The football Vols have been hot on the recruiting trail over the past few weeks. Now Rick Barnes and the basketball program are trying to feed off that momentum.
The basketball Vols picked up their first commitment in the 2019 recruiting cycle when small forward Davonte Gaines tweeted out his commitment on Saturday afternoon.
Proud To Announce That I’m Verbally Committing To The University Of Tennesee ?? #GoVols pic.twitter.com/Ct7QVphGK0
— DAVONTE GAINES (@Ticket_number13) July 1, 2017
Gaines is a 6-foot-6 forward who plays in New York. Gaines, a rising junior, holds offers from Hampton, Buffalo, Kent State, and others.
Though gangly, Gaines is athletic and has a penchant for scoring. He averaged 15.4 points per game as a sophomore last season, and his film shows a quick, active athlete with the ability to score in multiple ways. Gaines is built much like a shorter version of Kevin Durant, though we’re not trying to start comparing the rising high school junior to the NBA superstar in terms of skill.
Tennessee is expected to have three scholarships available in the 2019 cycle. They now have two remaining with the commitment of Gaines.
Update: Davonte Gaines was previously unrated, but 247Sports evaluated and rated him as four-star player on Sunday, July 2nd. 247Sports has him as the No. 115 overall player in the country.
