It’s been a busy two weeks for Tennessee basketball with the Vols landing four commitments out of the transfer portal and adding one prep prospect.
The first portion of the college basketball offseason comes to a close at 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday when the transfer portal closes. That doesn’t mean that Tennessee or any other team will be done adding players after Tuesday, but no new players can enter the portal after that time.
It’s a good reset point for Tennessee to re-evaluate its board and figure out which targets it wants to pursue as it fills out the rest of its roster. The Vols will know every player who is available and there will be no more speculation or rumors about players potentially transferring.
At this point, Tennessee has two returning players in rising sophomore guard Troy Henderson and rising sophomore power forward DeWayne Brown. Tennessee wing Nate Ament has also not entered the portal. Of course, the biggest question with Ament is whether he will go to the NBA or return to Tennessee.
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Ament has until Friday, April 24 at 11:59 p.m. ET to declare for the NBA Draft and then until May 27 to remove his name from the draft and return to school.
At this point, Tennessee’s roster includes Henderson, Brown, Cal combo guard Dai Dai Ames, VCU combo guard Terrence Hill Jr, Belmont wing Tyler Lundblade, Cal wing Jalen Haralson, Loyola (Chicago) center Miles Rubin, four-star wing Chris Washington Jr, four-star wing Ralph Scott, four-star guard Manny Green and three-star point guard Marquis Clark.
Not including Ament, Tennessee has four scholarships to work with as it fills out its roster. If Ament returns to college, the Vols will have three scholarships to work with.
What are Tennessee’s needs? The Vols continue to pursue Wake Forest shooting guard Juke Harris. One of the top players in the portal, Harris is down to a top group that includes Tennessee, North Carolina and Michigan.
The Vols also need to add at least one more interior body. Rick Barnes and his staff are looking for another rim protector who can rebound the basketball along with Rubin and DeWayne Brown. Tennessee could also look to add a more traditional stretch four but that is less of a need.
