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Tennessee basketball: Ranking toughest Vols to replace for 2019-2020

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - DECEMBER 29: Grant Williams #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers and Admiral Schofield #5 of the Tennessee Volunteers celebrate on the bench during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles and the Tennessee Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena on December 29, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won 96-53. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images
Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images /

534. Forward. Transferred. Derrick Walker. 5. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis

He is more of a miss because of his opportunity to move into a much more important role this year with all of the other guys who left the program. Tennessee basketball had Derrick Walker waiting in the wings to be a starting post player at 6’8″ 236 pounds, and the versatility for the Kansas City, Mo. athlete was something to be excited about.

However, after averaging nearly two points and over two rebounds a game in just under nine minutes of time his freshman year, he saw his numbers dip to just over one rebound a game and less than a point a game in just over five minutes a game as a sophomore. It’s unclear why Rick Barnes reduced his playing time, as he seemed to be a good fit for Barnes as a post guy.

To be fair, free throws could have been the reason, as he shot 34 percent from the foul line. Anyway, the drop in playing time culminated with his transfer at the end of the year. Walker decided to transfer to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

With the loss of D.J. Burns, who was a four-star forward in the system and redshirted as a freshman this past year, Walker’s transfer will now actually be felt even more. Barnes has limited options in the post game. John Fulkerson is the only guy with experience, but outside of him, he’s got to look for Brock Jancek of freshmen Drew Pember or Olivier Nkamhoua.

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