Tennessee basketball is undergoing an overhaul through the transfer portal this offseason. After a third-straight Elite Eight run ended short of a Final Four, the Vols are investing in a push to make history.
This means that a lot of the key pieces from the Elite Eight run are departing, though. Whether that’s to eligibility like Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Felix Okpara, a declaration for the NBA draft like Nate Ament or the transfer portal, it’ll be a lot of new faces around Knoxville.
So far, the Vols have landed five incoming transfers with the hope of making an immediate impact. Rick Barnes spoke on the process on Thursday afternoon.
“We were looking for production over retention, and I think we’ve done that,” Barnes said. “But these guys are, they’ll build their own team. You got to do it every year anyway. It doesn’t matter if you got guys coming back, a bunch of guys, you still have to build a new team every year.”
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With so many departures, they’re now mostly settling in at their new schools through the portal. All but one, Clarence Massamba, has decided on his new program. Here’s where they’ve landed and a recap of who else is joining:
Departures
Transferring
- Jr. F Cade Phillips (Texas A&M)
- Fr. G Clarence Massamba
- R-So. F J.P. Estella (Michigan)
- So. G Bishop Boswell (Maryland)
- Jr. F Jaylen Carey (Missouri)
- Fr. G Amari Evans (Texas)
Out of Eligibility
- G Ja’Kobi Gillespie
- F Felix Okpara
- G Amaree Abram
- G Grant Hurst
Stepping Away from Program
- So. G Ethan Burg (Returning home to Israel)
Returners
Announced Return
- Fr. F DeWayne Brown II
- Fr. G Troy Henderson
Additions
Incoming Transfers
- Fifth-Year G Tyler Lundblade (Belmont)
- Jr. G Dai Dai Ames (Cal)
- Jr. F Miles Rubin (Loyola [Chicago])
- Fr. F Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame)
- So. G Terrence Hill Jr. (VCU)
High School Signees
- Four-Star SF Chris Washington Jr. (Providence Christian Academy – Murfreesboro, TN)
- Four-Star SF Ralph Scott (IMG Academy – Bradenton, FL)
- Four-Star SF Manny Green (Cedar Grove High School – Ellenwood, GA)
- Three-Star PG Marquis Clark (Whitney Young High School – Chicago, IL)
