KNOXVILLE – Instead of the Rocky Mountains, new Tennessee men’s basketball assistant coach Kim English now gets Rocky Top and the Smoky Mountains.
Other than that, life is pretty much the same for the former Colorado assistant, who replaced Rob Lanier when the latter became the head coach of Georgia State this offseason.
“Pretty much” the same.
“I have another daughter,” English told the Times Free Press recently. “That’s an adjustment. We only had one in Colorado; we’ve got two now.”
Everything else is just as it was at his previous stop. English spends much of his time in the gym, helping to develop players. A two-time All-Big 12 guard in his playing days, English is still active and gets out during drills to help teach fundamentals to the Tennessee guards, something head coach Rick Barnes really enjoys seeing.
“When you have a staff, I think the coaches have to all be involved in it,” Barnes said. “I have always wanted to have people on staff that are guys that have played for me, guys that I really personally know, guys that my staff really know, because I don’t think you want to experiment with chemistry and that stuff. I think it’s important; just like recruiting, you’ve got to dig into that.
“I’ve always relied on our coaches, because they spend more time together than probably with me on a daily basis with everything. Kim has added a lot: He’s young and energetic, can still play, and I think the fact that he’s made such a quick impact with our players, they trust him, is really important.
“I think they respect where he has been and what he has done, but I think more than anything like our staff, we are very much a hands-on staff. We love being with our guys. When practice is over every day, we have dinner in our locker room, and as a staff we’re there with them, because we really enjoy being around these guys. I’m excited about our staff, and he has been a great addition. He’s been everything you could want and more.”
English has been key in the progress of freshman guard Josiah James as well as the continued development of senior guards Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden. But Tennessee also will need contributions and continued improvement from players such as junior guard Jalen Johnson and junior forwards John Fulkerson and Yves Pons.
The team seems to have bought into getting better, something English noticed immediately upon his arrival.
“We had one of the best summers I’ve ever been around as far as guys improving, as far as guys wanting to get in the gym and get better,” English said. “We were able to have four hours a week this summer, and now we have 15 more practices until the first game and now we’re starting to game-plan a little bit and starting to focus on some early opponents.
“It’s been great – long days, but I absolutely love coming to work every day. We have a great group of guys, players; a great staff; unbelievable support. Everything you want at the University of Tennessee to have a successful basketball program.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.