Tennessee basketball looked dramatically better with the return of Tyler Lundblade, according to coach Rick Barnes.

Lundblade, who had been limited in preseason practices while recovering from offseason back surgery, got his first game action in the closed-door scrimmage against Davidson on Oct. 24 at Pratt Pavilion and helped the Vols take important steps forward.

"I’ve had so many people comment to me about how he was, even at the Duke game, how he was talking to the team," Barnes said on Oct. 29. "And that did translate to the game on Saturday against Davidson. ... I mean, he’s been through it. It’s not about Tyler. He knows our team needs (experience). But when he played Saturday, it was just different."

Lundblade didn't play in public exhibitions against Xavier and Duke, but the Belmont transfer will have no limitations for the season opener against Wofford at Food City Center on Nov. 3 (6 p.m. ET, SEC Network).

“Unless something happens between now and then, he’s good," Barnes said.

Barnes has praised Lunblade's leadership and his ability to uplift his teammates. Even while sidelined, Lundblade dedicated himself to learning the Vols' system and Barnes said that work has paid off.

Because Lundblade is such a tremendous shooter, having made 43.5% of his 3-point attempts during a four-season career, Tennessee was able to open up the court against Davidson. The offense played with more space as defenders made sure not to loose track of the Vols' best shooter.

"We got a lob in a game one time strictly because of him, because his guy was staying hugged up to him. People probably aren’t going to give him much separation," Barnes said. "They’re going to stay pretty glued to him so that really opens up the court for us to take advantage of that space."

Barnes was impressed with how Lundblade played after so much time off. And he's grateful for the mature voice Lundblade brought to the floor above all else.

“He did a terrific job Saturday. For a guy that hadn’t played at all, he did a lot of things," Barnes said. "But it was more probably leadership as much as anything for him to step out there."

Rick Barnes shares injury updates on Juke Harris, Terrence Hill Jr.

Guards Juke Harris and Terrence Hill Jr. have also been dealing with different ailments.

Harris didn't play against Davidson and Barnes didn't provide any details on the nature of his injury. But he did say Harris has been back at practice this week and is expected to play in the season opener.

Harris scored 25 points and grabbed two rebounds in 52 minutes on the floor during the two exhibition games.

Hill suffered an ankle injury early in the first half of the Vols' 103-64 loss at Duke on Oct. 20. He needed more time to recover, but had been doing individual work and returned to practice on Oct. 29. Hill's status for the season opener wasn't revealed.

Hill, a transfer from VCU, scored 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting in the loss to Xavier on Oct. 15 at Food City Center. He knocked down a pair of free throws before suffering the injury against Duke.

Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Rick Barnes on how Tennessee basketball looks dramatically better with Tyler Lundblade

Source: Yahoo Sports