COLUMBUS, Ohio - College basketball teams normally send their head coach and two or three players to news conferences.
Tennessee sent its entire starting lineup of Kyle Alexander, Jordan Bone, Admiral Schofield, Lamonte Turner and Grant Williams to the podium Thursday afternoon at Nationwide Arena.
Tennessee's Kyle Alexander walks off the court after the Vols lost to Auburn in the SEC tournament title game Sunday in Nashville. Auburn won 84-64.As long as the Volunteers remain in the NCAA tournament, they'll be together.
After that, a three-year run primarily built on a six-player core that includes guard Jordan Bowden will come to an end. Alexander and Schofield, both seniors, will be gone. Bone and Williams, both juniors, will likely have decisions to make regarding their NBA futures.
So if it seems the sixth-ranked, second-seeded Vols (29-5) have a sense of urgency regarding going out on top as they prepare to face 15th-seeded Colgate (24-10) in an NCAA tournament opening-round matchup at 2:45 p.m. Friday, it's because they do.
"It's a good point you mentioned for me and Admiral," Alexander said Thursday. "After all this is done, we're done. We're seniors, and it's the end of the road. So the urgency is there because we're not trying to have this end anytime soon. We're trying to be with this group as long as we can. So definitely there's a sense of urgency there. And I wouldn't want to be here with any other group of guys, because I love this group of guys."
Tennessee forward Grant Williams celebrates after the Vols beat Kentucky 82-78 in their SEC tournament semifinal matchup last Saturday at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.Based on outsiders' expectations, the Vols overachieved last season, winning 26 games and a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title despite being picked to finish 13th in the 14-team league. They were a No. 3 seed for the NCAA tournament and advanced to the second round before falling on a last-second shot to 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago, which reached the Final Four.
This Tennessee team has, to date, topped most of last season's accomplishments, picking up 19 of its 29 victories during a program-record winning streak and spending four consecutive weeks as the No. 1 team in the country, an unprecedented run for Vols basketball.
The Vols started the season 23-1, but in their past 10 games they have four losses, all of them to SEC opponents that received top-five seeds for the NCAA tournament: Midwest No. 2 Kentucky, East No. 3 LSU and Midwest No. 5 Auburn, which beat Tennessee to close the regular season and in the league tournament final. Also included in that 10-game stretch was a win against South No. 8 Ole Miss and two victories each versus Kentucky and East No. 5 Mississippi State.
Regardless of how the end of the regular season and the SEC tournament went, the NCAA bracket provides a new opportunity and a clean slate.
Tennessee's Admiral Schofield runs down the court in celebration after making a 3-pointer against Kentucky last Saturday in the SEC tournament semifinals."We start every year talking about that every year is a new team," Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. "This team is not the same team that we had a year ago this time. And you're right about it. This time, again, we'll graduate some key guys to our program, not just guys that have had success on the basketball court, but guys that have really put a lot into building this program.
"But they understand, I do think they understand it all. And I think they realize how difficult it is. They know that everybody (in the NCAA tournament) can play. But the fact is, again, I think most coaches this time of year would be surprised if their teams aren't excited, on edge, ready to play. And certainly hope that we're there."
During the Vols' 40-minute open practice Thursday, their experience showed in crisp drills. Most of the players returned from the team that lost to Loyola, ending a tournament run they believed could be a deep one.
They don't want to be in that position again.
Tennessee's Jordan Bone dribbles past Mississippi State's Quinndary Weatherspoon during an SEC matchup this month in Knoxville.
"It's just being able to adjust as far as it's really win or go home at this point," Schofield said. "And we want to have a lot more opportunities to be together, play with each other. So for us it's just being locked in for 40 minutes and focusing on each game that's in front of us and not taking any opponent lightly, but also respecting the game and playing with the passion we know we all have and the love we all have and having fun out there. So for us it's just really being locked in 100 percent collectively on a consistent basis every night, every film session. Really cherishing every moment that we have in the hotel rooms and the free time that we have, but also understanding that we're here on business as well.
"And we're here to accomplish our main goal, and that's to win a national championship. But we can't do that without winning the first game and the game after that. So we have to take it step by step and understanding that this process is just like any other process. There's levels to it, there's steps to it. And we've just got to understand that consistency and consistent buy-in and lock-in to the game plan and to each other is what's going to get it done this year."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.
Tennessee's Lamonte Turner collides with Auburn's Bryce Brown on his way to the basket during the SEC tournament title game Sunday in Nashville.