Rick Barnes introduced two Tennessee basketball assistant coaches to media on April 23.

The Vols were expected to hold a press conference for former Boston College coach Earl Grant. But Barnes walked up in front of the cameras with Willie Robertson from the reality television show "Duck Dynasty" and CEO of Duck Commander.

"Big announcement," Barnes said. "I've got a new assistant coach. Breaking news. Put it out there."

Robertson, who was a keynote speaker for "The Knoxville Summit" at Neyland Stadium, joined in on the fun with a serious demeanor.

"Willie Robertson," he said. "Coach called me and just wanted me to come up here and see how the program is doing. It's a marathon, not a sprint, so I'm thinking we've got some good stuff in the hopper coming on. It's going to be an exciting year."

From 2012-17, Robertson starred on the popular TV show that focused on his family's duck hunting business.

"We felt like we needed to improve our shooting, and we found out he's an expert," Barnes joked.

Barnes then opened the floor to questions from the media. After a few silent seconds, Robertson spoke up.

"This is how I love the media to be: completely silent," he said.

Barnes added: "(Silent) in person, but not behind your back."

Wynton Jackson covers high school sports for Knox News. Email: wynton.jackson@knoxnews.com

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Duck Dynasty's Willie Robertson was with Tennessee coach Rick Barnes