2023 Target List

updated…**On3 composite ranking because they have no On3 ranking**



#21 JP Estrella-OV taken & UOV
#45 Coen Carr-OV taken
#60 Freddie Dilione-OV taken

#61 Elmarko Jackson
#67 Cody Williams
#70 Gehrig Normand-OV scheduled
#81 Braelon Green-OV scheduled
#90 Silas Demary Jr.-OV taken & UOV
#138 CADE PHILLIPS-COMMITTED TO UT

#142 Michael Nwoko
#146 Keanu Dawes
**#118**Cameron Barnes
NR Amani Hansberry
NR Jared Hall-UOV
NR Davin Cosby Jr.
 
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Sorry. Was being (not) funny. Duke offered him this week, and he added them to the top 6 with the teams that have been on him for two years. His dad is close with Tony Bennett, but I can’t see that taking him 3000 miles from home. Comically he “cut” Kentucky from the list. The stories never end…
 
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updated…**On3 composite ranking because they have no On3 ranking**



#21 JP Estrella-OV taken & UOV
#45 Coen Carr-OV taken
#60 Freddie Dilione-OV taken

#61 Elmarko Jackson
#67 Cody Williams
#70 Gehrig Normand-OV scheduled
#81 Braelon Green-OV scheduled
#90 Silas Demary Jr.-OV taken & UOV
#138 CADE PHILLIPS-COMMITTED TO UT

#142 Michael Nwoko
#146 Keanu Dawes
**#118**Cameron Barnes
NR Amani Hansberry
NR Jared Hall-UOV
NR Davin Cosby Jr.



Is there a limit on official visits for a program during the year?
 
updated…**On3 composite ranking because they have no On3 ranking**



#21 JP Estrella-OV taken & UOV
#45 Coen Carr-OV taken
#60 Freddie Dilione-OV taken

#61 Elmarko Jackson
#67 Cody Williams
#70 Gehrig Normand-OV scheduled
#81 Braelon Green-OV scheduled
#90 Silas Demary Jr.-OV taken & UOV
#138 CADE PHILLIPS-COMMITTED TO UT

#142 Michael Nwoko
#146 Keanu Dawes
**#118**Cameron Barnes
NR Amani Hansberry
NR Jared Hall-UOV
NR Davin Cosby Jr.
Anyone know if Jared Hall has a commitable offer?
 
Rob Lewis with some cutting edge info, here...
View attachment 476434

Nevermind we had two kids OV this week, and not a peep. But thanks for the heads up on Onyenso. 🙄
Been way overdue for VQ to make a change with the b-ball coverage. Adding Mckee and Cain has greatly enhanced football and baseball coverage. Time to do the same with Basketball.
 
Been way overdue for VQ to make a change with the b-ball coverage. Adding Mckee and Cain has greatly enhanced football and baseball coverage. Time to do the same with Basketball.
I know McKee also loves basketball, but he's the best baseball guy in Knoxville, so they probably won't take him away from that too much, except for football obviously
 
Fwiw Dilione is likely to remain 2023
About what I figured given the absence of any notice, plus @HippieVol33 's report from Peach Jam that he was hearing that reclassifying was a long-shot for him. Oh well, just more time for UK to slow-play him ahead of next summer when I'm sure their mutual love affair will blossom.
 
About what I figured given the absence of any notice, plus @HippieVol33 's report from Peach Jam that he was hearing that reclassifying was a long-shot for him. Oh well, just more time for UK to slow-play him ahead of next summer when I'm sure their mutual love affair will blossom.
UK would have to miss out on some guys to go after Dilione don’t you think?
 
UK would have to miss out on some guys to go after Dilione don’t you think?
We'll see...probably. But again, the same thing was said about Cason Wallace at this time, last year, too. My comment was made tongue in cheek, to a degree, but it's a bit of dark humor because there is certainly a degree of truth to it. The troubling thing is that UK has proven that they don't have to outwork Tennessee if recent history is any indication. So, unless Dilione is going to do something rather quickly, UK will always concern me. He's already stated that that is one offer he is waiting on. His recent blowup, like we saw with Wallace, could prompt an offer.
 
