Rick Barnes can’t strike out with this top portal visitor on campus

Coming off a third straight Elite Eight, the Tennessee Vols are beginning their offseason on a low note. Six players have departed via the portal, leaving Rick Barnes to essentially rebuild from scratch. Still, with some key returners and the addition of one of the top shooters in the portal, Tyler Lundblade, there’s reason for optimism.

Tennessee’s portal crisis leaves Rick Barnes no choice but to pay

Building on that, we have some more good news in Knoxville. Cal guard Dai Dai Ames is visiting Tennessee this weekend, which is massive for Rick Barnes. 247Sports has Ames ranked as the No. 49 player in the Transfer Portal, and he proved he can play at a high level as he averaged 19.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.2 assists at Cal last season. He will have one more season of eligibility as he played his previous two years at Kansas State and Virginia, where he's shown a lot of improvement.

Dai Dai Ames would be very good addition for the Vols

While not a traditional point guard, Ames at 6-foot-2 does offer playmaking ability as a secondary ball handler. Ames also has very good three-point land, shooting 38% from the field. It feels like Rick Barnes is sacrificing a little bit of defense for some more offense this season, something that held back last year's team. I still wouldn't be surprised to see Barnes get a defensive specialist after losing Bishop Boswell and Amari Evans.

While Ames isn’t an elite player, he’s very good and would be a valuable addition to the Vols’ roster next season. If Tennessee can add him along with a few other players of similar impact, the Vols could be in store for another deep March Madness run, potentially reaching the Final Four at Ford Field in 2027. Barnes just needs to keep stacking these solid players up one by one, and the Vols will be in a really good spot.

Now it’s on Barnes to deliver. If he knocks Ames’ visit out of the park, the Vols should have a strong enough NIL package to get him to commit.