Turner’s extra work paid off for Vols on way to title
KNOXVILLE — Rick Barnes notices Admiral Schofield and Lamonte Turner working on their shooting in the offseason and after practices.
They spend more time working out on their own than arguably anyone else on the Tennessee men’s basketball team, their coach acknowledged after the Volunteers clinched a Southeastern Conference co-championship with a 66-61 victory over Georgia in Saturday’s regular-season finale.
“They’re competitors,” Barnes said. “They are. I don’t tell them that often. The (assistant) coaches do. I’m telling them I want to see more. But I know they are.”
Barnes may not regularly hand out praise to Schofield and Turner for their extra work, but he has given them his trust when clutch situations have arrived this season, and that was the case again with a championship on the line.
Nearly 30 minutes into Saturday’s home game against the Bulldogs, the Tennessee backcourt trio of Jordan Bowden, James Daniel and Turner was a combined 0-for-9 from the field as the Vols tried to claw back from a 42-34 halftime deficit.
Finally, with 10:22 remaining, Turner made a 3-pointer to tie the game at 49. The 6-foot-1 redshirt sophomore hit two more 3-pointers in the game’s final minutes, scoring all nine of his
points when the Vols seemingly needed them most.
“I kind of got off to a terrible start in this game,” said Turner, who was 0-for-3 in the first half. “I let my emotions kind of get the best of me. I felt like I needed to step up for my team. Grant (Williams) got in foul trouble, and then he fouled out. I felt like I had to step up and make big shots. I was able to.”
Turner’s second make gave the Vols a 55-53 lead with 6:23 remaining, and his final trey lifted the Vols out of a four-point deficit with 2:31 remaining.
Barnes has repeatedly challenged him to focus on his defense this season, saying the offense flows more naturally when Turner is locked in on the defensive aspects of the game. On Saturday, the Vols went to the locker room at halftime with Georgia shooting lights out and Turner struggling.
“I got on him at halftime,” Barnes said. “I told him he took three bad shots, and I said, ‘I want to see you play defense,’ and that if he would, he would bounce back. And he can take it. He can take hard coaching.”
Turner’s recollection of the halftime adjustment mirrored Barnes’.
“At halftime, our guys really got on me because I gave up a layup to end the second half, and I’m better than that,” Turner said. “I just had to take a deep breath and come out and bring energy to my team, do my job and focus on that and not focus on scoring or anything like that. I was able to bring energy, and everyone collectively came together and we were able to get stops.”
During timeouts late in the game, Turner repeatedly suggested a play to Barnes that would put the ball in his hands with a chance to score. Barnes finally relented and ran the play, though it did not result in points.
“But you want your players locked in to where they’re talking to you, where they’re seeing things,” Barnes said. “And I felt that tonight.”
The trust to run such a play goes back to the work Tennessee coaches have seen Turner put in and the confidence extra work provides to both parties when a game is on the line.
“We know,” Barnes said, “that he’s not afraid of the big moment.”
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.