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Tennessee basketball: Vols announce Chris Darrington is transferring

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee basketball has another scholarship open now. The Volunteers announced that guard Chris Darrington is transferring.

Related Story: 5 things for Vols to address this offseason

Rick Barnes now has two scholarships to offer for the Vols’ 2018 recruiting class. The school announced on Friday that Tennessee basketball guard Chris Darrington is transferring after just one year with the program.

Grant Ramey of GoVols247 reports that Darrington is going to finish the semester before leaving Rocky Top. The Vols have given other schools permission to contact him.

Darrington was a junior college player who transferred to Tennessee last year. He was an All-American at the previous level, and he was also the best player for the Vols during their trip to Europe last year before the 2017-2018 season actually took shape.

However, Barnes said other players caught up to him, and he wasn’t able to step his game up as the season went on. As a result, he saw limited minutes, buried in a depth chart of guards that included Lamonte Turner, Jordan Bowden, Jordan Bone and James Daniel III.

Darrington played 25 games on the year and averaged just over two and a half points a game in eight and a half minutes. The 6’1″ 179-pound guard would’ve had the chance to immediately fill the void that Daniel left if he was able to raise his level of competition as Barnes said he needed to.

However, Barnes was clearly looking for another point guard to come in with his final scholarship offer. That would have cluttered the position more.

It’s not clear if that’s why Darrington decided to transfer, but it could be a reason. Tennessee basketball is still pursuing four-star point guard James Akinjo pretty heavily.

Either way, Darrington is more of a loss than you might think. His potential was there, so with some developing he easily could have taken Daniel’s role next year. And that would have been huge for the team.

Next: Best moments from Vols' 2017-2018 season

Now, Barnes actually has to find another guard for depth. It’s not just a luxury thing. At the same time, though, at least he has another scholarship available.

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