Why Rick Barnes isn't on Tennessee basketball bench against Lithuania
FLORENCE, Italy − Rick Barnes isn't in his usual seat for Tennessee basketball during its game in Florence against Lithuania.
The Vols coach handed head coaching duties to associate head coach Justin Gainey in the opener of UT's international tour.
“He kind of gave me a heads up leading into us getting over here," Gainey said. "We had talked about it. I still didn’t know because you know how coach is. Today we were talking and he confirmed it. … I was prepared. I was ready to do it. It was fun.”
Barnes sat on the opposite side of the court with members of the travel party on Tennessee's tour of Italy. He watched from the corner, observing as the Vols beat Lithuania 97-57 behind 13 points from Freddie Dilione and 14 points from Dalton Knecht. Tobe Awaka and JP Estrella had double-doubles for UT.
"For me, moving a couple seats over, you see it differently," Gainey said. "To have him be able to share his insight on things he saw from the side that I didn’t catch during the game was good."
The Vols play Lithuania U21 again Saturday before facing Stella Azzurra in Rome on Monday.
Gainey is entering his third season on Tennessee's staff. He was hired in April 2021. The former North Carolina State guard moved into the associate head coach role after Mike Schwartz was hired at East Carolina following the 2021-22 season.
Jordan Gainey, Gainey's eldest son, transferred to UT from USC Upstate in the offseason.
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Tennessee is midway through a 10-day trip to Italy that includes the three games. The Vols started the trip on Lake Como before heading to Florence and concluding the trip in Rome.
[ Tennessee men's basketball beat reporter Mike Wilson is the only media member travelling with Vols during their trip to Italy. Follow his daily coverage at Knoxnews.com and in the News Sentinel. ]
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rick Barnes has Justin Gainey serving as Tennessee basketball coach vs. Lithuania
