What Tennessee Basketball associate head coach Justin Gainey said on Thursday

What Tennessee Basketball associate head coach Justin Gainey said during his media availability Thursday afternoon, reviewing the 99-66 win over North Florida and the first three games of the season:

His assessment of Tennessee’s defense against North Florida 

“Defensively, I thought we did a better job of guarding the ball. Staying in front of the ball, and trying to stay out of rotation. This game was a little tougher, because they were spread out. Shot a lot of threes, but when I went back and graded the defense, we analytically did a better job of staying in front of the ball. And so that was that was good to see.”

What he learned about Tennessee in the first three games

“Man, I learned that we still got a ways to go on defense. I think we have a stable of big guys that we can depend on. That if one doesn’t have it going we have some depth there, and so, you know, it’s, it’s a comforting feeling in that sense, that you got multiple bodies down there that you can throw at different people. But we’re still growing, we’re still learning and we’re still figuring each other out. Still got a ways to go and we got to use every opportunity, whether it’s a practice or a game to continue to build continuity within the group.”

Why JP Estrella has started the season so well

“JP is a good player. And I think if he would have been available last year he would have had a similar type of impact, similar type of production. He’s a talented, skilled big. Good size, really good hands, and can finish inside and he’s tough to move down there. And so what he’s doing isn’t a surprise to us. And Coach (Barnes) is pushing him to do more, to demand more out of himself, and he’s welcomed that. He’s the first one to ask after practice. Hey, what did you think? How was my ball screen defense? How was my positioning, all that good stuff. So we’re really excited about JP, but we know he has another level that he can get to.”

If Estrella is good enough defensively to defend smaller bigs on the perimeter 

“No, not right now. No, not right now. He’s not, he’s not. But he’s working at it. And that’s something we continue to work with on him. And instinctually it’s not something he’s used to doing. So it’s going to take a little time, but the biggest thing is he’s willing to learn, and he knows he’s not where he needs to be, and he knows where he has to get to. He’s not fighting it. He’s not pushing back. It’s not like you are watching film with him and he’s disagreeing or he’s pushing back. He like, yeah, no, I know I got to get better. Coach, cut up every clip of me in isolation. Cut up every clip of me in ball screens. Like he wants to learn. He wants to get better at it. And so is he where he needs to be? Not right now, but he’s going to continue to work to try to get as close to that as he can.”

What they’re emphasizing to Jaylen Carey right now

“Just keep coming. Keep going and get better, right? Everybody’s got to get better. So for him on the offensive side of the ball, just continuing to, he’s got to move and be able to impact without having the ball in his hands whether it’s cutting, whether it’s screening, getting off screens quicker, pace, all that good stuff is a little different. I think, previously, he’s had the ball in his hands more as a playmaker and also as a scorer. And so just diversifying his game and getting comfortable with the system. And look, he’s a junior, and he’s been in three different programs, and it’s a learning curve. It is a learning curve, but he’s willing to learn. And we need him to pick up the pace with his learning. But nonetheless, he’s open to it, and he wants to be better, and he recognizes it too.”

Coaches adjusting to having more of a post game, recycling old plays

“I would say, Coach has always wanted that inside presence. So even post Grant (Williams), when we didn’t have that, he was always still kind of messing around with those kind of plays to help those guys develop. To help Felix develop, to help I think Jonas was here at the time, Uros, Olivier, all of those guys.

“So he’s always kind of had them in his back pocket, and he’s always kind of, you know, we’ve worked on them in practice, more so in the summer. So, you know, just with what we have now, we’re able to kind of have it at our disposal during games as well. It kind of diversifies our attack.”

If when Tennessee is looking at its offensive production in the post, going to the Elite Eight last season without it

“It is something that we’re excited about, you know, and just to kind of see where it goes and how it develops, and the identity that this team takes on.”

Whose defense Tennessee is trying to get other players to emulate

“Felix is a guy who I feel like could be the best defensive player in the country. Like, he’s elite and his ability to protect the rim, you know, we’re showing the other post (players) what that looks like. His ability to switch and guard all positions, is somebody that we’re saying, ‘hey, this is what it looks like.’

“And then on the perimeter, I’d say Bishop (Boswell). You know, Bishop is that guy that brings that physicalness, that edge, that toughness, that speed on that side of the ball. So those two guys are the ones we point to.”

If senior forward Felix Okpara is still learning how to play with Tennessee’s new players

“No, I think he’s got a pretty good grasp of, you know, he’s been able to, you know, he’s played with them this summer. And I don’t think — what we’re doing isn’t much different than what we did last year, from that standpoint of, you know, him getting off of screens quick and playing off of drop offs and lobs and all that good stuff. So I think he’s picked up playing with those two guys pretty seamlessly.”

How much of an adjustment senior point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is making to be more of a facilitator

“It is an adjustment for him, and he’ll tell you he hadn’t been playing the point guard position a long time, and he’s a gifted score, as good of a scorer as, man, I might have ever been around. So there is an adjustment when you’re asking a guy that scores it so easily to, ‘hey, get others involved and still have the same impact that you have.’ And so, you know, he’s learning. He’s learning how to run a team. He’s learning how to put guys in position. This is his third school, right? So he’s learning a new offense, and so he’s having to do that all while learning something new. And so it is an adjustment. It’s a lot of teaching that’s involved behind the scenes on that with him. He’s willing to learn. He recognizes where he’s got to get better, and that’s promising. He wants to do that because he knows for this team to be who we want this team to be, he’s got to be able to do both at a high, high level.”

What he saw from the two-guard position with Bishop Boswell out with a foot injury

“Obviously you lose Bishop, you feel it on the defensive end. There’s not another guy that brings it to that level on this roster as Bishop, right? And so you feel that, right? You feel it that first, what was it? Six, seven minutes, and, you know, they got 10-12 points, right? So you feel that setting the tone defensively, being able to go after their top guy. And so we got to get other guards up to that level. We do. You can’t have that kind of drop off when one guy’s out. So those other guys, they got to pick it up and bring it. 

“I thought the others tried. I thought Amaree (Abram) tried. I thought Troy (Henderson) tried. I thought Ethan (Burg) tried. Again, they got another level to go. I was very proud of Amaree, and, you know, he’s got a great feel, high IQ, and he can really anticipate, and good hands. And so, you know, he had three steals last night. He was picking up full court and harassing the defense. So was really proud of him because, again, he’s a guy that has a rep as a scorer, right? And so we’re asking him to add to his game as well. And for a guy that this is his last year as a senior, to change his game a little bit, right? Some guys aren’t willing to do that, but he’s embraced it, and he’s working his tail off and it’s excited, and I’m proud of him.”

“So he’s always kind of had them in his back pocket, and he’s always kind of, you know, we’ve worked on them in practice, more so in the summer. So, you know, just with what we have now, we’re able to kind of have it at our disposal during games as well. It kind of diversifies our attack.”