would like to see a game…

“We would like to make more than the other team shoots. That’s what we would like to say. That would be the goal any game. If we could make more free throws than the other team shoots, that would be a good night.”

What Brandon Huntley-Hatfield needs to do to earn more minutes…

“Physicality. We think Brandon is one of the strongest players we’ve ever coached. He’s learning how to practice better, that’s where it’s going to start. You saw the other night as soon as he came into the game there was no question that Texas Tech came right at him. They didn’t even hesitate one minute. It’s him understanding, and he is. Brandon is working at it and he’s come so far from when he first got here in the spring in terms of his mindset. Brandon is smart, he’s talented, but it’s a mindset to understand that’s a big jump from where he was last year to where he is today. Our schedule probably hasn’t helped him but it will in the long run. The big games that we’re in it’s going to help him. Do I think he can go out in some games and do better if we had a different schedule than we had, yeah probably. The fact is what we’re getting ready to get into come into December, every night is going to be a highly physical, contested game. We’ve got a couple more weeks to try and get him there. He had a great practice yesterday. We wanted him to be more physical in practice yesterday and he did a nice job doing it.”

On UNC Greensboro defensively and what can be done offensively…

“One, we need to shoot the ball better. Again, what we’ve practiced, you guys have seen us, some nights we’ve been a really good offensive team. What it goes back to is Kennedy (Chandler) is learning every night. I’ve said it before, every game has a different personality. The way he plays at Colorado, he was able to use high ball screens to get to the rim well. I think he’s not there yet knowing that the next game against Texas Tech was a totally different coverage. That’s where he’s going to have to understand, prepare himself. Everything Texas Tech did, we talked about with him. Talked about where he was going to have to fight. Talked to him about where his gaps were going to be, where we get him on the court where he can still do what he’s really good at. His preparation, getting there. Kennedy is going to continue to work at getting better at it. For what he’s done up to this point, he’s a freshman. Obviously learning that and he will every game out. Every game that he’s played poorly, not up to the standard that he wants or what we want, he’s come back and tried to do better with it in practice.”

On Justin Powell’s limited minutes…
“Just like I said earlier, it goes back to we know our guys’ body language, we know when we feel like they are locked in and ready to play. We knew it was going to be a defensive struggle so now you know it’s on the other end looking at it, ‘Okay,  if Justin is not making shots, it’s going to get into a defensive grind we have to try and get our best defensive players out there who we think can make shots too.’ That’s where we get in a bind a little bit. There is no doubt Justin has improved his defense since he’s been here. We think he’s going to be a terrific player. Again, he played 10 games at Auburn before he got here and we think he’s got a good feel. He’s learning this system, especially defensively. He’ll be fine too. We have confidence in all these guys. We’re in games. When we’re in those high-level games where we know that every possession matters, I have a great coaching staff and there’s a lot of dialogue going on over there who we all feel is locked in and ready to go to go and try to help us get a win. That’s the decision we made the other night.”
 
On zone defense against Tennessee…
 
“We haven’t seen that many guys play us in zone that much, we haven’t seen it very much. We’re ready for it. We feel we’re a good offensive team. We feel like we can get better. Again, every game is going to be a grind but if we will execute what we do we’re going to be fine. Now making shots, you see it happening. Villanova took 50 threes, made I think 13 of them. That’s part of the game that we wish we could control every night. What we’re more concerned about is execution and if we execute we are going to be a good offensive team.”
 

Freshman Guard Zakai Zeigler
 
On what it was like playing in Madison Square Garden…
 
“It was amazing. The last time I had been in that gym, it was myself, my mother and my father. We were going to watch Stephon Marbury. Now, for this to be the next time I was able to be in that gym and for them to come watch me play meant a lot. It’s amazing.”
 
On being a spark off the bench this season…
 
“To be honest, it means a lot to me, but to the team I feel like it means a lot too. No matter if I’m getting five minutes or 25 minutes, I have to give it my best and give all I can to help the team win.”
 
On what he sees his role being on the team…
 
“To be a pest on defense and to get everybody else involved. I don’t come in thinking I’ve got to shoot, shoot, shoot. Really, it’s just to speed the defense up, get stops and make a change on the defensive end.”
 
On how much he believes he helps push and also learn from Kennedy Chandler in practice…
 
“A whole lot. I’ve never played somebody this fast in my life. If you can guard him, you’ll guard anybody. He’s one of the fastest guys I’ve ever had to stay in front of. It’s just great playing against him every day.”
 
On the learning curve that comes with transitioning from high school basketball to the scouting reports in college…
 
“That was a pretty big difference. I had friends previously, before I got to college, who told me ‘The scouting report is going to really get you. They’ll know what you like to do and what you don’t like to do. They’ll know what you did the game before.’ Coming in and actually seeing that, it is a big difference. At the end of the day, if you can play, you can play.”

-UT Athletics