Report: Four-star SG Freddie Dilione to enroll early at Tennessee
Freddie Dilione, the 2023 four-star shooting guard who signed with Tennessee basketball in November, will enroll at Tennessee in January according to a report from the Charlotte Observer.
Word of God Christian Academy coach Byron Williams confirmed to the Observer’s Alex Bass that Dilione will be leaving high school early to join the Vols.
“It was mutual between the family and I,” Williams said in the report. “It’s good for Freddie to go and get a jump start with coach (Rick) Barnes.”
It’s likely that Dilione would be a redshirt candidate once he does arrive at Tennessee, practicing with the Vols for the remainder of the 2021-22 season before going through a full offseason in Knoxville.
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 committed to Tennessee in September, picking the Vols over Wake Forest, VCU and Virginia.
“The reason I chose Tennessee is because of the way they recruited me at a high level,” Dilione told On3 at the time. “Also, I trust coach Barnes and his staff to push me to the next level and achieve my ultimate dream and make it to the league.”
“They’re really big on skill development,” Dilione added of the Vols, “and getting guys to the next level. They are like a big family over there. It’s just a great organization they have.”
Freddie Dilione gives Tennessee a ‘confident bucket-getter’
Dilione is one of four prospects in Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting 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.
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.
On3 Scouting Summary — Freddie Dilione
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.
