Tennessee basketball makes cut for elite 2022 Minnesota wing D.J. Jefferson

As questions still remain on what Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi will do while they test the NBA Draft waters, Rick Barnes isn’t wasting any time trying to address the needs at those positions. He now has Tennessee basketball trending for a four-star wing from Minnesota.

D.J. Jefferson, a four-star everywhere except 247Sports, where he is a three-star, has included the Vols in his top three. Standing at 6’5″ and weighing in the range of 185 to 190, Jefferson is listed as a shooting guard on Rivals and ESPN and a small forward on 247Sports and On3.

Initially, Jefferson was committed to the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from April 13 to April 22. Joining Tennessee basketball on his list are the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Washington State Cougars. He announced the schools Saturday afternoon on Twitter.

Coming out of Minnesota Prep in Saint Paul, Minn., Jefferson follows five-star 2022 wing Julian Phillips, who recently announced the Vols in his top five. Jefferson would likely be more of a development and depth guy than Phillips, but he fills the same void.

Regardless of what happens, UT could use more help on the wing. They lost Victor Bailey Jr. and Justin Powell to transfer this past year, and even if James does return, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and John Fulkerson leaving could require Barnes to move James down low. That’s the case even if Olivier Nkamhoua comes back.

Should James move down low, then there will once again be a need on the wing, and it could be immediate. Simply put, Barnes and the Vols need another player there, and Jefferson could help fill the void, even if he’s not ready for Barnes’ system right away.

None of the favorites on the Rivals Future Cast, 247Sports Crystal Ball or On3 to land Benson made his final cut. As a result, Tennessee basketball is in as great of shape as anybody to land him, so the Vols should continue going hard after the guy.