“The best part was just being around the coaches, trying to get a feel for them, talking to Coach Barnes, Coach (Justin) Gainey and the rest of the coaching staff,” Hood-Schifino said.
“I just wanted to get a feel for them, talk to them about their plan for me and what they see for me. We talked about the future pros they have, the different guys that he’s gotten into the league. Definitely just talking to them and being around the coaches was the best part.”
“It’s a really good culture, you could tell that from meeting the players. I knew a couple of guys already, but meeting them, seeing them practice, seeing them in the weight room and in action you could really tell that they have a good culture at Tennessee,” he said.
"They have a lot of leaders on the team, guys who push each other. One of the biggest things that I liked watching practice was that the older guys hold people accountable. If a player is slacking or doing something wrong they’re going to get called out. I think you want to be in an environment where players are pushing you and the coaches are all for that.”
“Those are things that stood out to me. They definitely talked to me about player development. That’s really big for me, skill development, I think that’s big,” he said. “They have coaches here who really enforce that. Those are some of the main points that they wanted to get across to me, that they wanted to help me get better as a player and try to get you to the next level.
“I liked Coach Barnes a lot. He’s a really good guy. He’s always cracking jokes, but on the court he’s a serious coach, you can see that. He’s going to push you, but he knows how to push you. He’s going to make sure he’s motivating you and pushing you to be the best you can be. Seeing him on the court and seeing him off the court he’s a coach that I like and I’m excited to build a relationship with them.”