Rick Barnes Explains John Fulkerson's Lack of Minutes Against Mizzou

COLUMBIA, Mo.– Following Tennessee's 80-61 win over Mizzou, head coach Rick Barnes addressed John Fulkerson's lack of usage against the Tigers. 

The Vols' graduate senior was on the court for a mere six minutes in his team's 11th conference win. 

According to Barnes, Fulkerson is dealing with a hip pointer he suffered against the Razorbacks. 

"He had a little hip pointer," Barnes said regarding Fulkerson's status. "He played some tonight but didn't feel like he could go anymore, and we were fine with that."

Against Arkansas, Fulkerson only recorded two points, three rebounds, two steals and a block in 19 minutes, with both of his minutes coming via free throws as the Kingsport native shot 0-2 from the field. With a little over 10 minutes remaining, the veteran Volunteer exited the game. 

Tennessee had to get back on the road and travel north to Missouri three days later, where Fulkerson saw limited action, scoring two points for the second straight contest in his 360 seconds on the floor. 

Fulkerson's injury does not seem to call for any concern regarding his availability for Tennessee's showdown with Auburn, as the 6'9", 219 pounder has four days to rest his body further. 

In his absence against Mizzou, freshmen big men Jonas Aidoo and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield served as an effective combination in the post for Tennessee. Huntley-Hatfield grabbed six rebounds (4 offense, two defense) and recorded six points in 18 minutes, and Aidoo totaled five points, three blocks and five rebounds (one offense, four defense) for the Vols. 

'BHH' showed more offensively down low for the Vols while Aidoo continued to serve as an eraser in the paint. 

"Brandon was a force," Barnes said of the freshman's performance against Mizzou. "He's athletic, he has terrific hands, feet, he knows how to move, and he got himself in a good position to impact the game in many different ways. The effort he made on the rebounds was nice to see. We're just really proud of his effort and that he was locked in and vocal. He gave us a good game."

And as for Aidoo, who has essentially been a midseason pickup for Tennessee since Olivier Nkamhoua sustained a season-ending ankle injury, the freshman has now recorded six blocks in his last three games. 

"Jonas has been doing incredible," Vols freshman guard Kennedy Chandler said of Aidoo's ability to step up. "We need someone to step up as a shot-blocker to fill in for O, and Jonas has done that. He's been improving on the offensive end as well, and he's becoming more aggressive on the offensive end and has been feeding our post guys as well."

In his likely last season as a Volunteer, Fulkerson averages 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds (T3 on team) per game this season while shooting at a 54 percent clip. 

In the video above, Vols head coach Rick Barnes' entire Mizzou postgame press conference. 

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