Last season, Tennessee basketball made its third-straight Elite Eight under Rick Barnes. However, for the third-straight season, the run was cut short there with no trip to the Final Four. Now, Barnes and company are loading up through the transfer portal in an attempt to break through and make program history.
In that process, the Vols have lost a number of key players from last year’s team as outgoing transfers. This features the likes of JP Estrella, Bishop Boswell, Jaylen Carey, Amari Evans and Cade Phillips. Along with the massive splashes Tennessee has made in the portal, it does return two pieces.
After their freshman seasons, Dewayne Brown and Troy Henderson are set to return. For Brown, it was never much of a question whether he wanted to leave or not.
“I like being here,” Brown said. “This is where I want to be, so it wasn’t really a hard decision for me to make the decision to stay because, like I said, this is where I want to be. I like Coach (Barnes), I like the program, I like what Tennessee stands for.”
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As a freshman, Brown appeared in 35 games and made 10 starts. He averaged 4.8 points on 58.6% shooting from the field and did not attempt a three. He also added 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.4 blocks to his line in an average of 14.7 minutes per outing.
Barnes tipped his cap to the loyalty Brown is showing. He’s also expecting a breakout sophomore year for the Alabama native.
“We certainly appreciate his loyalty,” Barnes said. “And the fact that from the time he sat down in the meeting, he said, ‘This is where I want to be. I want to continue to grow.’ And he’s just got a great future. Next year, I think, is going to be a breakout year for him. But he’s been working extremely hard since the season has been over with. And again, we just appreciate him.”
So far, UT has landed five transfers. This features VCU point guard Terrence Hill Jr., Notre Dame wing Jalen Haralson, Cal guard Dai Dai Ames, Belmont guard Tyler Lundblade and Loyola (Chicago) forward Miles Rubin.
