Tennessee basketball added to its roster Friday afternoon, landing a commitment from Israeli guard Ethan Burg, rounding out its roster for the 2025-26 season.
A 22-year old who served two-years in the Israeli military and played two seasons for the Israeli professional team Bnei Herzeliya, Burg provides another backcourt option for the Vols entering next season.
What is Tennessee getting in Burg and what does his commitment mean? Diving in here.
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What Are Burg’s Strengths?
It starts with shooting for Burg. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 11.1 points per game for Bnei Herzeliya last season, shooting 38% from three-point range and making 1.6 triples per game. For reference, if Burg made 1.6 triples per game for Tennessee last season then he would have finished the season with 61 made triples.
But Burg’s tape shows a player that can get to the basket off the dribble and finish with both hands at a high level. He’s a true combo guard who handled the basketball frequently in Israel, averaging 3.4 assists per game last season.
How Will Tennessee Use Burg?
This is the intriguing part. Burg mostly played with the ball in his hands with Bnei Herzeliya and was effective scoring off the dribble and playing in ball screens.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie is poised to be Tennessee’s starting point guard next season and Troy Henderson looks poised to play minutes as a freshman. Burg could certainly co-exist with Gillespie and Henderson but the Vols need is more for a guard to play off the ball.
There were some instances of Burg playing with the ball out of his hands, and he projects as a good catch-and-shoot threat, but his tape doesn’t show him running off pin downs like Tennessee often likes to run for its shooting guards.
That doesn’t mean Burg is not capable of running around off ball screens and scoring that way, only that he doesn’t have a ton of experience doing so. How he fits in Tennessee’s offense is going to be intriguing.
Questions About Burg’s Game?
Like any overseas addition, the big question is about Burg’s game will translate to college basketball and in particular the SEC. The SEC is known for being an extremely physical and athletic conference and overseas basketball is always far less physical and usually less athletic.
The way Burg scored off the dribble and at the basket in the Ligat Winner League is extremely intriguing because despite the strong shooting numbers, he was not a one trick pony. Is he athletic or crafty enough to beat SEC guards off the dribble? And when he gets to the basket can he score over bigger, more athletic defenders?
Those are the questions I have about his offensive game because he is clearly a talented offensive player.
Then there’s the defensive question. You’re not going to find the court on a Rick Barnes team if you can’t defend. At this point, it’s still uncertain what quality of defender Burg is.
What Does Burg’s Commitment Mean For Tennessee?
With Burg in the fold, Tennessee now has a complete 15 players on scholarship for the 2025-26 season. The Vols missed out on their top two shooting guard targets in the portal in Virginia’s Isaac McKneely and Maryland’s Rodney Rice.
That combined with it being a weak year in the portal for shooting guards was a tough combination. Missing out on high end quality, we’ve seen Tennessee go the quantity route. The Vols landed Louisiana Tech shooting guard Amaree Abram, French guard Clarence Massamba and now Burg since Rice committed to Southern Cal.
Those three join rising sophomore Bishop Boswell, freshman Amari Evans and freshman shooting guard Troy Henderson in the competition for playing time beside Ja’Kobi Gillespie in the backcourt. In the short term, Burg has a chance to earn playing time because of how uncertain the minutes at that spot will be.
Burg’s longterm role is uncertain because the NCAA has not told Tennessee how many years of eligibility they are granting Burg. However, the Vols believe that Burg will get multiple years.
