Tennessee has made three straight Elite Eight's, and Rick Barnes knows he needs to get over the hump. He has had teams that were capable, and now he has to build another roster from the ground up of players that are capable of reaching this feat. While many thought he could build on this, he's going to have to start over, given the fact that Tennessee essentially needs an entirely new roster, with seven players currently in the portal and multiple key contributors graduating,
The Vols now have a real opportunity to completely reshape the team. Based on that, yes, obviously Tennesse needs everything, but there is one thing they need for certain if they want any hope of success next season.
Rick Barnes must immediately address Tennessee's biggest Transfer Portal need
The biggest need for the Vols right now is in the frontcourt, specifically at center. And here’s the thing: every center in the transfer portal is going to have plenty of suitors. It’s kind of like offensive linemen in football; even average centers get paid, and the good ones draw serious money and attention. Tennessee is losing Felix Okpara to graduation, and with both Jaylen Carey and JP Estrella entering the portal, that position suddenly becomes a major concern heading into next season.
In light of that, Tennesse has lost all of its post scoring and post defense. Rick Barnes loves to feed the ball down low and play the high-low game. Not to mention, Tennesse is built on offensive rebounding and second-chance points. The frontcourt is such a vital piece to the puzzle in Knoxville, and if Tennesse doesn't add multiple couple options, they could be in big trouble.
Between Okpara, Carey, and Estrella thhey averaged a combined 25.4 points. That's about a third of Tennessee's point production right there. To make matters worse, they combined for 17.7 rebounds per night, which is over 40% of the Vols' rebounding total.
As I said above, it's no secret that Tennessee has to build a complete roster, but they specifically have a massive need for frontcourt bodies that can handle the SEC.