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Tennessee basketball: Ranking Vols five newcomers by potential impact in 2019-2020

By Caleb Calhoun

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers gives celebrates after 84-64 win over the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - MARCH 17: Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers gives celebrates after 84-64 win over the Tennessee Volunteers during the final of the SEC Basketball Championships at Bridgestone Arena on March 17, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images /

Four true freshmen and a transfer join Tennessee basketball for 2019-2020. Here is how those UT Volunteers rank by their potential impact.

All the talk this offseason surrounding Tennessee basketball has been all the talent they lost. We get it. A 31-6 team that spent nearly a month last year ranked No. 1 and made it to the Sweet Sixteen lost four of its starters, all of whom inked deals with NBA teams, along with a contributor off the bench.

Add in the transfer of D.J. Burns, who was a redshirt and figured to fill a major gap this year in the post, along with Kerry Blackshear going to the Florida Gators, and we knew Rick Barnes had his work cut out for him this year to replace the talent he lost. But he has the guys to do it.

While everybody focuses on the talent lost, nobody has paid attention to the fact that Tennessee basketball did add five newcomers in the offseason. Four of them were part of Barnes’s 2019 recruiting class, and another is a transfer.

In the group, there is a combo guard, a wing player, two forwards and a center. So Barnes clearly has some talent, even if he’s got a lot of work to do to replace Grant Williams, Admiral Schofield, Jordan Bone, Kyle Alexander and even Derrick Walker.

Which of these players has the best chance to make an early impact? We know one of them is still waiting on his eligibility waiver from the NCAA, but Barnes has said that he believes it will come, so for now we’re including the guy in the group.

Out front, we should note that Oregon Ducks transfer guard Victor Bailey Jr. is a sixth newcomer, but he will sit out this year, so we can’t count him as a player to make a difference. There are still plenty of guys who can, though. So let’s break down who they are. This is our ranking of the potential impact the five Tennessee basketball newcomers who could play this year may have.

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