Tennessee basketball makes cut for elite 2023 Michigan G Braelon Green

A recent recruiting haul has loaded up Tennessee basketball for 2022, but that hasn’t stopped Rick Barnes from looking ahead to next year. He already has one elite prospect committed for 2023 and could have two. Now, the Vols are trending for another elite prospect.

Rocky Top made the top five for guard Braelon Green, who currently attends Dream City Christian in Glendale, Ariz., but is initially from the Detroit area. Green is a four-star across the board and listed as a combo guard everywhere except Rivals, where he is listed as a shooting guard.

Joining Tennessee basketball on Green’s list are the Michigan State Spartans, Arizona State Sun Devils, Texas Longhorns and Kansas Jayhawks. He announced all the schools with a graphic Wednesday evening on Twitter.

If Green committed, he would follow Alabama post player Cade Phillips, who is a four-star across the board in the 2023 class as well, listed as either a power forward or center, and committed to UT last week. That would be a solid one-two punch early on for Barnes.

However, that may not be it, as power forward Tobe Awaka could be a third addition in that class. He said he committed for 2023 but could reclassify for 2022, so it’s not clear exactly what he’ll be doing as of this news.

Standing between 6’2″ and 6’3″ and weighing in the range of 170 to 180 pounds, Green would truly fit the type of player Barnes values at guard. He’d be following in the footsteps of B.J. Edwards, a four-star combo guard committed in this class.

Initially from Southfield, Mich., which is in Oakland County just north of Detroit, Green attended Lincoln High School in Ypsilanti, Mich., which is in Washtenaw County west of Detroit, before heading to the Southwest to play high school ball. He was in Michigan as recently as the 2020-2021 season.

With Santiago Vescovi entering his final year, assuming he doesn’t use the COVID eligibility ruling to return for 2023-2024, the Vols will have a need at combo guard next year. Edwards and Green could both help fill that void.

Currently, MSU is a unanimous favorite on the Rivals Future Cast and a majority favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast to land Green. There are also two 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions, both going to MSU with a medium confidence interval.

On3 also has MSU as a majority favorite with Arizona State in second, so the two schools in the states where he’s been in seem to have the edge. As a result, Tennessee basketball has an uphill climb to land this guy, but if anybody can do it, Barnes can.