Here's why Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes wants guard Freddie Dilione to get angry
Rick Barnes noticed something particular and perhaps peculiar about Freddie Dilione V in the past year.
"I found out if you can get him angry, he can compete at a higher level," the Tennessee basketball coach said Tuesday.
The 6-foot-5 guard doesn't have any anger issues. Not at all. It's just the word Barnes used to bring out the best in Dilione.
"He needs to find out how to get himself angry before he starts," said Barnes.
Barnes has made a mission out of drawing that higher level out of Dilione since the guard arrived at UT in January. He pokes and prods. He can fuel the fire in Dilione in practice by making the redshirt freshman do things that he doesn't like doing.
"Make him play defense over and over and tell him he's gotta get a stop," Barnes said. "He's competitive. Freddie's competitive. Accountability and, sometimes, when I say get him angry I think he gets angry at himself. He has set a high standard for himself and you have a staff that is continuously pointing it out: 'That's not good enough, you gotta be better.'"
Dilione signed with UT as a four-star guard and top-50 prospect in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports Composite. The North Carolina native enrolled early at Tennessee, joining the Vols in mid-January with plans to redshirt. He spent his first few months adjusting to college basketball and that process is going.
Dilione had to deal with Zakai Zeigler in practice for six weeks, an experience Barnes wished Dilione got through the whole offseason. Zeigler suffered a season-ending ACL injury on Feb. 28, had surgery on March 13 and is still going through the rehab process.
"I really wish that Freddie could have had Zakai all summer," Barnes said. "I think it would have helped him so much more."
But even with Zeigler out, Barnes has found ways to draw that anger out in Dilione that is making him better. He is seeing growth in a young player who will play a key role for the Vols.
MORE ON ZEIGLER'S INJURY: How Zakai Zeigler is progressing from ACL surgery with Tennessee basketball
"He's starting to understand how to play with good players," Barnes said. "I think he's starting to realize he is going to have to start making better decisions at the rim in terms of knowing he can make a play late in his drives. Defensively, he has gotten better, he needs to get a lot better and he will."
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Tennessee guard Freddie Dilione needs to get angry when playing?
