Tennessee basketball has put together a marvelous transfer portal class so far. With more additions expected to roll in, the Vols’ incoming class is already widely considered a top-five group in the sport. Paired with returners DeWayne Brown and Troy Henderson, the expectation is for UT to make a push for its first-ever Final Four.
CBS Sports college hoops insider and FanDuel content creator Jon Rothstein isn’t as high on the Vols, though. In his updated top-45 rankings, he has Tennessee all the way down at No. 18 in the country. On paper, that would mean not even returning to the Sweet 16.
This places the Vols as the No. 4 team in the SEC. They trail No. 1 Florida, No. 9 Texas and No. 10 Arkansas. Other listed teams in the conference behind Tennessee include No. 20 Alabama, No. 22 Vanderbilt, No. 31 Missouri, No. 36 Texas A&M, No. 38 Kentucky, No. 41 Georgia and No. 44 Auburn.
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Rothstein also projects a starting five for each team. Currently, Tennessee’s is Dai Dai Ames (Cal), Terrence Hill Jr. (VCU), Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame), Dewayne Brown (returner) and Miles Rubin (Loyola [Chicago]).
He has Marquis Clark (freshman), Manny Green (freshman) and Tyler Lundblade (Belmont) as the projected bench, which notably does not include freshman Ralph Scott. Rothstein also includes Ethan Burg as a bench piece, though he has announced he’ll be leaving the program and returning home to Israel.
Tennessee is hoping not to be done in the transfer portal, though. The Vols are still making a push at Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris, who would instantly catapult UT’s ceiling. Other complementary and proven pieces are also being pursued as Rick Barnes looks to fill out his roster.
