Tennessee Vols Basketball Recruiting

#12,029
#12,029
TheMookieMonster said:
Auburn.
Click to expand...
I don't know. I had that feel, earlier, too, but him deciding before visiting AU gives me a little hope. I like our chances vs. UK just based on his comments, so unless he's just been promised such a large sum from AU that he's willing to decide quickly without even visiting (at least officially), I kind of feel like that this quick decision might play in our favor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Willy14, InVOLuntary, berryvol and 3 others
#12,030
#12,030
How well we seem to be sitting with a player of Justin Edwards caliber really is a testament to how well this staff has been recruiting. Think he’ll probably being the top rated player to ever sign with tennessee when it’s all said and done if he does come here
 
#12,032
#12,032
ClasslessVol said:
Click to expand...



Five-star Justin Edwards is the On3 Consensus No. 10 player in the 2023 class. On Thursday evening, the 6-foot-7 wing informed me of two details. The first is that he will be announcing his commitment at EYBL’s Peach Jam, which begins on July 17th and runs through the 24th.
“I got my mind on committing at Peach Jam,” Edwards said. “That’s something I want to do, just to get it over with.”
Edwards also said he will be attending college. It’s not much of a surprise to see Edwards pick a school, instead of the professional route, but it’s nice to get a firm confirmation to ease the minds of college basketball fans.
“No more pro options, I’m going to college,” Edwards said.
In late April, Edwards announced his top seven options — Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Villanova, Maryland, Kansas and the G-League Ignite. We now know the G-League is no longer in consideration.
The five-star recruit has taken official visits to Kentucky and Tennessee.
Edwards says he doesn’t know whether or not he will take any more visits, but he currently doesn’t have anything else scheduled. He did mention Auburn was pushing to get him on campus. Note: Edwards told Jamie Shaw just over a week ago “I don’t have a date yet. But Auburn will be my next visit.” We shall see if the visit occurs.
Tennessee and Kentucky are considered the frontrunners if the Auburn Tigers are unable to get him on campus.
In fact, Edwards told KSR in early June: “Right now, yeah (it is between Kentucky and Tennessee).”
Edwards talks schools
Kentucky: “I’ve been talking to Coach Cal (John Calipari) more than other schools,” Edwards said previously to On3. “That’s made a big difference. It means a lot that I am one of the main guys they’re going after.”
“I look at how many wings they’re recruiting in our class,” Edwards told KSR. “Kentucky is recruiting probably four other five-stars. That doesn’t really determine me going there or not, but, you know? I’m the main priority for Tennessee wing-wise. I don’t think they’re recruiting another wing.”
Tennessee: “They want me to go in and be the guy. Help me get where I want to be and stay there for a long time. I have a close mutual, family-like relationship with them.”
“I’m their main priority,” Edwards told KSR. “They make me feel comfortable, and I’m big on that. I’m big on family. They say they want to build around me, stuff like that.”
Scouting Summary
A lefty. What you walk away with about Edwards is how smooth he plays. Nothing is ever rushed with him. As a 6-foot-6/6-foot-7 wing, Edwards has great length and soft-touch with deep range. He shoots it well off the catch and coming off movement. You want to see him develop more craft off the bounce, maybe develop some counters or combo moves there. He is a good athlete, but you would like to see him employ that on the court. There is still some more upside with Edwards, and his confidence is growing by the game.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TrapVol, VolGee4, MinisterofDef#92 and 3 others
#12,036
#12,036
bleedingTNorange said:
Without visiting? Tate & Francis got you feeling some type of way?!
Click to expand...

It’s recruiting. Weird stuff happens. The timeline definitely feels like it’s us, but the last update we had from VQ was them essentially saying Auburn leads and made huge strides in his recruitment. Now, as others have pointed out, he hasn’t actually visited AU since that update. But, you can never discount Auburn.
 
#12,037
#12,037
TheMookieMonster said:
It’s recruiting. Weird stuff happens. The timeline definitely feels like it’s us, but the last update we had from VQ was them essentially saying Auburn leads and made huge strides in his recruitment. Now, as others have pointed out, he hasn’t actually visited AU since that update. But, you can never discount Auburn.
Click to expand...
That was never said from VQ, not sure where you got that from…might be thinking of the Jamie Shaw On3 article.
 
#12,038
#12,038
bleedingTNorange said:
That was never said from VQ, not sure where you got that from…might be thinking of the Jamie Shaw On3 article.
Click to expand...

Maybe so. We get so few real updates from VQ these days that it must just be an old habit to attribute updates to them.

