The 2025-26 Tennessee basketball team had its flaws, but it also was a team that had an undeniable bloom of grit and toughness, and that took them all the way to the Elite Eight. It was one of th more frustrating teams as of late, but also one of the most physical.
A potential Ja'Kobi Gillespie replacement for Tennessee plans to enter the portal
The reality is, the turnover issues hampered the Vols all year long. Rick Barnes constantly talked about it, and it just never got fixed. Another key issue for Tennessee was free-throw shooting. The Vols shot just 69.1% as a team, which places them at No. 298 in the country.
However, despite the poor shooting from the line, the Vols actually had a historic year from the charity stripe. John Sartori noted that this was the fifth-largest amount of free throws ever made in a single Tennessee basketball season.
Wild stat: For as much as Tennessee struggled at the foul line this year, they made 586 free throws, the fifth most in a single season in program history. pic.twitter.com/TZJZTo6LkC
— John Sartori (@JohnSartoriTV) March 31, 2026
Tennessee needs to capitalize more from the free-throw line
It might sound a little crazy to say, but this team needs to put a real emphasis on free-throw shooting this offseason. For as good as the Vols were at playing physical and drawing fouls, it was surprising how inconsistent they were at the line, and it definitely came back to bite them at times. The Vosl will likely lose two of their three free-throw shooters in Ja'Kobi Gillespie (81.4%) and Nate Ament (79%). Ethan Burg, however, is expected to have a bigger role next year, and he led the team at the line with a 81.8% free-throw percentage.
Players who are back next season, like Bishop Boswell (66.7%), JP Estrella (63.4%), and Amari Evans (57.5%), need to be better from the line. Not one of them was above 70% last season, and with each of them having a bigger role next year, the Vols cannot afford to leave free points on the table.
The good news is that Tennessee is already working on getting in shooters from the Transfer Portal, as Tyler Lundblade was an elite three-point and free-throw shooter last season. There is nothing more infuriating than missed foul shots, so hopefully Barnes addresses it this offseason.