Tennessee Basketball: Freddie Dilione explains decision to enroll early with Vols
Freddie Dilione, the 2023 four-star shooting guard and soon-to-be the newest roster addition for the Tennessee basketball program, explained his decision to enroll early and join the Vols alter this month in a statement posted on social media on Monday night:
I have decided to enroll at the University of Tennessee for the Spring semester, where I’ll redshirt while preparing for the 2023-24 season.
This was not an easy decision to reach, but I would like to thank my family, the Tennessee coaching staff, and Coach Byron and the Word of God coaches and staff for their guidance and wisdom. Over time, it became clear that this is the best step for me to take as I work towards fulfilling my dream of playing basketball at the highest level.
I would also like thank all of my teammates, friends and fans for their support and encouragement.
I am looking forward to arriving in Knoxville in a few weeks and beginning the next chapter of my journey on and off the court.
Go Big Orange!
Freddie Dilione
Rick Barnes: ‘We’re excited about him getting here’
The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Dilione is a four-star prospect out of Word of God Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C. He’s the No. 34 overall prospect nationally in the 2023 class according to the On3 Consensus. He’s ranked No. 5 among shooting guards and No. 1 in the state of North Carolina.
Tennessee coach Rick Barnes on Monday morning discussed the decision made by Dilione to enroll early.
“Freddie decided he wanted to get here as early as he could,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Monday before practice at Thompson-Boling Arena. “We’ll get him here and we’ll get him, I don’t know how long it will really take him to get to practice with us, but we’ll get him going in school, get him going that way.”
Barnes confirmed that Dilione will not play this season. Instead he’ll start out working with Tennessee’s scout team and get an early start in strength coach Garrett Medenwald’s strength and nutrition program.
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“Garrett will start his deal with him, helping his body, nutrition, all that coming together,” Barnes said. “But he’ll be in practice. How much he does, he’ll probably start out really helping our scout team. And as he continues to learn our system here, it’s going to be great for us and it’s going to be great for him. We’re excited about it.”
Up Next: No. 8 Tennessee vs. Mississippi State, Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Dilione committed to Tennessee in September, picking the Vols 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.
“We had talked about, he had a chance he could possibly come this year if he wanted to,” Barnes said. “But he decided, the family decided, they wanted to go to school and go from there. I think he’s had a good experience, but just in his mind, where he is right now, he and his family decided it would be better that they get here and get going. We’re excited about it.
“We’re fortunate we have a scholarship, it worked out well that way. We’re excited about it. And we’re fortunate we have a scholarship. So that worked out well that way. We’re excited about him getting here.”
