Editor’s Note: The Insider is a recurring entertainment feature built around publicly available information, informed analysis and educated speculation. It does not claim access to confidential sources inside the Tennessee basketball program, nor should any predictions be interpreted as factual reporting of non-public information.
I have been monitoring a developing situation involving Tennessee guard Terrence Hill Jr.
Rick Barnes keeps yelling at him.
This was initially brought to my attention by reports from Tennessee practices, where Hill has been subjected to what knowledgeable basketball observers call “coaching.” I have not ruled out other explanations.
Reports from summer practice indicated Hill was going through what could reasonably be described as the Rick Barnes point guard boot camp, with Barnes getting after him and occasionally sending him to the VersaClimber. The important development is that Hill kept playing well anyway.
This raised questions. Mostly mine.
So I opened an investigation.
My first task was establishing whether Barnes has something against Hill personally. This theory suffered an immediate setback when I discovered that Barnes has been praising him up one side and down the other for months.
“Well, Terrence is a smart player,” Barnes said in June, adding that Hill had picked up Tennessee’s system quickly and had already become one of the team’s vocal leaders.
I wrote this down:
BARNES PUBLICLY DESCRIBES HILL AS SMART. POSSIBLE MISDIRECTION.
Journalism requires skepticism.
I then obtained testimony from Hill himself. This proved damaging to my investigation because Hill says Barnes’ intensity isn’t exactly a surprise.
“You kind of just get used to it over time.”
Worse, Hill admitted that former Tennessee point guards had already warned him about what was coming. Hill said he spoke with Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Zakai Zeigler, who told him Barnes would be on him more because he’s the point guard.
This means Hill had prior knowledge.
I briefly considered whether Gillespie and Zeigler should be classified as whistleblowers. My editor said no.
I Began Looking for a Pattern
At this point, I needed data, so I developed the Barnes Vocal Intensity Tracking System, or BVITS.
It is still undergoing peer review. Currently, peer review consists of me looking at it again tomorrow.
The system is straightforward. Every time Barnes appears unhappy with Hill, Hill receives one Barnes Unit. A trip to the VersaClimber is worth two Barnes Units. If Barnes removes his glasses while expressing disappointment, I reserve the right to adjust the figure upward after reviewing the circumstances.
I cannot disclose Hill’s current BVITS score because I don’t know it.
But the investigation produced an unexpected discovery: Hill apparently understands exactly why Barnes is doing this.
“My speed,” Hill said when asked this summer what Barnes was emphasizing. “He just wants me to pick up my pace more, get the team going. Me using my voice more, just taking on that leader role.”
That is significant because Tennessee is now experimenting with a dramatically faster offense. During the Vols’ first official preseason practice, Barnes repeatedly gave his team only 10 seconds on the shot clock during five-on-five work, forcing players to advance the basketball and make decisions quickly.
Hill is one of the men being asked to operate the controls.
I am therefore forced to consider a troubling possibility:
Rick Barnes may be yelling at Terrence Hill because Rick Barnes thinks Terrence Hill can be really good.
I did not anticipate this.
The Investigation Takes a Turn
Hill averaged 15 points per game at VCU last season. Tennessee didn’t bring him to Knoxville merely to score. With Juke Harris, Jalen Haralson and Dai Dai Ames around him, Hill is being asked to create, organize and get Tennessee into offense quickly.
And the strangest part is that none of Barnes’ attention seems to bother him. Hill has said he understands that Barnes’ criticism comes from wanting him to improve.
This is extremely inconvenient because I had already written “PERSONAL FEUD?” across the top of three pages.
There is also historical precedent. Barnes has coached Tennessee point guards this way before. Hill knew about it before arriving. Former Tennessee point guards warned him. Barnes has praised Hill’s intelligence and leadership. Hill says he embraces the coaching.
Taken together, the evidence increasingly points toward a conclusion I was hoping to avoid: everything is fine.
I contacted a source close to the investigation and presented my findings.
“So Barnes is hard on the point guard?”
“Yes.”
“Because the point guard has to run the team?”
“Yes.”
“And Hill already knew that?”
“Yes.”
I looked at my notes. “Then why have I been working on this for three days?”
There was a pause.
“Couldn’t tell ya bud.”
Interesting.
I quickly noted, “Source suddenly unwilling to answer questions.”
THE INSIDER’S PREDICTION
At some point this season, Terrence Hill Jr. will make a mistake, Rick Barnes will yell at him, Hill will nod, and approximately 14 seconds later Hill will make a terrific play.
Barnes will call that coaching. Hill will call it getting better.
I will continue gathering evidence.
This investigation remains open…
– The Insider (For real though)