What Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference after Tennessee basketball beat LSU 73-63 Saturday at Food City Center:

Ethan Burg explaining the story Rick Barnes told this week about a backup guard being ready to play behind TJ Ford against Michigan State

“Now you’re testing me right now. Who was it? It’s a true story. We were playing Michigan State. It was a long time ago. Now you’re making me see how old I am. And my whole point to that story was that you got to be ready now. From here until the end of the year, it might be one game, might be the last game. You’ve got to be ready. And Ethan, what’s helped him, we moved him to the scout team, along with some other players, just to try to get him to calm down, slow down, because he’s always been competitive. He was trying to do way too much. And all I asked him to do when he went to the scout team, just show me you can play without turning the ball over. That’s all I want to see. Just don’t turn the ball over. Be fundamentally sound. And you know what? He embraced it. We always, at the end of practice when we go against each other for a little bit, where he does get those reps. And I said the other thing, you need to get in shape. You’re not getting enough reps the way you’re going right now. You need to get in shape. He’s done that. So that’s, to me, is where he really showed his maturity. 

“And I asked him last night, I said, ‘Why do you think you haven’t played?’ And he said, ‘Coach, honestly, because I wanted to do it my way. And I realized my way’s not going to work.’ And that’s maturity on his part. But Gregg Polinsky came up to me before the game today, we said you know, we’re going to give him a chance because he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. I think it’s a great lesson for our younger guys, too, because some of those guys over the last couple games have gone in and maybe got a little bit out of their role. 

“But Ethan was huge tonight. He really was. I told him he only had one bad turnover, but at least he was trying to get it where we wanted to get it. And I think it’s a great lesson for all of them because, I’m telling you, we’re going to need them all at some point. I don’t care if it’s for one, two, three, four possessions. We’re going to need them.”

Tennessee being able to add another ball handler in the backcourt with Ethan Burg playing 18 minutes

“Well, we thought Ethan would come in — early he came in, and he was doing some good things, then he got just too casual. And Ethan can play. He can really guard. And he’s really competitive. Tonight he threw one to Felix that he probably should’ve kept because he’s a really good finisher around the rim. But he’s trying to figure out a new game for him. And Bishop played his part, he’s going to get in some foul trouble. But Amari Evans can guard like that. Clarence (Massamba), we’ve done the same thing with Clarence and Mo Abrams in practice, where again, we’re going to need them all, you know? And on any given night, we just have to go to that deep into the bench, we’re not afraid to do it.”

How he would assess the play of J.P. Estrella in Tennessee’s win, if he’s playing with the physicality he wants him to play with

“He’s doing more of that. He’s got to be better defensively. I think he’s really settled in offensively, but he’s still defensively, (LSU) went at him a couple times tonight. And he’s got to stay in front and make people play over the top of him or through him. He’s giving up too many angles. 

“And I can’t say enough about Matt (McMahon). When you’re down two starters, and you’ve had a year where they’ve had injuries, he’s a terrific coach. I can sit here all night and talk about him. I mean he’s always impressed me as a coach. His guys play so hard. I think they played eight possessions of zone coming into the game tonight. They played a lot, because obviously we got them in foul trouble early. He made the adjustment, went zone, slowed us down, took us out of rhythm. He made a lot of really good offensive (adjustments), where he took us apart defensively. And he’s a terrific coach. And I told our guys, again, they played hard. I mean, LSU, when you’ve had what they’ve gone through, it’s tough. And especially, you got two starters out tonight. They asked the guys to step up. And I’m just telling you, as a coach, he made some great moves tonight to keep us off balance.”

If he could go back to 2015, what his reaction would be to 250 wins at Tennessee

“Again, I thank God for the opportunity. I do. And when I got here, I think people told me everybody thought I was coming here to retire, which I want to coach basketball. I love coaching. I’ve got a great staff. I love what we have going here. We can get so much better. We’re excited about our young guys. We hope, obviously, to keep them all. And what I didn’t know growing up three hours from here is the love for Tennessee basketball. I’d had people tell me through the years. I had a friend that’s been a friend for 11 years, Kevin Feltner, who was coaching an AAU team here at one time.

“He was one of the first guys I met, and he came in and welcomed me to East Tennessee, and he said, ‘I want to tell you, what you’re going to be most surprised about is how loyal and how rabid your fan base is.’ He said, ‘They love basketball here.’ And that’s true. And I think we’ve got as loyal a basketball fan base. Obviously, we know Vol nation is special. But basketball wise, it’s been unbelievable. But I’m blessed. I mean, I really believe God brought me here for a reason, and I’m thankful for it. I’m thankful for the players that we coach. It was great seeing Robert Hubbs tonight. He was here for the first win that we ever had, and we were back there talking when we had started 11 years ago, and it’s really hard to believe it’s been 11 years. And I’m just thankful to God for the opportunity and the blessing.”

If Tennessee freshman Nate Ament is starting to physically feel his workload

“No. We were very conscious this week of shortening practice, trying to be short and sweet. Getting to it, but still getting our work.  I think it’s a game of habits, and I don’t care if you go out and work for 45 minutes or 35, whatever, you got to be at that level. But  we’re making sure our guys, because he and Ja’Kobi’s had a pretty heavy load all year. We want to be fresh for games. That’s important. That’s why we need Amari and all those other guys, especially in the first half, to get these guys some rest.

