The pre-game film session over, the players filed out a little past 7:30 p.m. to return to their rooms. Before Jordan Bone could duck out, Rick Barnes grabbed him, asking his point guard if he could sit for a bit. Once the room cleared, the two sat down next to one another in the theater-style chairs and talked.



This was not altogether new. Since Bone arrived on the Tennessee campus in 2016, coach and player have shared more than a few conversations, though most slanted toward Barnes monologues than actual dialogues. He is not an easy man to play for, his cornball personality giving way to something entirely different on the court. “Out of body experiences,’’ is how Rob Lanier, Barnes’ long-time assistant, describes the Mr. Hyde lurking inside his Dr. Jekyll boss. He disgustedly sends players to a VersaClimber parked on the baseline for the slightest practice infraction and can spew a crushing and venomous dissection of a play, even if it is delivered...