Tennessee basketball: How Rick Barnes is banking on health, development, readiness

As Rick Barnes addressed the media earlier this week, he was doing it with a very different Tennessee basketball program than the one that ended the season in March. Six newcomers had joined the program while seven had either transferred or left for the NBA Draft.

The media session also had Barnes’ two new assistant coaches, Justin Gainey and Rod Clark, who replaced Desmond Oliver and Kim English. Simply put, this was a very different team in so many ways, but the truth is it may still not be complete.

Right now, Tennessee basketball still has two scholarships available to give out, either by transfer or new recruits. However, Barnes doesn’t feel pressed to fill those roster spots. Here’s what he said when asked about it.

"“As of now, we’re not planning on doing anything. Again, it could change because of the transfer portal and just day-to-day now, I think the biggest thing now is that you have to be in position to manage the roster. I’ve said to you guys, we don’t ever stop recruiting. We’re already down the road. It would have to be something really special for us to add to what we have right now.”"

Reading into that, it’s clear that beyond his standard approach to recruiting, Barnes has no plans to actively address those specific openings. Honestly, despite all the excitement, that’s a big bet down the road.

Of the 12 scholarship players on the Vols’ roster, only four of them have played a full season and logged significant minutes (averaging more than 10 a game) in the process. They just so happen to be UT’s four returning rotational players: Josiah-Jordan James, Victor Bailey Jr., Santiago Vescovi and sixth-year senior John Fulkerson.

Obviously, four players isn’t enough to build a team around. Barnes is banking on there being a good amount of readiness, development and health in the other players, depending on who they are, just to have a solid rotation.

One of those is probably a good bet. Five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler is considered the best player at his position, and as a one-and-done guy, Barnes is smart to bank on his readiness. He’s probably going to start anyway, which at least lets Barnes go five-deep.

There are two five-stars on the roster to be fair, so Brandon Huntley-Hatfield could be another safe bet. However, Huntley-Hatfield reclassified with the 2021 class, so he could be a bit premature when arriving on Rocky Top. That’s a riskier bet than Kennedy.

We’ll get back to the readiness factor in a minute, but Auburn Tigers graduate transfer guard Justin Powell is another risk. Sure, the 6’6″ sharpshooter did prove himself while averaging nearly 12 points a game through 10 games last year as a freshman, but he did miss almost the whole season due to a head injury. Barnes has to bank on him being healthy.

More from All for Tennessee

• How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
• Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
• Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
• Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
• Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay

So far, Tennessee basketball is seven-deep with sure bets on four returners and seemingly safe bets on two five-stars and a graduate transfer. At the same time, though, the more you increase your seemingly safe bets, the likelier it becomes that one of them turns out to be unsafe.

Where can Barnes get more depth, though? Well, he’s got two other front court returners in Olivier Nkamhoua, who can play the three or the four, and Uros Plavsic, a true seven-footer. Nkamhoua played 24 games last year while Plavsic played 16 and started one, but they averaged just over seven and four minutes respectively. Barnes’ bet here is that one of them develops.

Then you have the three other freshmen. Four-star center Jonas Aidoo, four-star forward Jahmai Mashack and three-star French sharpshooting guard Quentin Diboundje Eyobo all make up this group. Here, we go back to readiness, but Barnes would need one or a couple of them to be ready to have a full rotation.

Taking all this into account, the uncertainty makes it risky for Barnes not to add a couple of graduate transfers to Tennessee basketball’s program this year just to assure more proven experience and depth. He’s taking a gamble, even if he is increasing his odds.

To be able to go seven-deep, Barnes needs all of his safe bets to work out. If he wants to go two-deep at every position, he most likely needs both five-stars ready immediately, his one transfer fully healthy, one of his returning reserves to have taken a step forward in development and one of his other three signees to also be ready immediately.

It’s very possible all of that happens, and Barnes has options with development and readiness. Still, it’s not a sure thing for Tennessee basketball, and this is something they will have to pay attention to as they continue in full offseason mode.