Not from 247, but the story is other places. He had a good visit. Loves family atmosphere. Hung out with team at coaches house etc. Loves how they develop bigs. Nothing material. The take on him has been, he’s very close to his family. They know Bonheim. That’s the closest school recruiting him. If he’s going to travel far, he wants big team chemistry and family atmosphere. He’s said that in multiple interviews. Bodes well for us, but Iowa showed well there too.
 
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Not from 247, but the story is other places. He had a good visit. Loves family atmosphere. Hung out with team at coaches house etc. Loves how they develop bigs. Nothing material. The take on him has been, he’s very close to his family. They know Bonheim. That’s the closest school recruiting him. If he’s going to travel far, he wants big team chemistry and family atmosphere. He’s said that in multiple interviews. Bodes well for us, but Iowa showed well there too.
Yea, found an On3 article that I’m guessing was much the same as 247…unsure about taking any other visits, considering Kansas but not for sure. Doesn’t mention Marquette, so sounds like it’s Iowa, Syracuse and Tennessee right now.
 
We'll see...probably. But again, the same thing was said about Cason Wallace at this time, last year, too. My comment was made tongue in cheek, to a degree, but it's a bit of dark humor because there is certainly a degree of truth to it. The troubling thing is that UK has proven that they don't have to outwork Tennessee if recent history is any indication. So, unless Dilione is going to do something rather quickly, UK will always concern me. He's already stated that that is one offer he is waiting on. His recent blowup, like we saw with Wallace, could prompt an offer.

Honestly, and this will be painful for some, but there are a lot of similarities between our basketball program and the UK football program. Despite high levels of success of late relative to prior years you're still trying to punch up in terms of recruiting. UK football won 10 games and nobody really cares. They only landed 3 of the top 10 football recruits in their own state last year. UT basketball won the SEC tournament for the first time in 4 decades, but that accomplishment is overshadowed by another disappointing March.

Which is why I've been adamant about making noise in March or getting guys drafted in the top 10 of the NBA draft regularly if we are to take the next step as a program. Until then schools like UK and others we are going against don't have to work as hard to land the elite kids because they have a better resume to offer these high level one and done guys than we do. You still have to recruit those guys because it's easier to win big with better talent but you are still going to be left at the altar more often than not. Or you dont recruit those kids and try the development of multi year guys route. But for every Grant Williams you have a Drew Pember, DJ Burns, and Mashack.
 
I think it’s a pretty poor comparison to compare Tennessee Basketball with UK Football. We by no means are an elite and blue blood program, and I acknowledge and understand that, but our basketball program has a lot more history than the Kentucky Football team. Their success has largely been a 5-6 year period. We’ve had a lot more and longer stints of being relevant.

Just my opinion.
 
Honestly, and this will be painful for some, but there are a lot of similarities between our basketball program and the UK football program. Despite high levels of success of late relative to prior years you're still trying to punch up in terms of recruiting. UK football won 10 games and nobody really cares. They only landed 3 of the top 10 football recruits in their own state last year. UT basketball won the SEC tournament for the first time in 4 decades, but that accomplishment is overshadowed by another disappointing March.

Which is why I've been adamant about making noise in March or getting guys drafted in the top 10 of the NBA draft regularly if we are to take the next step as a program. Until then schools like UK and others we are going against don't have to work as hard to land the elite kids because they have a better resume to offer these high level one and done guys than we do. You still have to recruit those guys because it's easier to win big with better talent but you are still going to be left at the altar more often than not. Or you dont recruit those kids and try the development of multi year guys route. But for every Grant Williams you have a Drew Pember, DJ Burns, and Mashack.

