Tennessee basketball: Kerry Blackshear reportedly down to Vols, Kentucky

Tennessee basketball could still get Virginia Tech Hokies graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear. He’s now reportedly down to the UT Volunteers and UK Wildcats.

So it comes down to this for Tennessee basketball. Their fight to land a graduate transfer power forward who could keep them in the national picture is with their hated SEC rival, the school that gets all the top recruits on a yearly basis.

According to reports that broke Wednesday night, Virginia Tech Hokies transfer Kerry Blackshear’s decision is now down to the Vols and John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats. However, he is set to visit the Texas A&M Aggies, who are led by his former coach in Buzz Williams, and may visit the Michigan Wolverines next week, led by new head coach Juwan Howard.

Everybody is anxiously awaiting his decision, which is now likely to come next week. Blackshear is at the top of many people’s wish lists. Gene Henley of the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported all of this news on Twitter.

All of this could actually be great news for the Vols. Remember, Blackshear visited Kentucky after visiting Tennessee basketball. As a result, they had the chance to make the most immediate impression, but the Vols did not lose ground.

Meanwhile, despite Blackshear’s connections to Williams, who was the coach at Virginia Tech, the fact that A&M is not still in the top three at this moment lends credence to the idea that the Vols have more to offer. After all, the Aggies’ selling point of Williams is already there. A visit to College Station won’t change that.

Henley said as much, noting in multiple tweets after his first report that the A&M visit is a courtesy visit to his former coach. So that’s even more good news for the Vols as they try to land him on Rocky Top.

If Michigan is truly the final bit of competition, they are a major outside chance. Blackshear is looking all over the south, and assuming Henley’s report is true, he already rejected the Memphis Tigers and Penny Hardaway. Given the fact that Michigan is trying to replicate Hardaway with the Howard hire to a much lesser degree, it seems highly unlikely they would land Blackshear.

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As a result, Tennessee basketball got great news with this tweet from Henley. If the Vols land Blackshear, then they’ve got two proven scorers in Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden in the back court. Josiah James, a five-star combo guard, adds to that, as he and Turner could split point duties while both start.

Add in Blackshear, and you’ve got a proven scorer and rebounder who stands at 6’10” to beef up your post game. Then there’s still the 7-foot transfer in Uros Plavsic along with DJ Burns, who was once a four-star recruit, to complete the inside game. Yves Pons added in there makes for a great rotation overall and gives Rick Barnes a ton to work with.

It’s impossible to overstate how big of a get Blackshear would be given this personnel. And with the losses of Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield and Kyle Alexander, Blackshear would be in the best position to immediately make an impact and impress NBA scouts by choosing Tennessee basketball. As a result, the Vols should have a great shot at him.