2026 Vols Transfer Portal Thread

[VolArmy74]

There’s simply zero chance Ames has the defensive impact of Ament.

Nate as a freshman was a much better defender than Ames as a Junior.

 

[vavolfan6]

Boswell made mizzu’s TO Barrett look like a first round pick

He also potentially knocked Momcilovic out of the 1st round.

With that said, I do agree with the sentiment that he was not to the level of a Mashack or ZZ type of on-ball defender. Solid to good at times, but not elite. And prone to some bad games here and there. Either way I don't think he offered enough to balance out his lack of offense. I'd much rather have a Lundblade who is a significant upgrade offensively.

Sure Boswell was efficient from 3, but he was extremely hesitant to take shot. Some teams would opt to soften their defense on Boswell and bring extra help on JG and Ament. Boswell would rarely make them pay. You won't say that about Lundblade. That guy can go off for 5 to 7 three's any night. He will demand attention on the court. But so will our other guys, so defenses can pick their posion. Also Lundlade is a 93% FT shooter! Boswell was only 66%

 

[brockytop]

Damn, this place has turned into a mental ward since just this afternoon. All of a sudden it's like all the game threads.

“This afternoon”?

Are you going to tell me the incessant talk about a kid that never entered the portal wasn’t mental ward type material?

 

[Bigorangefan 98]

Hill | 30 MPG | 15 PPG
Lundblade | 30 MPG | 11 PPG
Harris | 30 MPG | 17 PPG
Haralson | 30 MPG | 13 PPG
Rubin | 25 MPG | 7 PPG
-
Ames | 30 MPG | 13 PPG
Brown | 15 MPG | 6 PPG
Backup C | 10 MPG | 3 PPG

8 man rotation is a little thin, but Arizona had success with 8. If Rubin has any offensive game, this team can dominate from everywhere. Freshmen to fill in for any (hopefully none) injuries and spot minutes. I like it!

Well if ament can return , it wlll be 9

 

[Bigorangefan 98]

Hill | 30 MPG | 15 PPG
Lundblade | 30 MPG | 11 PPG
Harris | 30 MPG | 17 PPG
Haralson | 30 MPG | 13 PPG
Rubin | 25 MPG | 7 PPG
-
Ames | 30 MPG | 13 PPG
Brown | 15 MPG | 6 PPG
Backup C | 10 MPG | 3 PPG

8 man rotation is a little thin, but Arizona had success with 8. If Rubin has any offensive game, this team can dominate from everywhere. Freshmen to fill in for any (hopefully none) injuries and spot minutes. I like

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

If a Rick Barnes team can average 85ppg they will be just fine. But I think we will land either Ament or Juke, plus another post, and that will put us over the top.

 

[cardvolfan]

Contrary to popular belief funds aren’t unlimited, and we don’t “overspend” typically either…if you want to be able to land Juke going after Diop/Thiam/Yessoufou etc isn’t going to happen. We have scorers out the ass, especially if you add Juke, you don’t need a ball dominant big, you need a big that can get putback dunks, rebound, and defend. This is where the whole money ball concept comes in, our scouting department combs through finding the best value big men that can do those things, you start adding in offense and the prices go up, but again, we don’t need that.

The Florida equation begs to differ. No, you don’t need it, but your chances to get to the final weekend decrease proportionately. You absolutely increase your chances of being in Detroit by adding a true difference maker.

 

[Lankykong]

The Florida equation begs to differ. No, you don’t need it, but your chances to get to the final weekend decrease proportionately. You absolutely increase your chances of being in Detroit by adding a true difference maker.

I mean Florida went out earlier than us last year against a team that wasn’t that good. They also weren’t doing well early in the season. There’s no one way to make it, a lot of it is luck

 

[walkenvol]

Not sure if you’ve seen what stats from Cade were going to miss

Look at 2 seasons back since he was injured last year. Cade plays good switching defense, rebounds, rim protection and is a lob target. And he’s a great character and teammate for culture purposes. Wasn’t like he was garbage and signed with Samford. Hopefully he’s healed and has a couple good years at A&M. Maybe Barnes has another ace up his sleeve, but we lost 4 post guys and signed Rueben. Need post depth IMO

 

[cardvolfan]

I mean Florida went out earlier than us last year against a team that wasn’t that good. They also weren’t doing well early in the season. There’s no one way to make it, a lot of it is luck

They weren’t playing well early in the year because they lost 3 high-caliber guards. Once those guards gained experience within the system they were arguably the best team in the country for a good portion of the season. Yes, luck and timing do come into play for every team during the tournament, but there are things you can do with your roster to augment the possibility of the ultimate success.

 

[Vols All Day]

I hope Hastings is the first visit. Most of the guys on the list are uninspiring other than Bol Bowen and Weeks who are 4s.

 

[Chaz-Vol]

Finish with Juke and one solid back up big man and this will be a phenomenal portal season. Holding off Michigan is going to be tough but hopefully relationship with Barnes as high school recruit plus huge bag wins out

 

[Lankykong]

They weren’t playing well early in the year because they lost 3 high-caliber guards. Once those guards gained experience within the system they were arguably the best team in the country for a good portion of the season. Yes, luck and timing do come into play for every team during the tournament, but there are things you can do with your roster to augment the possibility of the ultimate success.

