Texas A&M men's basketball coach Billy Kennedy and Tennessee coach Rick Barnes have known each other for years. They're colleagues and respected associates outside of the college basketball scene. On Saturday, the two reunite at Reed Arena, and while one coach is enjoying one of his best seasons, another coach is in the middle of a rebuilding season. "He's had some tough luck," Barnes during a Thursday media session said of Kennedy, who will enter Saturday's matchup on a four-game skid against SEC opponents. It gets far from easier Saturday when Texas A&M hosts No. 1 Tennessee at Reed Arena. The Aggies are currently 8-11 on the year and 1-6 in conference play, near the bottom of the SEC standings. They will host a 19-1 Tennessee team that not only is tied with No. 19 LSU atop the confererence standings at 7-0 but also a team that leads in the conference in a variety of team and individual leader lists. Barnes is playing with one of the most talented and experienced teams in all of college basketball. Meanwhile, Kennedy has a team with one starter from last season in guard TJ Starks -- and as of late, Starks has been a part-time starter. To add, the Aggies have one full-time starter in forward Christian Mekowulu who is a graduate transfer, another full-time starter in guard Wendell Mitchell who is playing his first year in the SEC as a junior college transfer, and a group of sophomores who are talented but some question if they've accepted a leadership role. Barnes understands that Texas A&M is playing this season without four starters from last season, as all four chose to test the NBA waters. One of those starters didn't sign with an agent and was expected to return to lead the Aggies in guard Admon Gilder, but Gilder was sidelined for the year with a blood clot in his right arm before even playing a regular season game. "[Gilder] is a guy I've got a lot of respect for, a guy who was going to be one of their leaders," Barnes said. "Now it makes other guys move into different roles." Fast forward to today, and the Aggies aren't about excuses -- but they are still looking to generate wins on a regular basis in the SEC. Texas A&M throughout the year has been a team that has shown signs of greatness in spans, but putting together full 40-minute performances has been an Achilles' heel of sorts. The Aggies played a solid 40 minutes against Kansas State last Saturday, and the result was a 65-53 win against one of the nation's best defensive teams. Texas A&M will need to play at equal performance, if not even better, against a Tennessee team that has been rolling. "What stands out about them is a week ago, they beat a team that I thought was playing as well as anyone in the country in Kansas State -- and they handled them fairly easy," Barnes said. "[Wednesday], they were in the game right up until the very end with LSU." Barnes expects the Aggies to bring their A game against the nation's top-ranked team, particularly in front of a home crowd. In the Volunteers' locker room, there's a high level of respect for the Aggies. And with Barnes alone, there's an even greater level of respect for Kennedy as a man and as a coach. But expect Barnes and the Volunteers to come into Saturday ready to show everybody why they are the team to beat. "Certainly, they're going to fight and battle," Barnes said of Texas A&M. "We're going to have to be ready for that challenge." Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Reed Arena.<doc-sep>KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) The Tennessee Vols football National Signing Day caravan and news on four players leaving lead our Volunteers news for Friday, Feb. 8, 2019. Happy Friday! After a huge week when it comes to off-field gridiron news while men’s basketball continues, this weekend represents some sort of return to normal for the Tennessee Vols. But before that, we have a ton of news to cover still related to Signing Day. Our morning news on Rocky Top includes news about players leaving the program and the locations in which that news was delivered. Quotes from numerous UT coaches in football and men’s basketball lead the way. However, we also have some baseball and softball news to bring you in previewing both seasons. Yes, those are now beginning to take off, hinting that spring is just around the corner. But let’s start with the big football news. Four players leave Tennessee football – Blake Toppmeyer, Knoxville News Sentinel Tennessee Vols offensive lineman Chance Hall is giving up football due to injuries. Offensive tackle Drew Richmond and tight end Austin Pope, who entered the transfer portal, will not be with the team in the spring. Meanwhile, tight end Eli Wolf announced his transfer to the Georgia Bulldogs. Pruitt made these announcements and said nothing has changed with Trey Smith while on his Signing Day tour across the state Thursday. Injuries plagued Hall’s career. He made seven starts as a freshman and six as a sophomore but missed the entire 2017 season with a knee injury. He had surgery last March before returning to appear in eight games last fall. He would have been a fifth-year senior. Richmond is also