Tennessee basketball lost its first player to the transfer portal Friday afternoon when Cade Phillips announced his plans to enter the portal when it officially opens next week.
Phillips missed most of his sophomore season after undergoing left shoulder surgery back in December. He played in 10 games and started nine for Tennessee this season, averaging 3.8 points, four rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
What does Phillips’ departure mean for Tennessee basketball? Taking a look here.
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Tennessee officially has five outgoing players now with Phillips joining seniors Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Amaree Abram, Grant Hurst and Felix Okpara.
The Vols have four in-coming players. They signed three prep prospects in three-star point guard Marquis Clark, four-star wing Manny Green and four-star wing Ralph Scott. Tennessee signed its first transfer last week when Belmont sharpshooter Tyler Lundblade chose the Vols over Kansas State, Illinois, Baylor and Virginia.
Tennessee will almost certainly lose more players to the transfer portal while freshman Nate Ament will likely declare for the NBA Draft. But as things currently stand, the Vols have one available scholarship.
Tennessee Will Certainly Add A Rim Protecting Center
This already seemed very likely with Tennessee losing Felix Okpara and Phillips being more of a power forward than center.
But Tennessee feasibly could have rolled into next season asking Phillips, who’s blocked 44 shots in 48 games played over the last two seasons, and DeWayne Brown, who is not much of a shot blocker but does a good job affecting shots at the rim, to provide interior defense.
There’s no way Tennessee will put its trust in just Brown, J.P. Estrella and Jaylen Carey as its rim protectors next season. The Vols will for sure add one rim protector and maybe two if they lose another big man to the portal.
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Could Tennessee Pursue More Shooting At The Four-Spot?
Phillips is a really good defender because of his ability to both protect the rim and keep up with smaller players on the perimeter. Offensively, he’s been little more than a rebounder and lob threat.
The 6-foot-9 forward is not a shooter, attempting only one three-pointer in his career and shooting 54% at the foul line. Tennessee could potentially look to replace Phillips with a stretch four who can space the court and knock down perimeter jumpers. Rick Barnes has talked about wanting more shooting next season and that would be a way to get it.
Now, that player would almost certainly be worse at protecting the rim than Phillips. But Tennessee could add one rim protecting big man and one perimeter shooting power forward.
