KNOXVILLE - The Tennessee men's basketball program put its best foot forward for highly coveted graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr.
In the end, the proximity of a different Southeastern Conference program to his hometown won out.
The former Virginia Tech star has decided to play his final college season at Florida - putting him closer to Orlando - according to multiple media reports Wednesday evening. The 6-foot-10 forward chose the Gators over the Volunteers as well as Arkansas, Kentucky and simply staying put in Blacksburg.
After last season's Vols earned 31 wins and the program's eighth trip to the Sweet 16, four starters departed Tennessee, with three - Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield and Jordan Bone - getting drafted and a fourth player, forward Kyle Alexander, signed to a summer-league deal with the Miami Heat.
According to a source close to Blackshear, the Vols' pitch was simple: We're in "win-now" mode. Coach Rick Barnes and crew attempted to sell Blackshear on Tennessee's strength and conditioning program - one that had transformed the bodies of Schofield and Williams. They attempted to sell Blackshear on the thought of assuming the role of Williams, the two-time Southeastern Conference men's basketball player of the year and a consensus first-team All-American this year.
Virginia Tech forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. shoots over Liberty forward Scottie James during an NCAA tournament game on March 24 in San Jose, Calif. Blackshear will transfer to Florida, according to multiple media reports."He (Barnes) made it clear when talking to K.J. (Blackshear) that Tennessee doesn't want any down seasons," the source told the Times Free Press recently.
Tennessee wasn't expected to receive a visit initially when Blackshear announced his decision to pull his name out of the NBA draft pool last month. Gonzaga or Kentucky appeared to be his most likely destination, but Barnes along with assistant Kim English pushed to get a visit from Blackshear, and he went to Knoxville on June 14-16.
Prior to that, a pair of Barnes' former players when he was head coach at Texas - current San Antonio Spurs forward Lamarcus Aldridge and current Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker - reached out to Blackshear. In addition, Williams talked to Blackshear.
In three full seasons at Virginia Tech, Blackshear scored 1,152 points and grabbed 616 rebounds. He shot 53 percent from the field and improved as a 3-point shooter in each of his three healthy seasons, going from 24 percent as a freshman to 33 percent as a junior, while also shooting 70 percent from the free-throw line for his career.
As a junior, he averaged 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 51 percent from the field and 74 percent from the free-throw line on his way to All-Atlantic Coast Conference second-team honors. He had nine double-doubles and averaged 24.3 points and 11.5 rebounds in a four-game span at the end of February that included games against Duke and Virginia.
In his final game at Virginia Tech - against Duke in the NCAA tournament's Sweet 16 - Blackshear had 18 points, 16 rebounds and five assists as his Hokies lost 75-73.
With Blackshear, Tennessee would have had an opportunity to remain on an upward climb as an elite basketball program. The Vols may still get there eventually, but the 2019-20 season will begin with a lot more questions than answers because there are only role players and unproven names behind senior guards Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner.
The third-most experienced player on the roster is junior forward John Fulkerson, considered more of a reserve useful for short stretches during his time with the Vols.
Florida reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, the Gators' third straight appearance in the bracket.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.