Tennessee will play its final basketball game inside the Food City Center this season Saturday afternoon when the No. 23 Volunteers host No. 24 Vanderbilt.
That means it’s senior day, which likely won’t pack the same emotional punch as previous years but still contains plenty of value. The four senior scholarship Vols being recognized before tipoff are starting point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, starting forward Felix Okpara, and reserve guards Amaree Abram and Grant Hurst.
None of the four started out at Tennessee, which is the first such senior day dynamic for Vols coach Rick Barnes since 2018.
“Senior day and all that is so different now because of the transfer portal,” Barnes said Friday afternoon in a news conference. “Back in the day, when you did senior day, it was mainly guys who had been with you for a long, long time. I can tell you that we appreciate every one of these guys who are leaving the program. They’ve all had an impact, and we appreciate it.
“We’re in that era now where year to year you’re going to have some guys who might be there just one year, but we would like for them to leave knowing that they’re part of the Tennessee family and that they will always be welcomed back.”