2025 Transfer Portal Thread

[OrangeInKy]

He himself admits that he doesn't block shots:

Hopefully he’s just going to be a walk-on

 

[OrangeInKy]

There’s red flags with him. Can’t score in an all star game, frail body….

Could easily be another Julian Phillips type deal, which would be a huge waste of resources.

Bingo. Julian Phillips is exactly who I thought of when I saw him play.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I can’t believe we have 4 slots open and people are saying they would like to pass on a Top 5 HS commit lol.

 

[Derek Reese's jumpshot]

I can’t believe we have 4 slots open and people are saying they would like to pass on a Top 5 HS commit lol.

It’s the amount of money he’s going to take. I’d rather use that money to overpay freeman and rice and get them locked down.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

It’s the amount of money he’s going to take. I’d rather use that money to overpay freeman and rice and get them locked down.

It doesn’t have to be an either or situation though. BTO and SF have said as much. We have the resources to land both. Doesn’t mean we will.

 

[Chaz-Vol]

It’s the amount of money he’s going to take. I’d rather use that money to overpay freeman and rice and get them locked down.

What about having enough for all 3? Tennessee isn't some poor school. We aren't going to splurge like BYU and Texas tech but certainly have more than enough to make competitive offers on everyone

 

[CatFan4Life!]

Duplicate post. My bad.

 

[CatFan4Life!]

He's not going to impress from a simple watch. From talking to Bama people I know, he was their version of Mashack if you will. Should fit into Kentucky considering Bama likes to run somewhat similar things. Kentucky adding a top-notch 6'7 wing defender to complement their offense could end up being important

I completely agree. Dioubate is going to fit in really nice with UK. He isn't going to average 20 PPG but he's going to fill in the gaps exactly where UK really struggled last year-- offensive rebounding, defense on the wings, and athleticism in general.

 

[Chris4Vols22]

I can’t believe we have 4 slots open and people are saying they would like to pass on a Top 5 HS commit lol.

It's a bunch of nonsense, but still, I'm surprised that you're surprised.

 

[Derek Reese's jumpshot]

What about having enough for all 3? Tennessee isn't some poor school. We aren't going to splurge like BYU and Texas tech but certainly have more than enough to make competitive offers on everyone

That would be great, but I just don’t believe that will happen. We already see that Villanova has a way bigger offer to Rice. If I were spending the money, I’d match that, give freeman his biggest offer, and then find some other experienced portal player.

We probably won’t get Ament anyway, so it won’t matter. But I just think if we get him, we’re going to spend a fortune, we’re not going to get anything near a dominant player, and he’s going to be gone after a year.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

That would be great, but I just don’t believe that will happen. We already see that Villanova has a way bigger offer to Rice. If I were spending the money, I’d match that, give freeman his biggest offer, and then find some other experienced portal player.

We probably won’t get Ament anyway, so it won’t matter. But I just think if we get him, we’re going to spend a fortune, we’re not going to get anything near a dominant player, and he’s going to be gone after a year.

Rodney Rice is not worth $3 million. We won’t be matching that.

 

[CatFan4Life!]

Vol Fans, I'm curious if you guys will take a peek at Kevin Overton, who just entered the portal from Texas Tech. A big, physical 6'5 guard, he was just a SO at TT this season and in 22 MPG, averaged 7.8 PPG, 3.7 RBP, and an assist on an Elite 8 team. With the new transfers coming in, he's probably looking elsewhere for a chance to start or be a 6th man at least. He can guard, too, coming from Texas Tech's system. Has 12 Points and 7 Rebounds against Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

Kevin Overton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

 

[Stoked]

There’s red flags with him. Can’t score in an all star game, frail body….

Could easily be another Julian Phillips type deal, which would be a huge waste of resources.

Dude what are you talking about he scored 12 points in the McDonald’s All American Game and was 2-2 from three.

 

[Col_Cathcart]

Vol Fans, I'm curious if you guys will take a peek at Kevin Overton, who just entered the portal from Texas Tech. A big, physical 6'5 guard, he was just a SO at TT this season and in 22 MPG, averaged 7.8 PPG, 3.7 RBP, and an assist on an Elite 8 team. With the new transfers coming in, he's probably looking elsewhere for a chance to start or be a 6th man at least. He can guard, too, coming from Texas Tech's system. Has 12 Points and 7 Rebounds against Arkansas in the Sweet 16.

Kevin Overton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

No clue, but sounds enticing, especially if we miss out on Rice

 

[Chaz-Vol]

That would be great, but I just don’t believe that will happen. We already see that Villanova has a way bigger offer to Rice. If I were spending the money, I’d match that, give freeman his biggest offer, and then find some other experienced portal player.

We probably won’t get Ament anyway, so it won’t matter. But I just think if we get him, we’re going to spend a fortune, we’re not going to get anything near a dominant player, and he’s going to be gone after a year.

Well it's Barnes and Tennessee NIL money to spend. You take a chance on a lottery talent every time because when they hit you get Cooper flag, Brandon miller, JabarI Smith.

Rice is a good player and hope we land him but he's not going to be drafted top 10-15 in NBA 2026 and Ament on other hand very well may.

 

[cncchris33]

Rodney Rice is not worth $3 million. We won’t be matching that.

