Tennessee basketball: Ranking Vols by toughest to replace for 2022-23
4. 534. Scouting Report. Guard. Justin Powell. Pick Analysis. Transfer portal. player
Transferred to Washington State Cougars
Like Victor Bailey Jr., Justin Powell transferred to Tennessee basketball from another school, in his case the Auburn Tigers, and he is now transferring again. Powell had rare skills as a guy who could play all three positions in the backcourt at 6’6″ 197 pounds and, at least offensively, be elite playing any of those roles.
Rick Barnes used him as a three-point specialist, and coming off an injury, he did shoot 38.1 percent from beyond the arc last year. The problem, though, is the fact that he wasn’t that aggressive, which is why he averaged just over three and a half points a game.
As a result, while playing 30 games and starting in one of them, Powell averaged just over 14 minutes a game, and he saw his minutes decrease down the stretch of the season. Taking that into account and how loaded UT is at the two and the three, Powell isn’t as much of a loss.
However, Powell is the first significant contributor on here, and that has to count for something. Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James are the only ones who have that title returning, and while Julian Phillips has the hype as a five-star, going two-deep in those roles requires four players, and without Powell, they don’t have a proven fourth.