Tennessee basketball: Four potential breakout Vols for 2019-2020

Zach Kent played in two games his freshman year. Then he had a season-ending injury last year. As a result, there would seem to be no reason to expect that much from him now as he spends his time trying to get back to where he was before his injury. His experience is so limited anyway, that putting him at No. 3 is questionable.

However, Uros Plavsic’s eligibility waiver from the NCAA has come down to the last week. Without him, and with the fact that Tennessee basketball did not land Kerry Blackshear Jr. in the offseason, Kent right now is the only Vols player over 6’9″. In College basketball, 6’9″ is a solid size, but you always need at least one taller guy.

At 6’11” 235 pounds, Kent is the one guy who could provide that length on a team that is extremely small. So he’s got the potential to have a major breakout season just by the nature of the roster.

Also, Kent is one of only two returning players who are purely post guys. He did play nearly 15 minutes in the exhibition and had six points and two rebounds. But he also had four fouls, and nobody on the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds was over 6’7″. As a result, we can’t read too much into that for right now. But if he gets better, he could become a regular.