KNOXVILLE – Admiral Schofield was warming up for practice Friday when Tennessee men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes called the freshman forward over in the middle of Barnes’ meeting with the media to prove a point.
Honesty is a policy Barnes has touted while in charge of the Volunteers, and the coach was asked if his players were accustomed to it by now, 28 games into his first season.
The question, Barnes believed, was better suited for a player.
“Oh yeah, big time,” Schofield said. “We already know it’s going to come. We just prepare ourselves every film session and get all our feelings out, because we know we’re going to hear it. That’s just Coach. He’s always on us. He’s going to be honest. We just accept that honesty is what’s going to help us get better.”
Barnes had a follow-up question for Schofield.
“Would you rather me start lying to you?” he said.
“No,” Schofield quickly answered. “When you start lying, then it’s a problem. A big problem.”
Said Barnes: “I rest my case.”
The comedic exchange came less than 48 hours after Barnes was in no laughing mood when explaining why he benched two regular contributors in the second half of Wednesday’s 26-point loss at South Carolina. Neither Robert Hubbs III nor Detrick Mostella played in the second half, and Barnes, in line with his practices and press conferences all season, did not mince words in his ensuing explanation.
He cited a lack of effort, excuses and blaming teammates as reasons for the benching and said he would have entered the game himself before a couple of his players did.
On Friday, Barnes indicated he wouldn’t toe the imaginary line between being honest and being too critical.
“I don’t think you walk the line,” he said. “I think you’ve got to speak truth. I don’t think it does anybody any good if you’re not very transparent, if you’re not very open and honest from the beginning. I think that’s how you’ve got to do it. I just think that’s important.
“We knew we started the year with a group of guys that had all come together at once, and I’ve said it before, I’ve really enjoyed coaching this team. I know as a coaching staff we’ve enjoyed coaching this team, and we’ve got a good group of guys. We’re not always the only one talking to them, and we can only control what we can control. We’re going to be honest. It’s a privilege to play here, and we want guys that understand that.”
Neither player may spend much time in the coach’s doghouse. Mostella, who exchanged words with Barnes during one first-half timeout in Columbia, showed no emotional effects of the incident at practice. Hubbs spent the session on the side with a trainer as he continues to work through a knee injury.
Barnes said both players realized during Thursday’s video session the points he was making about their lack of effort.
“Guys that have that innate ability to work hard every single day, I think it’s a talent,” he said. “Armani Moore has a great competitive talent about him. It’s a gift, but if it’s not there, it’s something that you can develop. I do believe that, that you can develop a work ethic. I think you can develop a mental aspect to the game.
“I even think you can develop a degree of mental toughness, but it takes great effort on the individual to want to change his thought process and understand and embrace what it is he has to do. That means getting out of your comfort zone most of the time, which is very hard for all of us to do.”
Barnes is willing to lose games if it helps him lay the foundation of the program he wants, and he said Friday he doesn’t want players or even coaches to feel a sense of entitlement.
“I’ve been doing this long enough to know,” he added, “that this time of year when you’re almost at the end of the year and things haven’t gone well, people think they can find places that are better, which can happen at some point in time.
“I think we’re all blessed to have this opportunity at the University of Tennessee. I want a group of guys that understands that.”
Punter out today
The Vols will be without leading scorer Kevin Punter Jr. for the third consecutive game as the stress fracture in his foot will keep the senior sidelined.
“He’s day to day,” Barnes said Friday. “He’s not going to play tomorrow, but he’s still trying to do the rehab. The kind of kid he is, he’s hoping to have a chance to get back and play, but what he’s got, that stress fracture is something that’s tough to deal with. He’s doing everything he can to where hopefully he can get it quieted down enough. It’ll be up to him, but he won’t play tomorrow.”
Punter was out of his walking boot on Friday.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.