Tennessee basketball: Vols should go after Virginia Tech’s Kerry Blackshear Jr
Virginia Tech’s Kerry Blackshear Jr. is the latest player to enter the transfer portal. Tennessee basketball should go after the big man.
Tuesday afternoon Virginia Tech’s big man Kerry Blackshear Jr. entered his name in the transfer portal. Blackshear is arguably the biggest name to hit the portal this season, and it makes all the sense in the world for Tennessee basketball to make a play for him.
The Hokies had their best season since their days in the Atlantic 10 conference. The1995-96 season Virginia Tech finished 23-6 and was ranked as high as 8th in the AP Poll. This season, the Hokies finished 26-9 with a loss to the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16. Kerry Blackshear Jr. was a huge part of that success.
Blackshear Jr. started all 35 games this past season averaging 14.9 points per game while pulling down 7.5 rebounds. The 6-foot-10 big man shot over 50 percent from inside the arc and 33 percent from the three-point which is always a bonus. He also shot roughly 74 percent from the free throw line, so he is able to stay on the court in late game situations.
The Vols are losing 20.8 points per game in Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander. If you add in the potential of Grant Williams and Jordan Bone leaving the program, Tennessee would lose four starters and 56.1 points per game. That’s devastating to a team that was ranked No.1 in the nation for six weeks.
The addition of Blackshear makes perfect sense. He is a player that made significant strides each season and is a dynamic scorer that can heat up in a hurry. In five postseason games, Blackshear scored 16, 17, 15, 19, and 18, including two double-doubles and two games with nine rebounds.
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It should be noted Blackshear also declared for the 2019 NBA Draft. However, if the right team comes calling like Tennessee, he would likely head back to school. Everything points to this being a perfect fit for both the Vols and Blackshear. Now we wait to see if Rick Barnes and Tennessee pursues the big man that would easily snag a starting spot for the 2019-20 season.