Tennessee Vols Basketball Recruiting

[Dallasbowlin]

You guys do realize we had 1 roster spot to work with right? We can’t just sign guys without knowing if guys are staying or going. The one guy we signed is a really good player too, and people are acting like recruiting is down this year. You wanna know why you feel that way? Because of the transfer portal. Guys are jumping ship left and right, and that gives off the perception that we haven’t recruited we’ll because we haven’t already filled those spots. This is going to be a challenge, because nobody knew for sure about BHH leaving. If we did then we probably would’ve already had a big that was in the fold. Just need patience guys.

I feel like we had a clue. I was almost 100% confident that Tamba was leaving. Bailey had reportedly already told the staff he was leaving. We knew KC was most likely gone. That’s three guys that I feel pretty confident that we knew were gone. We may end up with a solid/ great class, but there’s no excuse for missing on Phillips, Murray, Malik, etc. You HAVE to land one of those guys at least. IMO.

 

[MoCo_Vol]

You guys do realize we had 1 roster spot to work with right? We can’t just sign guys without knowing if guys are staying or going. The one guy we signed is a really good player too, and people are acting like recruiting is down this year. You wanna know why you feel that way? Because of the transfer portal. Guys are jumping ship left and right, and that gives off the perception that we haven’t recruited we’ll because we haven’t already filled those spots. This is going to be a challenge, because nobody knew for sure about BHH leaving. If we did then we probably would’ve already had a big that was in the fold. Just need patience guys.

Uhh...yeah that's exactly why. Staff has to be more prepared for departures, especially since we're seeing 3 Freshmen leaving. And Tamba we brought in specifically to RS so he could be developed, so why are we letting him go if we don't have someone lined up to replace him?

I feel like with Uros, ON, & Aidoo all returning it likely doesn't hurt us this next season. But Uros and ON both will be graduating so not sure if they'll stay for a Super Senior season or not, and we may want those scholarship spots.

We're going to bring in replacements for Bailey, QD and KC. Cause BJE is already coming, likely land Collins and Key as well. But we have to do something to offset the loss of Tamba and BHH and that's an area of concern until we land someone.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Uhhh... they were all in on quite a few guys last summer leading up to the fall signing period with no scholarships available. (Cason Wallace, Dillon Mitchell, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Brandon Miller) all guys they were hard after.

This. There’s always going to be movement. You have to recruit as if you won’t have a team next year.

 

[LeannaVol]

I think there is a far better chance we strike out on both than land either of them.

I think there are still a lot of moving parts we as fans don’t know about. Guys that haven’t entered the portal yet but have reached out, guys that may reclassify, international guys. If we hAve learned anything these last couple of years is that this class might not be full for another couple of months

 

[Dallasbowlin]

I do feel like I should note, this isn’t just an anti-Barnes take. I’m 100% pro- Barnes, this is a staff as a whole critique.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Uhh...yeah that's exactly why. Staff has to be more prepared for departures, especially since we're seeing 3 Freshmen leaving. And Tamba we brought in specifically to RS so he could be developed, so why are we letting him go if we don't have someone lined up to replace him?

I feel like with Uros, ON, & Aidoo all returning it likely doesn't hurt us this next season. But Uros and ON both will be graduating so not sure if they'll stay for a Super Senior season or not, and we may want those scholarship spots.

We're going to bring in replacements for Bailey, QD and KC. Cause BJE is already coming, likely land Collins and Key as well. But we have to do something to offset the loss of Tamba and BHH and that's an area of concern until we land someone.

100% agree. If we still had BHH, Key and Collins is enough. Without BHH, we need one, maybe even two guys for the post.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I think there are still a lot of moving parts we as fans don’t know about. Guys that haven’t entered the portal yet but have reached out, guys that may reclassify, international guys. If we hAve learned anything these last couple of years is that this class might not be full for another couple of months

Oh, I know that. And, I haven’t said anything about what the full class will look like when it is all said and done.

