Matt Johnson
Coming off a third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight, Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers have been hitting the college basketball transfer portal hard in April. While the specific approach and the number of key players entering the portal have raised some questions among fans, there’s new insight into the strategy.
Chris Low of On3.com, a senior insider who lives in the state and used to report for The Tennessean, shared on Monday that the Volunteers are being “aggressive” in the portal with a specific focus on players who specifically want to be in Knoxville. He also mentioned that there’s a recognition more scoring is needed next season.
“Talked to several in around Tennessee’s program and Vols are willing to pay, but not overpay. Rick Barnes will be aggressive in the portal. Emphasis will be on players who want to be at Tennessee and build on three straight Elite Eights, and he knows he has to have more scorers.”
On3.com’s Chris Low on the Tennessee Volunteers approach to the college basketball transfer portal
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There were likely some concerns among fans of the program following recent developments. Six Tennessee players entered the college basketball transfer portal this week—Troy Henderson, Cade Phillips, Clarence Massamba, J.P. Estrella, Bishop Boswell, and Jaylen Carey—at a time when the program is already set to lose Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Felix Okpara, and likely Nate Ament.
All those departures would mean the six leaders in minutes played per game will all potentially not be returning to Knoxville next season. After Carey entered the transfer portal on Monday night, Low followed up by saying that the departures have a lot to do with financial decisions. Barnes and the rest of the Volunteers coaching staff were going to ask some of these outgoing players to take reduced NIL payments or have their roles adjusted next season. As is their right, the players opted to explore opportunities elsewhere.
“A lot of these decisions are not so much basketball decisions as they are financial decisions. Some of these guys would have been asked to take on different roles or even less money. Can’t blame players for trying to cash in by getting in the portal.”
On3’s Chris Low following the decision of Tennessee Volunteers forward Jaylen Carey to enter the college basketball transfer portal (via X)
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Tennessee already made one significant addition this past week, securing a commitment from Belmont guard Tyler Lundblade. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is an excellent perimeter scorer and will provide an outside scoring threat for a program that ranked 296th in three-pointers made per game (6.6) this past season and shot just 33.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Barnes isn’t done by any means either. Multiple reports in recent days have signaled that Tennessee will be aggressive in the transfer portal, and the school is making sure that its men’s basketball coach has the financial resources to build one of the best rosters in the nation. While it might feel like there’s a great deal of uncertainty right now, the Volunteers seem to have a clear plan, and Barnes’ track record speaks for itself.
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