Cam Carr left but ‘nothing changes’ for Tennessee basketball, Rick Barnes

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Tennessee basketball is rolling along after Cam Carr left the Vols suddenly.

The sophomore guard exited the program on Dec. 23, the day of its 82-64 win against Middle Tennessee State. It was business as usual then and continues to be for the Vols and coach Rick Barnes.

“Although we hated to see Cam leave, nothing changes with us from a preparation standpoint, from a practice standpoint,” UT associate head coach Justin Gainey said Monday.

No. 1 Tennessee (12-0) has its final nonconference game against Norfolk State (9-6) on Tuesday (3 p.m. ET, SEC Network+). Carr’s decision to leave left the Vols with a maximum of nine scholarship players this season.

“We’re not worried about it at all,” Gainey said of the roster numbers. “We’re not. We feel like every guy on our roster can come in and contribute in some fashion. … We feel like all nine of those guys, could come in and perform.”

Rick Barnes sticking to practice, prep after Cam Carr left

One of Barnes’ beliefs is that the head coach must be the most consistent person in a program.

He’s setting the example after Carr dipped.

“Coach don’t change,” Gainey said. “Regardless of who is here, who is not, coach doesn’t change anything. We are going to practice just as hard if we had 12 players as we would if we only had eight guys. He figures out a way for there to not be a dip in daily expectations and the daily work we put in.”

Barnes indicated after the MTSU game that he had no idea why Carr left Tennessee because Carr didn’t present any opportunity for a discussion before he departed. He said Carr “just walked out” and the decision was “baffling, to be quite honest with you.”

The 10th-year Vols coach wasn’t surprised by Carr opting out. The Vols aren’t surprised by Barnes’ response.

“He is one-track mind,” Gainey said. “It is next man up. It gives other guys opportunities in practice to get more reps.”

Tennessee is without forward J.P. Estrella after he underwent season-ending foot surgery in November. UT didn’t have…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/cam-carr-left-nothing-changes-161608118.html

Author : Knox News | The Knoxville News-Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-12-30 16:16:00

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