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Tennessee basketball a winner from early offseason, CBB analyst says

By Caleb Calhoun

ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 10: Rick Barnes the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers gives instructions to his team against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the semifinals of the 2018 SEC Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 10, 2018 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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They may have underachieved and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but Tennessee basketball is winning over lots of people in the offseason once again. Although it took a while with a wave of transfers and a failure to land other transfers, things have really taken off recently.

Analysts are taking notice. Andy Katz’s list of winners from the second week of the offseason based on transfers and the roster had UT ranked at No. 4. Ahead of the Vols were the Villanova Wildcats, Texas Longhorns and Illinois Fighting Illini.

SEC teams on the list joining Tennessee basketball were the Florida Gators at No. 5, the LSU Tigers at No. 8 and the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 10. UT was obviously the highest of those teams. Here’s what Katz said about them.

"Tennessee will get another season from John Fulkerson and the Volunteers will add Auburn transfer Justin Powell to their roster. In 10 games, Powell shot 44 percent from three and he posted an assist rate of 32.2 percent, which means that he assisted on roughly a third of Auburn’s baskets when he was on the floor. Fulkerson averaged 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game for Tennessee last season."

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John Fulkerson returning was a big deal for the Vols, but the most impressive part of them winning the offseason was what they did on the recruiting trail that same week. Five-star power forward  Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and four-star center Jonas Aidoo both committed to Rocky Top that same week, making their inside game dominant overnight.

All of that together, if recruiting were taken into account, would probably put Rick Barnes’ team at No. 1. What it does do is keep them relevant on the national stage heading into the 2021-2022 season, and Fulkerson’s return impacts that in a huge way.

The most impressive part, though, is the Vols made that list without transfer help, and they have landed a major transfer. Auburn Tigers sharpshooter Justin Powell committed to and signed with them while the NCAA Tournament was still going on.

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This doesn’t even take into account the addition of five-star Kennedy Chandler and four-star Jahmai Mashack, who signed with the team last fall. Adding French sharpshooter Quentin Diboundje Eyobo to their 2022 class within a week of Powell transferring bolsters them even further. Simply put, Tennessee basketball is loaded, and this list is further proof of it.

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