KNOXVILLE – Rick Barnes made it clear Monday.
The Volunteers need more from their guards.
The Tennessee men’s basketball coach said during his weekly news conference that he wants his guards to be smarter but more aggressive with the ball in their hands. The team has struggled as of late, shooting less than 45 percent in each of the past three contests – losses to Kentucky and LSU and a lackluster victory over Vanderbilt in which the Vols shot 41 percent from the field.
In those three contests, Tennessee shot a combined 43 free throws and 68 3-pointers. For a team that had topped 20 3-point attempts only nine times in the first 23 games, to have topped that total in four straight games could be part of the reason the offense has struggled.
A team whose offense is predicated on ball movement and execution has failed on both fronts recently. Tennessee averaged 20 assists in its first 24 games but has had 11, 13 and 10 in the past three.