I just don’t think things look or sound good with two specific people, Phillips and Reneau. Phillips sounds like we aren’t willing to meet his NIL demands, and Reneau was trending towards Miami before BHH entered the portal and I haven’t heard much from VQ about us being a legit landing spot, only that “we’re trying hard.”

 

[bleedingTNorange]

100% agree. If we still had BHH, Key and Collins is enough. Without BHH, we need one, maybe even two guys for the post.

Yea, not sure how we can possibly replace 12mpg 4ppg 3rpg

 

[MoCo_Vol]

Yeah, I'm sure we'll land some quality guys regardless before the dust settles. It's just stressful as fans but it's also the new age look of basketball with NILs, Free Transfers etc.

For me we have everything in place here to be a "blue blood" type program. HC with great pedigree for getting guys in league, facilities that are top notch, great arena that we can sell out for big games, and we've proven we can win the SEC. March Madness is just that, madness so it's always a crapshoot regardless.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Again, at this time last year we were looking at losing Walker, Gaines, Pember, Anosike, Johnson & Springer…people were saying the exact same things, that we were gonna struggle, have a drop off, maybe miss the tourney etc etc. Barnes and staff then proceeded to land Jonas Aidoo, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Justin Powell & Zakai Zeigler and quickly change the outlook for that team.

Just maybe some of you guys take a step back from the ledge and see how this roster is filled out?

 

[MoCo_Vol]

True, but we also landed BHH - April 15th, Aidoo - April 14th, Quentin - April 14th, and Powell on April 3rd.

Only Tamba & Zeigler were landed in summer. So I think people are expecting us to see additions around now and that's not happened yet.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Yea, not sure how we can possibly replace 12mpg 4ppg 3rpg

That’s unfair to BHH. You’re looking at a whole season average, instead of looking at what he did towards the end of the year. We don’t beat Kentucky in the SECT without him. 8 Pts, 6 rebounds. Which is what I would’ve expected from him this upcoming season, around 8 points and 4-6 rebounds per game.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Again, at this time last year we were looking at losing Walker, Gaines, Pember, Anosike, Johnson & Springer…people were saying the exact same things, that we were gonna struggle, have a drop off, maybe miss the tourney etc etc. Barnes and staff then proceeded to land Jonas Aidoo, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Justin Powell & Zakai Zeigler and quickly change the outlook for that team.

Just maybe some of you guys take a step back from the ledge and see how this roster is filled out?

Which I addressed earlier. It’s nice when it works out, but expecting it to workout that way every time isn’t a recipe for consistent success. Michigan has four 4 stars currently committed. Ohio State too. If I sat the over/under at 2 five stars, 3 four stars, are you taking the under or over?

 

[bleedingTNorange]

True, but we also landed BHH - April 15th, Aidoo - April 14th, Quentin - April 14th, and Powell on April 3rd.

Only Tamba & Zeigler were landed in summer. So I think people are expecting us to see additions around now and that's not happened yet.

But it’s right in the same timeframe…Collins has until May 1 to announce intentions to transfers, Key is making his visits and comes to Knoxville Monday, Phillips could announce any day, Reneau is tougher to gauge as he’s quiet and Tennessee needs to get him to visit.

Point being, we are right in essentially the same spot, this is just a case of fans being impatient.

 

[walkenvol]

I feel like we had a clue. I was almost 100% confident that Tamba was leaving. Bailey had reportedly already told the staff he was leaving. We knew KC was most likely gone. That’s three guys that I feel pretty confident that we knew were gone. We may end up with a solid/ great class, but there’s no excuse for missing on Phillips, Murray, Malik, etc. You HAVE to land one of those guys at least. IMO.

Maybe you have an inside source or connection to these players, but I had no clue that Tamba or QD were considering leaving and as recently as 3 weeks back on here I read BHH informed CRB he was returning. Maybe the staff knew months ago all these departures were imminent and have unsuccessfully been trying to fill the openings? It all seems “last minute” to me and the staff is scrambling, but that’s only my impression. I’m in the wait and see mode instead of a high state of anxiety.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

That’s unfair to BHH. You’re looking at a whole season average, instead of looking at what he did towards the end of the year. We don’t beat Kentucky in the SECT without him. 8 Pts, 6 rebounds. Which is what I would’ve expected from him this upcoming season, around 8 points and 4-6 rebounds per game.

