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Former Tennessee guard Freddie Dilione announces commitment out of transfer portal

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•04/24/24•

GrantRamey

Freddie Dilione V
(Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK) Tennessee guard Freddie Dilione V (1) during a basketball game between Tennessee and Norfolk State held at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.

Former Tennessee basketball redshirt freshman guard Freddie Dilione has committed to Penn State. The former four-star prospect was reportedly recruited by North Carolina State and Louisville after entering the NCAA Transfer Portal in April after spending a season and a half with the Vols. 

Dilione is one of four Tennessee players that have entered the portal since the season ended in the Elite Eight loss to Purdue on March 31. Redshirt freshman wing DJ Jefferson, junior center Jonas Aidoo and sophomore forward Tobe Awaka remain in the portal.

Dilione was never able to consistently crack the rotation for Tennessee this season. He enrolled early in January 2023, leaving high school and sitting out as a redshirt for the second half of Tennessee’s 2022-23 season, but rarely saw the floor during his redshirt freshman season. 

Dilione appeared in 18 games this season, but got off the bench only seven times in February and March. 

He played five minutes or less in 11 of his 18 games, averaging 1.8 points and 0.6 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game. Dilione, a Fayetteville, N.C., native, was ranked No. 44 overall as a recruit. He was the No. 3 shooting guard and the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina in 2022. 

Freddie Dilione: Former 4-star prospect, ranked No. 44 overall in 2022

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in December that Dilione’s lack of playing time came down to inconsistency.

“I want to know what we’re going to get every day,” Barnes said at the time. “… That’s what it’s all about.”

“I think you see it in practice,” Barnes added. “There’s a process that we believe in, we go through … I think Freddie, not unlike a lot of freshmen, comes in and it is so much different than he probably thought.”

Dilione came to Tennessee from Word of God Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C. He was ranked No. 3 among shooting guards and No. 1 in the state of North Carolina.

Dilione committed to the Vols in September 2022, picking Tennessee over Wake Forest, VCU and Virginia. The Vols had talks with Dilione and his family about reclassifying and joining the program before the season, but they opted to stay put at the time.

With Dilione moving up to 2022, Tennessee finished with a three-man 2023 signing class: Four-star center JP Estrella, four-star small forward Cameron Carr and three-star power forward Cade Phillips.

On3 Scouting Report: Freddie Dilione V

“Freddie Dilione is a confident bucket getter. He has good positional size with lengthy arms and broad shoulders. He is comfortable on the ball. Dilione is naturally an off-guard, secondary ball-handler, although he has shown he can be a primary ball-handler in pick-and-roll-type situations. The reads are the question, decisively getting to his spots and scoring off the ball. Dilione is a good straight-line athlete, and his confidence and ability to score on the ball are notable.”

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