Either way, the most recent news we had was fingers pointing to Auburn. Obviously, things seemed to have changed based on this timeline and JE’s comments in the article. We certainly look and feel like the pick, I’m just not ready to load the cannons yet. Literally anything can happens between now and Peach Jam. As we’ve seen, all it takes is a few days and one big offer to change someone’s mind.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TrumpedUpVol
#12,039
#12,039
RyanWalkerPGH said:
Five-star Justin Edwards is the On3 Consensus No. 10 player in the 2023 class. On Thursday evening, the 6-foot-7 wing informed me of two details. The first is that he will be announcing his commitment at EYBL’s Peach Jam, which begins on July 17th and runs through the 24th.
“I got my mind on committing at Peach Jam,” Edwards said. “That’s something I want to do, just to get it over with.”
Edwards also said he will be attending college. It’s not much of a surprise to see Edwards pick a school, instead of the professional route, but it’s nice to get a firm confirmation to ease the minds of college basketball fans.
“No more pro options, I’m going to college,” Edwards said.
In late April, Edwards announced his top seven options — Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Villanova, Maryland, Kansas and the G-League Ignite. We now know the G-League is no longer in consideration.
The five-star recruit has taken official visits to Kentucky and Tennessee.
Edwards says he doesn’t know whether or not he will take any more visits, but he currently doesn’t have anything else scheduled. He did mention Auburn was pushing to get him on campus. Note: Edwards told Jamie Shaw just over a week ago “I don’t have a date yet. But Auburn will be my next visit.” We shall see if the visit occurs.
Tennessee and Kentucky are considered the frontrunners if the Auburn Tigers are unable to get him on campus.
In fact, Edwards told KSR in early June: “Right now, yeah (it is between Kentucky and Tennessee).”
Edwards talks schools
Kentucky: “I’ve been talking to Coach Cal (John Calipari) more than other schools,” Edwards said previously to On3. “That’s made a big difference. It means a lot that I am one of the main guys they’re going after.”
“I look at how many wings they’re recruiting in our class,” Edwards told KSR. “Kentucky is recruiting probably four other five-stars. That doesn’t really determine me going there or not, but, you know? I’m the main priority for Tennessee wing-wise. I don’t think they’re recruiting another wing.”
Tennessee: “They want me to go in and be the guy. Help me get where I want to be and stay there for a long time. I have a close mutual, family-like relationship with them.”
“I’m their main priority,” Edwards told KSR. “They make me feel comfortable, and I’m big on that. I’m big on family. They say they want to build around me, stuff like that.”
Scouting Summary
A lefty. What you walk away with about Edwards is how smooth he plays. Nothing is ever rushed with him. As a 6-foot-6/6-foot-7 wing, Edwards has great length and soft-touch with deep range. He shoots it well off the catch and coming off movement. You want to see him develop more craft off the bounce, maybe develop some counters or combo moves there. He is a good athlete, but you would like to see him employ that on the court. There is still some more upside with Edwards, and his confidence is growing by the game.
Click to expand...
He's a lefty? Definitely ours then
 
  • Like
Reactions: Willy14, InVOLuntary, TrapVol and 4 others
#12,040
#12,040
TheMookieMonster said:
Maybe so. We get so few real updates from VQ these days that it must just be an old habit to attribute updates to them.

Either way, the most recent news we had was fingers pointing to Auburn. Obviously, things seemed to have changed based on this timeline and JE’s comments in the article. We certainly look and feel like the pick, I’m just not ready to load the cannons yet. Literally anything can happens between now and Peach Jam. As we’ve seen, all it takes is a few days and one big offer to change someone’s mind.
Click to expand...
Absolutely, but pegging Auburn as the pick today just seems more like BVS than anything…Kentucky would make sense, but at this point Auburn does not. The same person that wrote the article you are referencing said in that article he was going to change his forecast from Tennessee to Auburn, he never did that, so I’m gonna say that info was either bad or changed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: berryvol and Ryno14
#12,041
#12,041
Kentucky reached out and started recruiting SF Mookie Cooks just a few days ago when he decommitted from Oregon, at the very least that would make me think Kentucky hasn’t been told/feels overly confident they are getting Edwards. The 2 Kentucky insiders (Travis Graf & Jack Pilgrim) both have predictions on for Tennessee to land Edwards, Graf having switched his from Kentucky to Tennessee…the national On3 guy Jamie Shaw has a prediction in for Tennessee.

All that to say, hard not to think Tennessee is the leader as of today with about 10 days to go.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackLabelVols, Willy14, InVOLuntary and 16 others
#12,042
#12,042
bleedingTNorange said:
Absolutely, but pegging Auburn as the pick today just seems more like BVS than anything…Kentucky would make sense, but at this point Auburn does not. The same person that wrote the article you are referencing said in that article he was going to change his forecast from Tennessee to Auburn, he never did that, so I’m gonna say that info was either bad or changed.
Click to expand...
That's not technically what he said, either. He said he would be changing his pick from Tennessee. No other context toward who he'd change to. He also said that he'd maybe give AU a slight lead but to not count out UK when Cal settles on a player he wants. He never explicitly said he was changing from Tennessee to Auburn, though.
 
#12,043
#12,043
bleedingTNorange said:
Kentucky reached out and started recruiting SF Mookie Cooks just a few days ago when he decommitted from Oregon, at the very least that would make me think Kentucky hasn’t been told/feels overly confident they are getting Edwards. The 2 Kentucky insiders (Travis Graf & Jack Pilgrim) both have predictions on for Tennessee to land Edwards, Graf having switched his from Kentucky to Tennessee…the national On3 guy Jamie Shaw has a prediction in for Tennessee.

