Tennessee’s 2020-21 men’s basketball season ended with a lethargic 70-56 loss to Oregon State in the first round of the NCAA tournament and with Volunteers coach Rick Barnes admitting his program needed more of an inside presence moving forward.
On Wednesday afternoon, during his first Zoom call since an anticipated season ended abruptly at 18-9, Barnes had no complaints with his roster moving forward.
“We’re excited about how things worked out for us,” Barnes said. “We’re more than excited, because the things we felt like we needed to address, we addressed.”
The unique opportunity for 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward John Fulkerson to come back for a sixth season of eligibility was the most recent piece to a promising puzzle that includes the return of guards Victor Bailey, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi, as well as the addition of Auburn guard Justin Powell through the NCAA transfer portal. Tennessee has returning size inside with Uros Plavsic (7-0, 262) and Olivier Nkamhoua (6-8, 223), but what has really jacked up expectations again is a signing class that is No. 4 nationally in the 247Sports.com composite rankings and contains a little bit of everything.
Five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler (6-1, 165) and five-star power forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6-9, 230) headline a crop that also includes four-star center Jonas Aidoo (6-11, 215), four-star small forward Jahmai Mashack (6-5, 190) and three-star shooting guard Quentin Diboundje (6-6, 185).