With Josiah-Jordan James back, Vols move into top five of ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25

Tennessee basketball entered the top five of ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 after senior wing Josiah-Jordan James announced his return for a fifth year with the Vols. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello called Tennessee “one of the biggest portal winners” while moving the Vols up two spots to No. 5.

“Tennessee is one of the biggest portal winners of the offseason thus far,” Borzello wrote, “landing Jordan Gainey (South Carolina Upstate), Chris Ledlum (Harvard) and Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado), while also getting All-SEC guard Santiago Vescovi and veteran starter Josiah-Jordan James back for another year. 

“The Volunteers should have more perimeter pop than they’ve had the past few seasons, combined with what should be an elite defense when Zakai Zeigler is healthy.”

Borzello’s projected starting five for Tennessee included Zeigler alongside Vescovi, Knecht, James and 6-foot-11 junior center Jonas Aidoo. 

James announced on Wednesday that he would be returning for a fifth year after going through the NBA’s pre-draft evaluation process, including participating in the G League Elite Camp in Chicago last month. 

Josiah-Jordan James: ‘I’m eager to join this new group of teammates’

“I’m excited and blessed to be able to represent Tennessee for one more year,” James said. “After last season, I talked with the coaching staff about how important it was for me to go through the draft evaluation process and get NBA feedback, since I wasn’t able to do that last offseason.

“I also knew that the coaches here had to build a full roster for this year and prepare for the possibility that I might not be back. I love the pieces they’ve put together, and I’m eager to join this new group of teammates for one more run.”

Tennessee built its new-look roster by going on a run in the NCAA Transfer Portal in April, adding commitments from Gainey, Ledlum and Knecht over a span of four days. Vescovi announced his return the same week.

Knecht, the 6-foot-6, 200-pound wing from Northern Colorado, averaged 20.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 35.3 minutes per game in 32 games last season. He shot 47.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the 3-point line.

“Dalton is just a terrific story of a guy whose hard work has enabled him to steadily improve his game,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said after signing Knecht in May. “He’s grown nearly a foot since he started playing high school ball. And as he’s grown, he’s expanded his skill set as well. 

“He’s a proven scorer and was one of the top offensive producers in the portal, so he immediately gives our team a boost in offensive firepower.”

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Ledlum, a 6-foot-6 forward and graduate of Harvard, averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game at Harvard last season, shooting 47.3 percent from the floor.

“Chris has many of the characteristics we value in our program. He has a tremendous work ethic and plays with grit, toughness and a bit of swagger,” Barnes said. “… He’ll give us an inside-outside scoring presence. And his versatility—scoring, rebounding and playmaking—extends our ability to create mismatches.”

Jordan Gainey, the son of Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey, was the first commitment from the group, joining the Vols from USC Upstate. 

The 6-foot-4 shooting guard 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists, shooting 42.6 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from the 3-point line over the last two seasons with the Spartans.

“We obviously know and love Jordan’s family, but his ability as a player stands on its own merit,” Barnes said. “He plays with a high basketball IQ and is a guy who makes his teammates better. We love his offensive versatility and his ability to shoot and score the ball in a variety of ways. In addition to giving us another shot-maker, he also competes on the defensive end and led (the Big South) in steals last year.”