When Igor Milicic Jr. came to the United States to play college basketball, he wasn't necessarily aware that different schools had different identities.

Born in Croatia, graduating high school in Germany and holding citizenship in Poland, the individual styles each program in America has wasn't on his radar.

This made his commitment to play at Virginia for coach Tony Bennett something he had to adjust to. The Cavaliers employed a pack line defense that proved to be one of the best in the country during Bennett's tenure.

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Milicic spent just one season with Virginia before entering the transfer portal but figuring out where he was defensively certainly helped him going forward. He wanted to be a complete player, so even though it was partially by accident, playing for a defensive-first team would help him achieve this.

"I'm gonna be honest, coming into Virginia from overseas, I didn't know that schools have that, like, you know they're known for defense," Milicic said. "As I got to the states, my defense apparently wasn't to the level and I had to improve on it. And so I feel like getting to the defensive minded schools, you know, it helps to play for coaches that prioritize defense. I want to get better as a player on offense and defense, both. So I feel like it helps me."

The next stop for Milicic came at Charlotte. One of the reasons he chose the 49ers was because it ran the same defensive scheme as the Cavaliers.

This pack line defense prioritizes clogging the lane and limiting looks at the basket. It is a sagging man-to-man concept that's paint protection comes at the expense of long-range shots.

At Virginia, this defense was key to winning multiple ACC titles and the 2019 NCAA Championship. At Tennessee, there are a lot of similarities in how Rick Barnes wants his defense to play.

The Vols don't run the pack line, but the concepts learned from his previous stops have helped Milicic adjust to this defensive system.

"Virginia and Coach Tony Bennett, they're known for playing the pack, and that was the primary goal, and that's what we were doing here but it's higher," Milicic said. "We got to be higher in the gaps. We got to be closer to our man. You know, there's a lot of shooters in the league, so we got to be ready for that. We always got to be in the gaps anyways, split the line. So, I mean, there's some similarities, but, you know, different concepts, I guess, different coaching styles."

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While Tennessee wants to take away more 3-point shots compared to Virginia, that isn't the only difference in the programs.

For Milicic, he's now played for two coaches at the opposite end of the spectrum. With the Cavaliers, Bennett was a calmer coach who had a more laid back style of getting the best out of his players.

With the Vols, Barnes is high energy and constantly demanding as close to perfection as possible during practice and games.

"Very different, very, I would say, very different," Milicic said on the two coaches. "Coach Tony's more calm than Coach Barnes here, especially during practice. Outside of practice, both great guys, you know, like you said, both Hall of Famers, so fortunate that I had to opportunity to work with both of them."

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Milicic doesn't mind the aggressive coaching style of Barnes, though. He said sometimes he needs to be pushed and Barnes is able to do that.

One of the things Barnes is pushing Milicic to do in his first season at Tennessee is to use his versatility. Despite standing at 6-foot-10, Milicic has the ability to put the ball on the floor and keep pace in transition.

This is something that has dated back to his youth where he primarily played guard. Now, whether it is a rebound or a steal, the coaching staff wants him to fall back into those guard roots.

This hasn't been something he's been asked to do in college, but he's willing to try to recapture that ability to the full extent.

"I used to do that when I was younger," Milicic said. "Then as I got to college, it kind of faded away, and now we're trying to bring it back. So I'm excited for it. I feel like Coach Barnes trusts me with it and I'll try to do my best with it."

As a senior, the staff is hoping Milicic can make an instant impact on the offensive end and hold his own on defense.

The Vols are coming off an Elite Eight appearance and SEC Regular Season crown but lose key pieces Dalton Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi to graduation and Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka to the transfer portal.

Milicic will have a lot on his plate in his final year of eligibility but could prove to be a key cog.

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