Tennessee basketball commit Freddie Dilione more evidence Vols here to stay
Most fans can’t contain the excitement behind Tennessee basketball for this year because of Rick Barnes’ recruiting. However, Barnes is already looking ahead to next year, and he’s now got two elite commitments in his 2023 class, one in the post and one in the backcourt.
Two months after the commitment of 6’9″ forward Cade Phillips, a four-star across every service except 247Sports, where he is a three-star, the Vols secured a commitment from North Carolina guard Freddie Dilione. They beat out the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to land him.
A four-star across the board out of Word of God Christian Academy in Fayetteville, N.C., Dilione stands between 6’4″ and 6’5″ and weighs in the range of 180 to 195 pounds. He announced his commitment to Tennessee basketball initially on Instagram Tuesday.
Despite attending school in Cumberland County, Dilione is a Wake County kid, hailing from Raleigh, N.C., the state capital. He is listed as a combo guard on Rivals but a shooting guard everywhere else, and when he heads to UT, he’ll likely be a shooting guard.
With Dilione, the Vols already have a solid nucleus that will likely be in place in 2023. It’s not likely Zakai Zeigler leaves before them, and four-star B.J. Edwards joins this year’s team. Even with Josiah-Jordan James, Santiago Vescovi and Tyreke Key leaving, that’s a good start for them.
If you want to expand the backcourt to include the wing, Jahmai Mashack was a four-star in 2021, and D.J. Jefferson is a four-star commitment this year. Even assuming five-star Julian Phillips is a one-and-done, that gives the Vols a chance already to go two-deep at each backcourt spot.
Most importantly, though, Barnes is showing he’s not going anywhere. He’s now 68, but he’s coaching and recruiting like he’s in his 40s. In spite of the criticism surrounding him in big games and his teams underachieving, he continues to bring in high-quality talent.
Dilione and Edwards are both scoring guards who can run the point, and Zeigler is a pure point guard, so the handles and passing should be more than fine next year. These players always develop well under Barnes. Here is a look at Dilione’s highlight reel.
As you can see, Dilione clearly has solid handles, can finish at the rim and can pull up from the midrange or the three. His offensive game is on point, at least when it comes to scoring, and you can bet that Barnes will develop him when it comes to defense.
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Don’t be surprised if Dilione jumps up the rankings as the next year continues on as well. He shot up this past year, and he seems to just be another guy Barnes got out ahead of. There’s a chance he becomes an immediate contributor to Tennessee basketball next year.