I don’t buy KY football as a reasonable analog. That aside, I trust our recruiting system as it is, but believe our assistants will need to grow.
UVA won a national championship with one of the best coaches in the country. He’s a decent human, family guy, earn your play, church-goer like Barnes. Their recruiting is still a struggle vs the ACC. Building a basketball brand is a slog. It doesn’t change with a deep run or a single good draft. Duke, Kansas and UK are the top of that heap. The three head coaches at those schools also happen to be the best recruiters. NIL gives us a better chance of changing the power balance, but it will still be uphill. Barnes is always going to attract a certain kind of kid, and that doesn’t always line up with blue chip kids who have a team of handlers. I’m perfectly happy with a blend of kids like Grant, JJJ, Santi and ZZ who play 3 or 4 years and put team first. Combine that with strong transfers that fit, and some highly rated kids. That formula has beaten Kentucky more often than not. We have a flawed product in March, and I don’t think anyone knows why, but I trust both our recruiting and our development.
 
updated…**On3 composite ranking because they have no On3 ranking**



#21 JP Estrella-OV taken & UOV
#45 Coen Carr-OV taken
#60 Freddie Dilione-OV taken

#61 Elmarko Jackson
#67 Cody Williams
#70 Gehrig Normand-OV scheduled
#81 Braelon Green-OV scheduled
#90 Silas Demary Jr.-OV taken & UOV
#138 CADE PHILLIPS-COMMITTED TO UT

#142 Michael Nwoko
#146 Keanu Dawes
**#118**Cameron Barnes
NR Amani Hansberry
NR Jared Hall-UOV
NR Davin Cosby Jr.
On3 updated today…**On3 composite ranking because they have no On3 ranking**

#16 JP Estrella-OV taken & UOV
#23 Elmarko Jackson
#47 Coen Carr-OV taken
#50 Freddie Dilione-OV taken
#61 Silas Demary Jr.-OV taken & UOV

#66 Cody Williams
#69 Gehrig Normand-OV scheduled
#87 Amani Hansberry
#91 Davin Cosby Jr.
#117 Braelon Green-OV scheduled
#132 Michael Nwoko
#147 Keanu Dawes
**#106** CADE PHILLIPS-COMMITTED TO UT
**#122**Cameron Barnes
NR Jared Hall-UOV
 
Honestly, and this will be painful for some, but there are a lot of similarities between our basketball program and the UK football program. Despite high levels of success of late relative to prior years you're still trying to punch up in terms of recruiting. UK football won 10 games and nobody really cares. They only landed 3 of the top 10 football recruits in their own state last year. UT basketball won the SEC tournament for the first time in 4 decades, but that accomplishment is overshadowed by another disappointing March.

Which is why I've been adamant about making noise in March or getting guys drafted in the top 10 of the NBA draft regularly if we are to take the next step as a program. Until then schools like UK and others we are going against don't have to work as hard to land the elite kids because they have a better resume to offer these high level one and done guys than we do. You still have to recruit those guys because it's easier to win big with better talent but you are still going to be left at the altar more often than not. Or you dont recruit those kids and try the development of multi year guys route. But for every Grant Williams you have a Drew Pember, DJ Burns, and Mashack.
I think your comparison is sound, in theory. Tennessee basketball, to me, seems to be a little less flash in the pan than UK football, but I understand the reasoning behind making the correlation as a matter of convenience to keep the discussion limited to two schools as direct comparisons.

As for college football correlations, I'd compare Tennessee basketball more to a Penn State, I guess. Tough to make a direct correlation because of the different measures of success.

But yes, UK doesn't have to work as hard to outrecruit Tennessee in basketball because of their résumé. UK is the Alabama of college football. The gap between Tennessee and UK isn't going to significantly shrink because of a handful of good regular seasons for us, and a handful of underachieving seasons for them. It will take a generational amount of Tennessee success and/or Kentucky failure, similar to what Tennessee's football team has experienced over the past 20 years.
 
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