a fifth-year senior who will depart as a graduate transfer. The Memphis native started 25 games for Tennessee, including all 12 at right tackle last season. Smith, another fifth-year senior, appeared in 23 games during his Tennessee career. Football coaches speak in Memphis – Evan Barnes, The Commercial Appeal Tennessee football stopped in Memphis yesterday as part of its National Signing Day tour across the state. Jeremy Pruitt, Jim Chaney and Tee Martin all spoke, and Pruitt touted some of the talent from Memphis like recent four-star running back signee Eric Gray of Lausanne. “There’s probably five SEC schools that are closer than Knoxville. When you talk to the kids in Memphis, their address is still Memphis, Tennessee,” Pruitt said Thursday at the Memphis Hilton. “We’ve got to make sure that we sell it in this city.” UT football visits Nashville – Mike Organ, The Tennessean Tennessee football went to Nashville after its stop in Memphis to talk about National Signing Day. While there, the coaches talked about the growth of the city of Nashville and how much it has helped the Vols in recruiting. “You see all these folks in here that’s got orange on, right? Everybody says Nashville is growing. Well, they’re probably not coming from East or West Tennessee. So whenever they come into the city of Nashville we’ve got to transfer them over to be Tennessee fans. So make sure after they move to Nashville, go introduce yourself and say, ‘Go Vols.’ “ Rick Barnes speaks ahead of Florida game – Grant Ramey, GoVols247 Tennessee Vols men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes spoke on Thursday ahead of his No. 1 ranked team’s match-up with the Florida Gators Saturday. Barnes talked heavily about his team’s defense and even touched on Pruitt’s comments about his team’s success helping with football recruiting, noting that everybody benefits from other programs on campus. Here’s a bit of what else he said. I tell everyone that there is no one that is going to have a better fall visit than us because of what the football team does. I think we all have to feed off of each other. I think we all know that when good things are happening within our university, athletic department, it benefits all of us. Again, I’ve been at football schools and I’ve been at some non-football schools. And I’ll tell you, you want to be at around a football program. Tennessee softball to open season in Myrtle Beach, S.C. – UTSports The Tennessee Lady Vols softball team will open its season Friday in its first of five games at the Kickin’ Chicken Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. They’ll first play the UIC Flames Friday at 9:30 a.m. and then the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers at 2 p.m. On Saturday, they’ll face UIC again at 4:15 p.m. and then take on Boston University at 6:30 p.m. Finally, they’ll face Rider on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. UT comes into the weekend ranked No. 8 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and Softball America’s preseason poll. The Lady Vols return 14 players from last year’s Super Regional squad and welcome six talented newcomers. Tennessee baseball picked 5th in SEC East – SECSports.com The Tennessee Vols baseball team was picked to finish fifth in the SEC East by coaches Thursday. They also had no preseason All-SEC players. Tony Vitello enters his second season as head coach on Rocky Top after going 29-27 in 2018<doc-sep>Cuonzo Martin considers Tennessee “a really fun team to watch.” Perhaps not so much fun to go up against, though. Martin will return to Thompson-Boling Arena for the first time since he was Tennessee’s coach when his Missouri Tigers (11-9, 2-6 SEC) play the No. 1 Vols (20-1, 8-0) on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2). “They play on both ends of the floor, so it’ll be a good one,” Martin said of Tennessee. Martin has split a pair of games against Tennessee in Columbia, Mo., as Missouri’s coach. The Tigers beat Tennessee 59-55 last season, before the Vols had their way in an 87-63 victory this season. “Cuonzo is one of the finest people I’ve been around," Vols coach Rick Barnes said. Barnes said that during his first season as Tennessee's coach, he bumped into Martin while they were checking into a hotel in Augusta, Ga. "He said to me, ‘You’re going to love Tennessee. The people are great, and you’re going to love it.’ "I have a lot of respect for him. I’m not sure if I should say if he was treated here as well as he should have been treated, because I can tell you that there isn’t a finer man. I know one thing: If my son ever wanted to play for him, I’d want him to play for him because he’s that kind of person that you’d want your son to be around every day.” Martin was Tennessee’s coach from 2011-14, leading the Vols to back-to-back NIT appearances before reaching the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 in his third season. Martin left after that season to become the coach at California. He spent three seasons there before taking the Missouri job. “I learned a lot as a coach in three years (at UT),” Martin said. “It was a tremendous experience and allowed me to grow relationships and all of that. But obviously I’m the head coach at Mizzou now, so, for me, it’s just the task at hand. I’m just preparing to win a basketball game. I don’t see it any other way than that, really.” Donnie Tyndall replaced Martin and lasted one season before he was fired while under NCAA investigation for violations committed while he was Southern Mississippi's coach. Tennessee replaced Tyndall with Barnes. Martin expressed respect for Barnes, who has built winning programs at Providence, Clemson, Texas and now Tennessee. “He’s done a tremendous job through the course of his career, and he knew what he was getting into, and he knew the task at hand,” Martin said. “He’s built programs. He’s sustained programs. “I think he’s a wonderful man. He’s done a great job with this program.” DOWNLOAD THE APP:Get UT Vols news from the Knoxville News Sentinel on your mobile device<doc-sep>
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Tennessee Vols basketball coach Rick Barnes speaking ahead of Mizzou and recognition for Jordan Bone lead our Volunteers news for Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2019. The Super Bowl is over, and National Signing Day is a day away. But amidst all of that, we have no football news to bring you today surrounding the Tennessee Vols. The first Tuesday in February is basketball-centric. Our morning update on Rocky Top includes a preview of the next Tennessee men’s basketball game and what Rick Barnes said about it. We also have multiple stories about recognition for one player to talk about. Meanwhile, there is women’s basketball news as well with the Hall of Fame finalist class announced Monday, and in a bit of recap news, we’ll close out with a golf story. But let’s start with all the men’s basketball news. Rick Barnes speaks ahead of Missouri – Grant Ramey, GoVols247 Tennessee Vols men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes spoke to the media Monday ahead of his team’s schedule Tuesday showdown with the Missouri Tigers. The game is a return to Knoxville for former UT head coach Cuonzo Martin, and tipoff is set for 9 p.m. with the game set to be televised on ESPN2. At 20-1 and 8-0 in the SEC, the No. 1 ranked Vols will look to continue their 16-game winning streak. Mizzou comes in at 11-9 and 2-6 in the SEC. Here is a bit of what Barnes said about the game, specifically Martin. “Cuonzo is one of the finest people I’ve been around. The first-year I bumped into him in Augusta, Ga., when we were checking into the hotel at the same time, and he said to me ‘You’re going to love Tennessee. The people are great and you’re going to love it.’ I have a lot of respect for him. I’m not sure if I should say if he was treated here as well as he should have been treated, because I can tell you that there isn’t a finer man. I know one thing, if my son ever wanted to play for him, I’d want him to play for him because he’s that kind of person that you’d want your son to be around every day.” Jordan Bone named SEC Player of the Week – SECSports Tennessee Vols men’s basketball point guard Jordan Bone was named the SEC men’s basketball Player of the Week Monday for his efforts in leading UT to dominating road victories over the South Carolina Gamecocks and Texas A&M Aggies last week. Bone was co-player of the week with Kentucky Wildcats forward PJ Washington. Bone averaged 18.5 points, nine assists and five rebounds in wins at South Carolina and Texas A&M. Bone shot 70 percent 14-of-20) from the floor and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) from behind the arc on the week. Jordan Bone a Cousy Award finalist – HoopHall Awards As if being SEC Player of the Week wasn’t enough, Jordan Bone is getting national recognition as well now. He is now one of 10 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award. Named after Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard Bob Cousy, the annual honor now in its sixteenth year recognizes the top point guards in Division I men’s college basketball. A national committee comprising top college basketball personnel determined the watch list of 20 candidates in October, which has now been narrowed to just 10. Joan Cronan a women’s basketball HoF finalist – WBHOF.com UT Athletics Director Emeritus Joan Cronan was named a finalist for the 2019 Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame class. Cronan is up based on her accomplishments through three decades as Tennessee Lady Vols A.D. The 2019 Induction will mark the 21st Class of Inductees to be honored by the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, which held its grand opening and inaugural induction in 1999. The Class of 2019 will be inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, receiving their coveted Eastman Trophy and Baron Championship Induction Ring, on June 8, 2019, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tickets for the ceremony are on sale now. Men’s golfer finishes third at tournament in Georgia – UTSports Tennessee golfer Nolan Ray finished third at the Georgia Southern Individual Collegiate with a score of 211 (-5).