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Rick Barnes 'really proud' of Darlinstone Dubar's return to Tennessee Basketball

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•11/22/24•

GrantRamey

Darlinstone Dubar, Tennessee Basketball | Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Guard Darlinstone Dubar #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the first round game of the Continental Tire Baha Mar Championship between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Tennessee Volunteers at Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, BS. Photo By Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Darlinstone Dubar’s return started early last week. The Hofstra transfer wing, who had been sidelined while dealing with a personal matter, dressed for practice and slowly started working his way back in, doing individual work on the side with Tennessee staffers.

The process picked up considerable speed early this week, when Dubar was a full participant in practice at Pratt Pavilion on Tuesday and in The Bahamas on Wednesday, before a shorthanded Tennessee team faced Virginia in the opening round of the Baha Mar Championship late Thursday night.

Sophomore center JP Estrella is still being evaluated for a lingering foot injury and sophomore wing Cam Carr is out 4-6 weeks after suffering a thumb injury in the second half in the 103-68 win over Austin Peay on Sunday in Knoxville. 

Dubar could help fill both voids. At 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, he’s big enough to give the Vols some minutes in the paint. He’s athletic enough and skilled enough to play on the wing, too. 

Darlinstone Dubar vs. Virginia: 4 points, 2-3 FG, 3 rebounds, 10 minutes

That’s why Dubar made his official debut for No. 11 Tennessee in the 64-42 win over Virginia, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench. 

“(I’m) really proud of him,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said during his postgame press conference. “He has only had two days of practice — limited practice. We would have played him more in the second half but they really went with four guards, so we sized down with (Jahmai) Mashack.” 

Dubar checked in with 15 minutes left in the first half and scored on a putback dunk just 24 seconds later. He scored again off another putback with 2:51 left in the half, building Tennessee’s lead to eight points. 

Tennessee added four players from the NCAA Transfer Portal over the offseason, in guard Chaz Lanier (North Florida), stretch forward Igor Milicic (Charlotte) and center Felix Okpara (Ohio State).

Lanier scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half against Virginia and Milicic had 14 points and eight rebounds. Okpara had four points, six rebounds and three blocks. 

Lanier is Tennessee’s leading scorer at 16.2 points per game, just ahead of Milicic at 14.0. Milcic, who has 55 points, 27 rebounds and 12 assists over his last three games, leads the Vols in rebounds at 6.6 per game, just ahead of Okpara’s 6.4.

Up Next: No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 13 Baylor, Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network

Now the Vols need Dubar to add to that portal production.

Dubar, who started his career at Iowa State in 2020-21, spent the last three seasons at Hofstra, where he averaged a career-high 17.8 points per game last season, shooting 53.9% from the field and 39.9%.

He had career-highs across the board, making 73 3-pointers, averaging 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals in 34.6 minutes per game, over 33 games.

What Dubar gave Tennessee Thursday night was just a start, according to Barnes. He’ll be needed again when the Vols face No. 13 Baylor Friday night (9:30 Eastern Time, CBS Sports Network) in the Baha Mar title game.

“The more he gets out there,” Barnes said, “the more comfortable he gets, the better he is going to be.”

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