CBB insider gives Tennessee Vols take that will have people dreaming of April

Let the man cook. What head coach Rick Barnes has been able to get done with Tennessee basketball in recent years has been special, but there's still one thing missing from his resume. Yup, we're talking about the fact that the Vols have never reached the Final Four.

This past season, the Vols were oh so close to reaching that feat, but Tennessee lost to Houston, the eventual national champs, in the Elite Eight. Since that loss, the program has said goodbye to Jahmai Mashack, Chaz Lanier, Zakai Zeigler and others.

Despite that, the Vols have reloaded with a bunch of talent and things are looking pretty darn promising for next season. So much in fact, college basketball insider Jon Rothstein didn't hesitate recently in saying the Vols are a 'dark horse' team to make the Final Four. Oh really?

Jon Rothstein has Tennessee as a 'dark horse' to reach the Final Four next season

"I think Tennessee is a dark horse Final Four team," Rothstein said. "Now why do I say that? You know Rick Barnes' teams are always going to be the elite of the elite defensively. You know Felix Okpara is going to anchor that defense for Tennessee, but Rick Barnes' best teams throughout his coaching career have always had elite point guard play. He's went to the Final Four once as a head coach. Who was the point guard on that team? TJ Ford in 2003 at Texas. He went to the Elite Eight with Texas in 2008. Who was the point guard on that team? DJ Augustine.

"He's been to the last two Elite Eights with Tennessee. Who was the point guard? Zakai Zeigler. Now you have Ja'Kobi Gillespie, a First-Team All-SEC caliber player. You know he's going to run the offense as an extension of Rick Barnes. You know that the defense, anchored by Felix Okpara, is going to be top tier and there's some good pieces you like in the transfer portal to plug the gaps."

So, you're saying there's a chance, Jon? The offseason additions have been tremendous for Tennessee and we haven't even brought up 5-star signee Nate Ament yet either. The expectations are through the roof for the young forward, who is already projected to be a Top 10 pick in the NBA Draft next year.

Yes, the Vols lost a ton of talent from last campaign's squad, but Barnes and his staff did incredible work to bring in strong replacements. Things of course aren't going to be easy for Tennessee to start the new season and there could be some growing pains. However, Tennessee invested big time in quality playmakers and the hope is they can help the program reach the next level. Too early to start dreaming about a trip to the Final Four? Not at all.