Two things…

1- That’s with Nkahmoua injured, what does he put up in the game if Nkahmoua is healthy?

2- I’m fairly confident we can find someone on the roster or in the portal that can give 8 & 4-6

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Maybe you have an inside source or connection to these players, but I had no clue that Tamba or QD were considering leaving and as recently as 3 weeks back on here I read BHH informed CRB he was returning. Maybe the staff knew months ago all these departures were imminent and have unsuccessfully been trying to fill the openings? It all seems “last minute” to me and the staff is scrambling, but that’s only my impression. I’m in the wait and see mode instead of a high state of anxiety.

I didn’t have any information. Just looked at the roster and saw that Tamba most likely didn’t have a good road to playing time. I wonder if he would’ve transferred had he known BHH wasn’t coming back?

 

[CNeagleVolFan]

But it’s right in the same timeframe…Collins has until May 1 to announce intentions to transfers, Key is making his visits and comes to Knoxville Monday, Phillips could announce any day, Reneau is tougher to gauge as he’s quiet and Tennessee needs to get him to visit.

Point being, we are right in essentially the same spot, this is just a case of fans being impatient.

It just kind of sucks because we don’t know how confident the coaching staff is of landing Phillips or Reneau

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Which I addressed earlier. It’s nice when it works out, but expecting it to workout that way every time isn’t a recipe for consistent success. Michigan has four 4 stars currently committed. Ohio State too. If I sat the over/under at 2 five stars, 3 four stars, are you taking the under or over?

Until is doesn’t work out what’s the point in presenting the hypothetical? What do Michigan & Ohio State have to do with the discussion? That’s 5 player when we only have 4 spots, so your question literally makes no sense.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

It just kind of sucks because we don’t know how confident the coaching staff is of landing Phillips or Reneau

It’s not the coaches job to publicly say “we are really confident where we stand with 4 recruits as of today” so that a portion of the fan base can stop worrying. Read between the lines, I’ve literally laid out their recruiting strategy time and time again for this off season, until you see them start throwing out random offers they are pretty confident in their current target list? Does that mean they land them all? No. However they feel they are absolutely in it.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Two things…

1- That’s with Nkahmoua injured, what does he put up in the game if Nkahmoua is healthy?

2- I’m fairly confident we can find someone on the roster or in the portal that can give 8 & 4-6

1- we can talk about what if’s all day. What if our three’s fall against Michigan? At Kentucky ORN had six points, zero rebounds. He didn’t get to play against Kentucky again, but are you confident he would’ve gotten six rebounds in any of the other games? That’s not a knock on him, I’m a huge ORN guy, but I would say BHH had a higher ceiling.

2- if we do, good. I’ll be glad to say I was wrong. But it still doesn’t make it any less dangerous of a game to play.

 

[walkenvol]

I didn’t have any information. Just looked at the roster and saw that Tamba most likely didn’t have a good road to playing time. I wonder if he would’ve transferred had he known BHH wasn’t coming back?

Thought he tossed his name in the portal - has he transferred to another school already?

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Until is doesn’t work out what’s the point in presenting the hypothetical? What do Michigan & Ohio State have to do with the discussion? That’s 5 player when we only have 4 spots, so your question literally makes no sense.

solid point, but then what’s the point of hypothetical’s with ORN? That was an example of teams that I feel, historically, are close to on our level. They already have their classes filled and usually have consistent successful seasons.

 

[Dallasbowlin]

Thought he tossed his name in the portal - has he transferred to another school already?

No, but I do feel like the general consensus is he’s following Schwartz to ECU.

 

[walkenvol]

solid point, but then what’s the point of hypothetical’s with ORN? That was an example of teams that I feel, historically, are close to on our level. They already have their classes filled and usually have consistent successful seasons.

Did Michigan and Ohio State have 3 freshmen portal out or did they know these spots would need to be filled months ago? Would make a huge difference in having someone lined up don’t you think?