I agree, I just think if we win it all next year then people will overreact and say bigs don’t need to score any more, etc. I think we’re currently in an overreaction period to Florida. It’s nice to have a dominant big for reliable points, but I don’t feel like there were too many teams full of dynamic guards/forwards like we currently have

 

[walkenvol]

I smell what you are cooking, kinda. But, Nate gave you a lot more than Ames with boards and blocks. But, you have to consider what they did for their team or could do, to have perspective, imo. Either way, Ament > Ames

Plus Nate’s efficiency wasn’t what it could have been since they so often threw him the ball late in the shot clock hoping he’d make something happen.

 

[Bigorangefan 98]

I agree, I just think if we win it all next year then people will overreact and say bigs don’t need to score any more, etc. I think we’re currently in an overreaction period to Florida. It’s nice to have a dominant big for reliable points, but I don’t feel like there were too many teams full of dynamic guards/forwards like we currently have

If this 5 year rule gets passed next month . Sure coach barnes will welcome back okpara with open arms …

 

[b_gann]

I don’t know where the stuff about Ament being a good defender comes from. Probably some stat guy somewhere that ran numbers and never watched him play. Like many freshman coming straight from aau, he wasn’t good. Too light to guard post players and too off balance and not enough lateral quickness to guard 1-3. Brown was a better defender inside and on the perimeter. Perfect defensive stance and balance. Teams went at Ament for a reason and tried to get switches.

You're correct. He was propped up by just being on the floor on a Barnes team, but he was not a good defender. Defensive analytics aren't the easiest to measure. Rick subbed him out for offense defense several times.

 

[swchandler1988]

Look at 2 seasons back since he was injured last year. Cade plays good switching defense, rebounds, rim protection and is a lob target. And he’s a great character and teammate for culture purposes. Wasn’t like he was garbage and signed with Samford. Hopefully he’s healed and has a couple good years at A&M. Maybe Barnes has another ace up his sleeve, but we lost 4 post guys and signed Rueben. Need post depth IMO

Last yeah he was worse in every statistic than Carey was this year, while posing less of a threat offensively than Carey. My point is yes, i agree Cade was a great dude and great for the locker room, but there’s much better talent out there and if we’re going to win a natty or get to the final four we have to elevate our talent

 

[Stoked]

Any chance with Massamba Diop or Thiam? I thought I saw where you or someone mentioned he wants to bring a coach or something? @bleedingTNorange

 

[joevols89]

If this 5 year rule gets passed next month . Sure coach barnes will welcome back okpara with open arms …

Pretty sure they’ll have it go into effect next year. And yeah I’m sure there will be lawsuits due to that, but it makes something that is unlikely even more unlikely since you’ll need to win in court too.

 

[omghulkhands]

Plus Nate’s efficiency wasn’t what it could have been since they so often threw him the ball late in the shot clock hoping he’d make something happen.

Idk why BTO used eFG to compare them.

TS% does a better job of accounting for Nate’s foul drawing ability. and the gap between them closes dramatically there.

 

[sami]

The Wednesday Basilio Blog:

As for the PG1 target ... I'll make doubly sure he didn't hit the portal late last night and then reveal who we've been chasing today on the air ... If he's in, I'm probably going to shut up for fear we could get in the way. Don't want to do that to Barnes & Co after they've put in this hard work.

I've never heard of this guy outside of you guys commenting on him here, but it sure does appear that he has a gigantic ego and sense of self importance. I'm sure Rick would greatly appreciate him "not getting in the way".

 

[cncchris33]

In what way? We have 5 top 100 players in the country. We took the six guys who transferred away, and replaced them with five guys who had 43 more combined points per game last year.

While I agree that I think we have done extremely well in the portal and replacing what we lost, I'd caution against using the respective point production as proof that we upgraded. Those 5 incoming guys aren't going to combine for 75 points when they are all playing together on the same team and competing for playing time and scoring opportunities with each other plus whatever we add to them.

 

[sami]

“This afternoon”?

Are you going to tell me the incessant talk about a kid that never entered the portal wasn’t mental ward type material?

I was referring to the amount of posters ready to jump off the proverbial cliff if we aren't able to land this or that player, the reference to this as a failed portal haul, and the sudden pining away for a kid who averaged 6ppg and wouldn't shoot and a big who couldn't defend when he wasn't hurt.

The Tanner stuff is merely the cherry on top.

 

[Local Yokel]

Last yeah he was worse in every statistic than Carey was this year, while posing less of a threat offensively than Carey. My point is yes, i agree Cade was a great dude and great for the locker room, but there’s much better talent out there and if we’re going to win a natty or get to the final four we have to elevate our talent

Guy was playing with one wing. Anyone could see Cade’s potential. Athletic and could jump out of the gym. Not much you can do when your dominant arm is toast.

 

[Local Yokel]

While I agree that I think we have done extremely well in the portal and replacing what we lost, I'd caution against using the respective point production as proof that we upgraded. Those 5 incoming guys aren't going to combine for 75 points when they are all playing together on the same team and competing for playing time and scoring opportunities with each other plus whatever we add to them.

Very true. Not to mention the defensive expectations. Assuming all 5 will translate and succeed Is high hopes. Barnes has hit with the majority of transfers but always a potential Dubar. He averaged 18 and 7 at Hofstra. There were more than a few who thought he’d be a bigger impact than Lanier.