Tennessee basketball: Ranking Vols by toughest to replace for 2022-23

Drafted by San Antonio Spurs; traded to Memphis Grizzlies (Round 2, pick 38)

As far as the best player last year, not the most valuable player, Kennedy Chandler was clearly that for Tennessee basketball. There’s a reason he was a five-star recruit at point guard who turned into a one-and-done. Standing at 6’0″ 171 pounds, the Memphis kid was an aggressive force of nature who could play the one or the two.

Chandler’s midrange made him deadly, and as a combo guard, he averaged 13.9 points, over four and a half assists and over two steals while shooting 38.3 percent from three. A 60.6 percent free throw shooting line was his only drawback, but that seemed to be more flukey than anything.

Rick Barnes relied on Chandler to be his clutch go-to guy, and Chandler often delivered. Despite his limited size, he is ready for the NBA, and he’ll likely be a solid player there. Taking all this into account, Chandler is clearly going to be a loss for the Vols.

However, there’s a reason he’s not No. 1. Zakai Zeigler is there to step in at point guard, and as has already been mentioned, the Vols have multiple options at the two and the three. Taking that into account, despite Chandler’s departure, there are more options to offset his role than there might be in other seasons.