What's next for Tennessee Basketball after Rodney Rice's commitment to USC
Maryland shooting guard Rodney Rice announced his commitment to USC on Tuesday, ending a portal recruitment that took him from Maryland to Villanova to Tennessee to the Trojans.
Now the Vols turn their attention to Oklahoma’s Duke Miles, the veteran guard who is scheduled to visit Tennessee on Wednesday.
Tennessee so far has 10 scholarship spots filled on its 2025-26 roster, returning four players, singing four prep prospects and two players from the NCAA Transfer Portal.
Vols looking for ‘depth at the perimeter’ with final roster spots
Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey are the two portal additions while five-star small forward Nate Ament headlines the 2025 recruiting class, ahead of four-star guard Amari Evans, four-star center Dewayne Brown and three-star point guard Troy Henderson.
Tennessee’s four returning players are forwards Felix Okpara, Cade Phillips and JP Estrella along with guard Bishop Boswell.
Head coach Rick Barnes during his press conference on Monday detailed what the Vols are still in the market for as they continue to rebuild their roster and their backcourt.
“I still think the depth at the perimeter would be that,” Barnes said, when asked about the biggest need moving forward. “But we’ll be very selective. It’ll be a cultural fit as well, what we look for.
“… Anything we do, not just now, but it’s got to make sure it fits the culture. But we’ll look at the needs that we need, but it’s got to be right or we won’t move.”
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Duke Miles averaged 11.6 points over last five seasons
Miles, the Oklahoma guard, has averaged 11.6 points, 2.9 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 116 games over the last five seasons, with stops at Troy, High Point and Oklahoma.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Miles, a native of Montgomery, Ala., averaged a career-best 17.5 points, 3.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game at High Point during the 2023-24 season. He averaged 9.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 34 games at Oklahoma last season, while shooting 43.0% from the 3-point line and 51.4% from the field.
Miles was 40-for-93 from three with the Sooners and 44-for-122 two seasons ago at High Point. He started his career at Troy before transferring to High Point, then to Oklahoma.
Barnes said Monday that the focus remains on “the player we can get” as Tennessee looks to fill more roster spots.
“Someone that can impact our program in more than one way,” he said, “someone that can impact us, understands what we want to do. And again, we got a group of guys that I think that truly have bought into wanting to be the best team they can be.
“And we need someone to come in with that mindset knowing that their skill level, whatever it may be, what skills they bring fits into what we need. And they have to know that if we’re talking to them it’s something that we’re looking for and what we believe we need to have here to help us improve.”
