Everything Gregg Polinsky Said Ahead of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship
Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics
By Tucker Harlin
#11 Tennessee (4-0) faces Virginia (3-0) in its first leg of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship in Nassau Thursday. Tip off is at 9:30 p.m. ET and the game airs on CBS Sports Network.
Vols assistant coach Gregg Polinsky addressed the media ahead of the trip to the Bahamas.
Here’s what he said:
ON THE TEAM’S GROWTH FROM THE START OF THE SEASON:
“We have a little bit more of an identity on offense. We still have to clean up some things on both ends. Defensively, we’re not as clean as we need to be in some areas, but we’ve played hard. I’d say the biggest thing now is continuing to find our identity, having guys mesh, finding the best units to play together and who’s in synergy best as a group. We’ve rebounded the ball better, but obviously the competition is going to get bigger and stronger, so we’re going to see if we can continue doing that.”
ON OFFENSIVE IDENTITY:
“I think it’s like most of Coach Barnes’ teams. I think last year was a little bit of an anomaly with Dalton (Knecht) because he was such a terrific scorer. But, by committee, sharing the basketball, making that one more, finding guys and getting them the ball in location where they can be effective, and we’re still figuring that out. In the last few games, Igor (Milicic) has been more productive, he’s slowed down a little bit, something coach (Barnes) has been preaching to him. I think Zakai (Zeigler) is feeling a little more comfortable with this group. Felix (Okpara) is finding a niche. Chaz (Lanier), it was good to see when he scores five points in a game we can still score 100 points. So, there’s some good things happening.”
ON IGOR MILICIC’S OFFENSE THE LAST TWO GAMES:
“I think Igor’s a guy that’s got a very high skill set. Now, learning when and where to use it based on what we expect and what this offense does in terms of its flow and continuity is something that he’s gotten. He was confident, he was aggressive, he was assertive. That was big for us in that game.”
ON J.P. ESTRELLA’S AVAILABILITY:
“No idea. Day to day is the best way to put it.”
ON CAM CARR’S HAND INJURY:
“We were off yesterday, so I’ll know more when I walk downstairs.”
ON CADE PHILLIPS IN THE FIVE:
“Well, he is physically tough enough to do it, that’s for sure. Cade is physically tough, strong guy, but weight is an issue, but he’s going to give us all he has. Igor’s (Milicic) big enough to get us some minutes there and there are times when we’re going to switch off when we’re confident in those guys. The great thing about all three of those guys it they’re all capable of moving their feet, they’re fairly athletic. I’d even call Felix (Okpara) an elite athlete for his position. Then you always have Jahmai Mashack in your back pocket, which is always a great feeling.”
ON ZAKAI ZEIGLER:
“I think all the hard work, when you see Zakai struggle it’s because he’s so hard on himself, and I know he, I, and coach (Barnes) and everybody’s had conversations with him about (how) it’s not a perfect game and there’s going to be mistakes, so don’t feel like it’s all on your shoulders. We call it “point guard heavy” because he’s so competitive and coach (Barnes) has said this so many times, he wants to create or make up for what happened on the last play instead of letting the ball move freely and let other guys help him out. I think that’s where he’s getting a little bit better and improving.”
ON PLAYING IN EARLY SEASON TOURNAMENTS:
“I love it, I think it’s a great preparation. Coach (Barnes) talks about it like an NCAA bracket, they’re two game tournaments although this is back to back, that’s fine. The competition will be stiff, it’s really good. It helps us find out where we are.”
ON VIRGINIA:
"They’re a little different. We all split scouts and this happened to be one that fell to me, and watching them play, they are very similar. They are a team that’s a well-oiled machine, they play with a great sense of identity on both ends of the court. I always thought in my previous days when I saw teams with a sense of identity that know who they are and what to get done, those are well-coached teams. This is one of them.”
ON ISAAC MCKNEELY:
“All our analytics tell us it’s not an anomaly, he’s real. I’ve got to see him up close but my first inclination is he’ll have a chance to play basketball for awhile because he can make contested shots. That’s what that league is with the length, NBA or Euro League, or Euro Cup, or whatever it is he’ll be playing, he’s a really, really good basketball player. I would call him an elite level shooter. Last year he was about 45% from three, this year he’s about 65% from three. If you watch his shots, they look like shots guys make at the next level.”
ON DALTON KNECHT:
“If he came back through the door, we’d welcome him with open arms. We’d be happy to have him one more year. It’s not surprising knowing some of the scouts and one of the guys who called me through his process, he was asking a little bit the other day. I think he had struggled in a couple of games, my comment was ‘I’m not there with you guys, but I wouldn’t worry about it.’ J.J. (Redick) will figure it out, he was a shooter and D.K.’s more than that. It’s not shocking, he’s got that mentality and mental toughness to get through this. I think learning how to play with great players, and I mean great players, legendary players, is something new. You’re not always getting it when you’re open because those guys are so good. Those guys are going to do what they do, but I think he’s starting to acclimate to the new situation and you’re seeing great performances.”
ON VIRGINIA’S TEMPO:
“The biggest thing is, we’re not going to shut them out and keep them from playing the tempo they play. They practice it every single day. I think last year, they led the country in off-ball screening actions. They get guys open, so the thing for us to do is make every catch a tough one, every shot a tough one. Almost half their attempts are from three, so can we limit that or at least make them tough. Louisville took 39 of them but at least we made them tough. You’re not going to keep them from getting their shots, it’s about making them tougher. I think we have the kind of team that can grind through possessions which is what they do. We know they embrace using the shot clock, so it’s going to be a different challenge for us, a unique challenge for us, but also a very good one.”
ON DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT:
“Two areas would be level of concentration and communication, because we’re going to get effort, and we’re fortunate to have guys like Jordan Gainey, Jahmai Mashack, Zakai (Zeigler), our seniors that have been here and do a great job of everything we talk about. Talking, switching, things that cause confusion we’ve got to get a little bit better with, but overall we’re getting good effort from our team.”
ON BISHOP BOSWELL:
“Bish is a tough dude. As I say about some of those dudes like ‘Shack, I wish I look like him when I grow up. He is already physically a man. His ability to defend at such a young age is rare. He came from a great high school program which helped, Myers Park, terrific in that regard. I think for coach (Barnes) and for Bish, just being a better decision maker, and that comes with time. You can’t rush that.”
ON FELIX OKPARA’S POSITIONING:
“I think he’s played off the ball and played off of others to learn to do that. Felix is working to develop, we’re working to develop an inside game because we think he has that ability, but at the same time he’s smart enough to realize the quickest guy on the court is #5. He can get to spaces in relation to where the ball is to be effective and simplify the game.”
