Tennessee basketball moves up two seeds in latest ESPN Bracketology update
Tennessee basketball’s new-look roster for the 2023-24 season has the Vols up to a No. 2 seed in the latest offseason bracketology update from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Tennessee moved up two spots from a No. 4 seed to a No. 2 seed after adding three commitments out of the NCAA Transfer Portal.
The Vols over a span of four days in April added commitments from USC Upstate guard Jordan Gainey, Harvard forward Chris Ledlum and Northern Colorado wing Dalton Knecht, along with the senior guard Santiago Vescovi announcing his return to the Vols for a fifth season.
The 6-foot-6, 200-pound Knecht averaged 20.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 35.3 minutes per game in 32 games at Northern Colorado last season, shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from the 3-point line.
Jordan Gainey, the son of Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey, averaged 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 at USC Upstate.
Ledlum, the 6-foot-6 forward, 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.
Vescovi led Tennessee this season in both scoring, averaging 12.5 points per game, and minutes, playing 32.9 minutes per game. He shot 39.6 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from the 3-point line, going 91 of 246 from deep.
Vols targeted offensive help in NCAA Transfer Portal
Tennessee moved up 10 spots in ESPN’s updated way-too-early top 25 for the 2023-24 season earlier this week. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello previously had Tennessee ranked 17th, but now come in at No. 7.
“Tennessee is certainly 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 back for another year.
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“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.”
Barnes said last month that perimeter pop is exactly what his staff was looking for in the portal.
“I think there’s no doubt we need to improve our shooting,” Barnes said of his team last month. “Not only by recruiting it, which I think we have done that, but also with the guys that we have. I have great confidence that these guys are going to do that. I think we’ll be a more athletic team. And we’ll be a little bit different somewhat up front. We’ll still add there.”
Tennessee’s Freddie Dilione, DJ Jefferson coming off redshirt seasons
Barnes will also add four-star guard Freddie Dilione and four-star wing DJ Jefferson to the rotation for the 2023-24 season after both sat out during redshirts years last season.
Tennessee finished 190th in scoring offense this season, averaging just 70.8 points per game. The Vols shot 32.9 percent from the 3-point line this season, ranked 231st nationally according to KenPom.com. Tennessee was 64th in adjusted offensive efficiency for the season, scoring 111.3 points per 100 possessions.
“What I told our guys,” Barnes said of the offensive woes, “we just need the guys to take the shots within our offense. And they’ve got to do that with confidence. That’s part of my job, to make sure they know that.”
