Rick Barnes explains why Freddie Dilione is enrolling early at Tennessee

Freddie Dilione and his family decided it would be best to get a head start on his collegiate career. That’s why the 2023 four-star shooting guard, who signed with Tennessee in November, is expected to enroll early this month and join the Vols.

“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.

“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.”

Freddie Dilione enrolling early is ‘a big head start on things’

Barnes compared the situation to high school football prospects enrolling early to get a jump on their football careers. It will be a similar advantage for Dilione, a natural scorer who could play a big role for Tennessee next season.

“I think it’s huge, I do,” Barnes said. “You look, it’s been going on in football forever. The fact that he and his family decided they wanted to do it. I think it’s going to really help him a lot. Gives him a big head start on things.”

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.

Dilione is one of four prospects in Tennessee’s 2023 signing class, alongside four-star center JP Estrella, four-star small forward Cameron Carr and three-star power forward Cade Phillips.

Estrella, the 6-foot-11, 210-pound center out of South Portland, Maine, is the highest-rated prospect in the class, coming in at No. 21 overall in the 2023 class in the On3 ratings. He’s ranked No. 6 among power forwards and No. 1 in player out of Maine.

Carr, a 6-foot-4, 160-pound prospect out of Manhattan, Kansas, is ranked by On3 as the No. 112 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting cycle. He’s the No. 23 small forward nationally and the No. 2 player in the state of Missouri, where he attends Link Academy. He’s a product of the MOKAN Elite AAU program.

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Phillips, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound prospect from Rainbow City, Ala., is roommates with Carr at Link Academy in Missouri. Phillips is ranked No. 147 in the 2023 class in the On3 consensus. He’s ranked No. 30 among power forwards and No. 1 in the state of Alabama.

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.”