“And I told them before the game, maybe one of the reasons that we’ve let leads get away (is) we’ve been tired at the end. Tonight, I didn’t think that, you know, we made the plays when we (needed to). And he has two games in a row. When we’ve needed plays, he has made those plays. He got back tonight, messing with the ball too much, and he can’t double clutch in there. You just got to go out and if they block it, they block it, you miss it, you miss it. But the referees aren’t going to bail him out on some of the shots he took early in the game, when he was just way off balance with it.”

Why Tennessee freshman Amari Evans didn’t play in the first half

“Nothing particular. Just Ethan, we felt like he had impacted the game more in those minutes. Again, we love Amari. First half, he got lost one time on defense, and he gave up a three where he turned his back and Troy early turned the ball over with a pass he shouldn’t be throwing. And we’re trying to get these guys to understand how important every single possession is. But the reason Ethan played more minutes tonight than normally Amari would play was because Ethan was playing good basketball. He deserved it, and I’m sure Amari’s happy for him because he knows what he’s gone through for a month. And we got a team that they do care about each other. They pull for each other, and on any given night, it can go the other way.”

What it means for Tennessee to see minutes can’t be taken for granted

“Well, when you talk about three or four guys, it’s going to be their approach to get ready because if they get the chance, it might be, if they go in one possession and they blow a defensive assignment. That tells you they’re not locked in during shoot around that day or scouting report. You turn the ball over, all the things we talked about. So we talked about them making the most of it, and I believe that Mo Abram is gonna help us somewhere. He’s been sick, and he missed a couple games and was out of practice. Amari Evans has made an impact, and we have confidence in all of them, but we’re a team.

“And sometimes it’s hard after the story we talked about, Terrell Ross was the name. He came out and he was ready, but he’s been ready. I could just tell his demeanor in practice, you know? He’s really taking it serious, and I’m serious, we’re going to need him. I mean, we’re going to need them all coming down the stretch here. Other than Clarence (Massamba), most of them have gotten up, and even Clarence is playing really well and he’s dealing with a hip flexor. But our practices and you guys watch them. They’re highly competitive because those guys, those are the guys that make it competitive. Again, I think Nate would tell you that between Amari and Clarence, those guys have helped him as much as anybody. Just what they do every day, trying to guard him. And Mo. Those guys go after him.”

Why LSU was able to hang around in the game

“They’re extremely well coached, and I’m not sure it’s anything other than they’re a good basketball team. They got a terrific coach that knows what he’s doing. He managed the game well on his end. He got his guys believing, they started making some shots. And, you know, when you have a chance to get a little break away here or there, at the end, again, we had a couple guys jumping up like they were in the eighth grade, honestly. Like, who am I going to throw it to? You can’t do that. We needed to push pace a little bit more, but they were getting back in the zone. We knew they could play a little bit. We obviously didn’t know they’d play that much. And for the most part, we got looks out of it. Then at the end, we were just saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to flash Nate to the middle, let him get it up and we’re going to go rebound the ball.’ And that’s really when we kind of broke it — I’m not going to say broke it open — but got control of it. But I think, I’m not sure it has anything to do with us, I think you got to give LSU the credit.”

If he gets hyped up by the song ‘Never Scared’ by Bone Crusher in Tennessee’s pregame hype video

“That music? Come on, man. I’d rather play Sweet Georgia Brown. You kidding me? No. That music on the video? I’ve had them change it twice. I’m like, ‘Who wants to listen to that?’ You know? That doesn’t make sense to me. I mean, if I can’t understand something, how can I enjoy it? I’m a Ray Mears guy. I like Sweet Georgia Brown.”

The whistle Nate Ament gets

“I can just tell you, I was on the rules committee, and I always said a foul is a foul. And I think if you get any kind of contact on the three-point line, why is that not the same call at 12 (or) 15 feet? And I believe this; when you’re out there by the three-point line, fans react because they can see it. A lot of fans can’t see what’s going on inside, but you know, I could guard some guys if you allow me to walk under them. I could. Back in the day, we taught that. And you know, they’re going to say, guys go straight up. Well, they’re straight up here, but the bottom is where you got to referee from the ground up. And I think that’s where calls like that are (missed), and I think it’s a hard game to referee. 

“I’ve said it before, Mike Eades and his officials in this league, there’s no question that we’re the toughest league in the country to referee. Because of the quality of players, because of the physicality, the skill level, and it’s a hard game. My biggest thing about officiating is that everybody in TV wants it under two hours, and if that’s what you’re going to go by, I see why some fouls aren’t called, (if) we’re going to say we got to get the games done in two hours. I don’t care if we have to stay out there for two and a half, whatever, to get the game right. Let’s get it right.

“I still believe in freedom of movement. I do, and I don’t think that is called at all. And I think it should be, because you can — and understand this, we do the same thing. We do the same thing, and I would guard Nate the same way. There is no doubt, if I were playing against Nate — because, you know, I’ll tell you this. When I was at Clemson and Coach (Dean) Smith and I got into it, it was because we played a very physical style of basketball, and he had terrific players, and I know what he was thinking. I don’t want my guys to get hurt. And I can assure you that when I went to Texas and got LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant and those guys, I saw his point of view real clear. I saw it, so I get it, but I hadn’t changed very much, you know? But I get it, and I think it’s a hard game to officiate, but when you got a guy that you’re playing through a lot, and Nate’s worked hard, I think he should get a better whistle.”