Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes shouts to his team in the second half during an NCAA college basketball game against Chaminade in the Maui Invitational Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, in Lahaina, Hawaii. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)The Tennessee men's basketball team began its 10-day European tour with an 86-79 exhibition victory over the Catalan All-Stars on Saturday morning in Spain.
Junior guard Chris Darrington, a junior college transfer, led the Volunteers with 19 points. Freshman forward Derrick Walker added 13 points and 10 rebounds, and 11 players appeared in the game for Tennessee.
NCAA rules allow teams one international trip every four years, and the Vols arrived Thursday morning in Barcelona to begin an itinerary that will include three games and a stop in Paris. Tennessee's staff printed out French and Spanish fliers that include rosters and other information about the program to distribute to spectators at the games.
The trip comes as the Vols are welcoming a French player to the program for the first time. Freshman wing Yves Pons is enrolled and will wear number 35 this season.
The trip is the first outside the United States beyond the Caribbean for eight members of the team.
Vitello's staff stocked
New Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello completed his paid, on-field staff this past week by hiring Arkansas volunteer assistant Josh Elander as recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, which were positions Vitello held at Arkansas from 2013 until this spring.
Vitello was Elander's hitting coach at TCU in 2011 and 2012, when Elander played catcher for the Horned Frogs.
Elander spent parts of four years playing in the minor league systems for the Braves and Diamondbacks after being selected by Atlanta in the sixth round of the 2012 MLB draft.
"There are not many players that I have spent more hours in the batting cage with than Josh," Vitello said in a news release. "His work ethic was a catalyst in making him a shining star as a player and in more recent years as a coach. His abilities as a high school All-American allowed for him to live out a recruiting experience of the utmost intensity.
"In the weeks that he has relentlessly worked on the road, it's evident that his personal familiarity allows him to relate incredibly well to our prospects and their own personal process."
Vitello was hired in June to replace Dave Serrano. Vitello's first coaching hire was pitching coach Frank Anderson, who came from the University of Houston.
Volunteers volunteer
Several Tennessee football players and coaches' wives have been volunteering with Knoxville Habitat for Humanity and the Haslam Family Foundation to complete a new home for a single mother in Knoxville.
Junior quarterback Quinten Dormady presented homeowner Whitnee Holloway with the keys to her house Thursday during a dedication ceremony. Holloway has a 6-year-old daughter and works as a billing clerk.
Barb Jones, wife of head coach Butch Jones, was among those from the football program who volunteered.
Lady Vols achieve
Tennessee women's basketball seniors Mercedes Russell and Jaime Nared earned spots on the 2017 USA Basketball Women's U23 national team this past week.
The team was selected after a five-day training camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. It is scheduled to compete in the inaugural U23 Four Nations Tournament on Aug. 12-15 in Tokyo.