Tennessee basketball has added four players to its roster this spring, two through the transfer portal and two through the high school ranks. The Vols currently have three scholarships to work with in the portal as they fill out their roster for next season.
They’ve landed a starting level point guard in transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie, a starting level wing in five-star Nate Ament and a starting level power forward in transfer Jaylen Carey. So what are Tennessee’s biggest areas of needs still remaining on its roster?
“Well, I still think the depth at the perimeter would be that,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said Monday. “But we’ll be very selective. It’ll be a cultural fit as well, what we look for. … But we’ll look at the needs that we need, but it’s got to be right or we won’t move.”
That depth is particularly needed at shooting guard where Tennessee lost both Chaz Lanier and Jordan Gainey to the transfer portal.
Tennessee has whiffed on a pair of targets at shooting guard so far this cycle. Virginia shooting guard Isaac McKneely committed to Louisville while Maryland shooting guard Rodney Rice committed to USC on Tuesday. Both visited Tennessee and would have been potential All-SEC level players.
With the Vols missing out of McKneely and Rice, they now turn their attention to Oklahoma transfer shooting guard Duke Miles. Starting in every game for the Sooners last season, Miles averaged 9.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.
More From RTI: Tennessee Basketball Transfer Target Rodney Rice Commits To USC
Being a fit in Tennessee’s program is a non negotiable. But as far as the type of player, Tennessee is casting a wide net.
“Again, the best player we can get, that would be it,” Barnes said. “I mean, someone that can impact our program in more than one way, someone that can impact us, understands what we want to do.”
Barnes didn’t say it but what Tennessee most needs on the perimeter is capable shooters. The Vols’ perimeter targets to this point indicate that. McKneely made over 100-three pointers at a 41% chip while Rice made 80 three-pointers at a 37% clip. The Vols also cancelled a visit with Kansas transfer guard Rakease Passmore because of his lack of shooting ability.
Miles fits that mold a bit. He shot an impressive 43% from three-point range last season at Oklahoma but did it on a much smaller sample size, making just 40 over the course of the season. He shot 36% from three-point range the season before at High Point.
Tennessee likely will add two more guards to its roster this offseason, but it’s unclear who the other top targets are besides Miles. The Vols have reportedly expressed interest in Lafayette freshman Alex Chaikin after he averaged 13.9 points per game as a freshman last season. Chaikin fits the mold of a potential guard to come off the bench.
Rising sophomore Bishop Boswell is the only returning guard on Tennessee’s roster. The combo guard is a good defensive player but is not a great shooter.
