While Wake Forest transfer Juke Harris garners much of the top headlines around Tennessee Basketball’s highly-touted transfer portal class, one of the most important additions that the Vols made this year was bringing in VCU transfer Terrence Hill Jr.
The 6-foot-3 guard played his first two seasons at VCU before transferring to Tennessee this offseason, giving Rick Barnes and the UT staff a talented scorer to work with at the top of the key. Hill played in 36 games with the Rams last season and averaged 15.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game.
Hill put together some of his best showcases towards the end of the season, dazzling the college basketball world with a standout performance against 5-seed North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament. Hill exploded for 34 points on 56.5% shooting, while knocking down seven of his 10 three-point attempts. He played 40 minutes while helping lead his team to the upset victory in overtime.
“I can say, (Hill is) probably the craftiest player I’ve played with in my college career so far, and I’ve played with a lot of great players, but he’s definitely your most offensively gifted one I’ve been with,” Tennessee transfer and fellow former VCU teammate Christian Fermin told RTI in May. “He’s a pace player. He doesn’t let anybody speed up. He’s going to get to his spot wherever he wants to at most times for the most part.”
One analyst who had the chance to see Hill’s standout game against the Tar Heels in person was college basketball and draft expert Paul Biancardi. The ESPN analyst recently recalled his memories of watching that game while speaking with Vince Ferrara and John Wilkerson on The Sports Animal’s SportsTalk radio show.
“One guy who really impressed me a lot – in the NCAA Tournament, of course, but all year long – was the transfer from VCU, Terrence Hill Jr.,” Biancardi said. “I can’t get out of my mind what he did to North Carolina in the tournament! I mean, guys, I was sitting courtside. And I’m going, ‘Okay, alright, okay, this guy’s a killer.’ And when I say someone’s a killer, that’s the utmost respect I have for a player. That means I don’t want to coach against them, and I want him on my team.”
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As a four-star prospect in the portal, 247Sports ranked Hill as the No. 19 player in the class and the No. 5 point guard. Following the 2025-2026 season, Hill was tagged as the Atlantic 10’s Most Improved Player and the conference’s 6th Man of the Year winner.
Hill has a wide-ranging skillset that’ll immediately be beneficial to Tennessee, but he’s also surrounded by other talented players that the Vols landed in the portal. Next to him on the perimeter are Dai Dai Ames and Tyler Lundblade, while Juke Harris and Jalen Haralson patrol the wings and the paint. Rick Barnes has always put a lot of the shoulders of his point guard, whether it be during his Texas days or his Tennessee days, but Hill has the ability to manage the responsibility.
RTI’s Ryan Schumpert observed UT’s practice last Thursday morning and noted that Hill and Harris were going back and forth for the best player on the court honors during the 5-on-5 work.
“Hill showed himself to be a three-level scorer who made a handful of plays that stood out,” Schumpert wrote. “The VCU transfer hit a deep top of the key three-pointer in transition after a defender went under a ball screen. He also had a crafty up and under finish with his left hand in the half court. Hill also showed some toughness too, taking a hit to the face that caused his nose to bleed. The combo guard came back in and finished practice with his nose clogged to stop the bleeding. Hill is certainly a natural combo guard at this point and still has a ways to go in running the offense as a true point guard. But it is June 25 so that isn’t all that surprising.”
There are plenty of new players for Tennessee fans to be excited about with the upcoming roster, but Hill is undoubtedly around the top of the list.
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