All that to say, hard not to think Tennessee is the leader as of today with about 10 days to go.
Click to expand...
I think I have to agree here. Unless he is really looking to throw everyone off, his recent comments couldn't really be more favorable for Tennessee. He even talks about UK and then pivots to Tennessee in his answer about UK. It's entirely possible he's headed to Auburn without an OV. Maybe they made him a great deal he couldn't pass up and visiting didn't matter, but like you, I have to think Tennessee is right there in this one. I feel better than I did a week-10 days ago.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lankykong, The Dog, MinisterofDef#92 and 1 other person
#12,044
#12,044
cncchris33 said:
I think I have to agree here. Unless he is really looking to throw everyone off, his recent comments couldn't really be more favorable for Tennessee. He even talks about UK and then pivots to Tennessee in his answer about UK. It's entirely possible he's headed to Auburn without an OV. Maybe they made him a great deal he couldn't pass up and visiting didn't matter, but like you, I have to think Tennessee is right there in this one. I feel better than I did a week-10 days ago.
Click to expand...

This is what kind of gave it away and fills me with confidence. Hard not to feel good when the recruit is talking about YOUR school when asked about the rival school. If we do land Edwards, what a massive pick up it would be. The 2023 class has the potential to be very large in size, so starting with Phillips and Edwards is fantastic and you’d hope that would build momentum for Estrella and Dillone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lankykong, Ryno14, AngryButchJones and 4 others
#12,045
#12,045
TheMookieMonster said:
It’s recruiting. Weird stuff happens. The timeline definitely feels like it’s us, but the last update we had from VQ was them essentially saying Auburn leads and made huge strides in his recruitment. Now, as others have pointed out, he hasn’t actually visited AU since that update. But, you can never discount Auburn.
Click to expand...
Seemed like things changed, he even said explicitly that it was between Kentucky and UT. No Auburn visit, plus no chance to visit auburn between now and his commitment should mean its certainly between those two teams. I feel reasonably good about this one.
 
#12,046
#12,046
cncchris33 said:
That's not technically what he said, either. He said he would be changing his pick from Tennessee. No other context toward who he'd change to. He also said that he'd maybe give AU a slight lead but to not count out UK when Cal settles on a player he wants. He never explicitly said he was changing from Tennessee to Auburn, though.
Click to expand...
Well unless you took him saying he thinks Auburn leads to mean he would forecast him to Kentucky I’m not sure how else you’d take that?
 
#12,047
#12,047
TheMookieMonster said:
This is what kind of gave it away and fills me with confidence. Hard not to feel good when the recruit is talking about YOUR school when asked about the rival school. If we do land Edwards, what a massive pick up it would be. The 2023 class has the potential to be very large in size, so starting with Phillips and Edwards is fantastic and you’d hope that would build momentum for Estrella and Dillone.
Click to expand...

Fills you with confidence? You literally predicted it was Auburn?
 
#12,048
#12,048
bleedingTNorange said:
Fills you with confidence? You literally predicted it was Auburn?
Click to expand...

Confidence doesn’t necessarily mean I believe it to be fact. I mean I had extreme confidence we were going to be the pick for Francis Mauigoa yet the shady, money-pit that is John Ruiz had me feeling Miami could be ultimately the spot. It’s pretty much the same scenario here. Like Francis, we’ve been the leader for Edwards for a long time. Doesn’t mean Auburn won’t swoop in late and be the pick.

Plus, I was mostly being sarcastic about the Auburn pick. I guess I should have used blue font. The Tate and Mauigoa recruitments were frustrating, and do have me a bit shook, and in the era of NIL you never know when a billionaire booster will come in at the 11th hour and make an offer any person in their right mind wouldn’t turn down.
 
#12,049
#12,049
TheMookieMonster said:
Confidence doesn’t necessarily mean I believe it to be fact. I mean I had extreme confidence we were going to be the pick for Francis Mauigoa yet the shady, money-pit that is John Ruiz had me feeling Miami could be ultimately the spot. It’s pretty much the same scenario here. Like Francis, we’ve been the leader for Edwards for a long time. Doesn’t mean Auburn won’t swoop in late and be the pick.

Plus, I was mostly being sarcastic about the Auburn pick. I guess I should have used blue font. The Tate and Mauigoa recruitments were frustrating, and do have me a bit shook, and in the era of NIL you never know when a billionaire booster will come in at the 11th hour and make an offer any person in their right mind wouldn’t turn down.
Click to expand...
So my original take of Tate & Francis have you feeling some type of way was accurate? Nothing wrong with that if so, it just seemed you tried to defend that take and act as if it wasn’t that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ryno14
#12,050
#12,050
bleedingTNorange said:
So my original take of Tate & Francis have you feeling some type of way was accurate? Nothing wrong with that if so, it just seemed you tried to defend that take and act as if it wasn’t that.
Click to expand...

If you need to be right, then sure you can say it’s that. But Auburn has always been a specter for our basketball program when it comes to recruiting so in general any time they are involved in the final 2-3 of a kid we’re recruiting, it’s hard for me to put a “fan” crystal ball pick in because I just don’t like or feel good about going up against them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: berryvol
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top