I agree. At some point, you have to use some basic economic sense. Just because someone else raises the value of an item (or person in this case) doesn't mean you have to grossly adjust your value of that item. It just means you likely have to make your offer seem more enticing for other reasons, or you have to be ok with walking away from the table. Paying $3 mil for Rodney Rice is like paying $200k for a Jeep Cherokee.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

I agree. At some point, you have to use some basic economic sense. Just because someone else raises the value of an item (or person in this case) doesn't mean you have to grossly adjust your value of that item. It just means you likely have to make your offer seem more enticing for other reasons, or you have to be ok with walking away from the table. Paying $3 mil for Rodney Rice is like paying $200k for a Jeep Cherokee.

Villanova is clearly desperate for success, so their boosters are going to overpay to land guys. They’re also probably aware of how it would look if none of the Sweet 16 team he just coached followed him, so again yet another reason to overpay.

Much like Nico, Tennessee has valuations for these guys and they just need to stick with it unless it’s a high-ceiling player like Ament. I’d be fine if we miss on Rice taking some of that cheddar and using it to make the Ament offer more enticing.

 

[Smokey 77]

If Nova

not gonna lie, if nova is giving rice almost close to 3m’s or something how can you pass that up lol

If Nova overspends for him, so be it. That just gives us more money to get Freeman and Ament, and another shooting guard. We be fine!

 

[MoCo_Vol]

I think one thing a lot of folks forget is we've been to 3 straight Sweet Sixteens and back to back elite eights. There is no bigger stage to be playing and get your NBA stock up than March Madness.

Our NIL deals are very straight forward, a lot of these inflated numbers are projections and not straight cash opportunities. Sometimes a player doesn't want the biggest "what-if" contract they want the simple "I know this is what I'm getting" deal and the chance to play on a big stage and get NBA attention.

Dalton Knecht took less 1 year money to play for us and was rewarded with being a 1st round pick. He signed a 4 year deal worth over 18 million and almost 8 of it is guaranteed, something you don't get with NIL deals. This year for the Lakers he's earning over 3.8m....far more than any NIL he was being offered 2 years ago.

Could he have went elsewhere and also gotten himself into the 1st round? Maybe. But he could have also went somewhere else and gotten the Cade Tyson treatment too. End of the day if I was an agent or handler I'd remind my players of that. At least if Rick Barnes tells you something you know he's being honest.

 

[bleedingTNorange]

Updated…

Point Guards:
Ja’Kobi Gillespie-COMMITTED TO TENNESSEE
Jordan Marsh
Barrington Hargress
Jaland Lowe
Silas Demary
Jayden Reid
Donovan Dent
Budd Clark
Jalen Jackson

Guards:
Rodney Rice
Lamar Wilkerson
Alex Chaikin
Brendan Hausen
Rakease Passmore
Malik Thomas
Gabriel Pozzato
Donovan Atwell
Sebastian Mack
Vyctorious Miller
Quante Berry
Jacari White
Josh Dix
Isaac McKneely
Adrian Wooley
Treysen Eaglestaff

Wings:
Elyjah Freeman
Nick Dorn
Lejuan Watts

Posts:
Jaylen Carey-COMMITTED TO TENNESSEE
Alvaro Folgueiras
Davis Bynum
Nehemiah Turner
Alex Steen
Jacob Cofie
Lathan Sommerville
Kaleb Banks

 

[wtmvol]

I think the most critical piece of NIL is ensuring that the players understand what you're going to pay them and you follow through with it as transparently as possible. You might trick one year's crop of players into confusing NIL agreements that have fine print strings attached. But it won't take long before word gets out on that. Even if we offer less money in NIL agreements overall, if it's known that we can be trusted that goes a long way.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

I think one thing a lot of folks forget is we've been to 3 straight Sweet Sixteens and back to back elite eights. There is no bigger stage to be playing and get your NBA stock up than March Madness.

Our NIL deals are very straight forward, a lot of these inflated numbers are projections and not straight cash opportunities. Sometimes a player doesn't want the biggest "what-if" contract they want the simple "I know this is what I'm getting" deal and the chance to play on a big stage and get NBA attention.

Dalton Knecht took less 1 year money to play for us and was rewarded with being a 1st round pick. He signed a 4 year deal worth over 18 million and almost 8 of it is guaranteed, something you don't get with NIL deals. This year for the Lakers he's earning over 3.8m....far more than any NIL he was being offered 2 years ago.

Could he have went elsewhere and also gotten himself into the 1st round? Maybe. But he could have also went somewhere else and gotten the Cade Tyson treatment too. End of the day if I was an agent or handler I'd remind my players of that. At least if Rick Barnes tells you something you know he's being honest.

The gap between our offer and Nova in real terms is about 300-400. It is not 1.5. As I said before, their offer is complicated, ours is simple. You are right there. Our counter-pitch is we will make you millions in draft stock or other pro salary by improving your play. We have good data on that. He really wants to be here with Gillespie and we’re working hard to make that happen. Hopefully we can wrap things up before the zooms this week. I sense the zooms are just poker.

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

I think the most critical piece of NIL is ensuring that the players understand what you're going to pay them and you follow through with it as transparently as possible. You might trick one year's crop of players into confusing NIL agreements that have fine print strings attached. But it won't take long before word gets out on that. Even if we offer less money in NIL agreements overall, if it's known that we can be trusted that goes a long way.

This is largely myth. There’s not much “tricking” going on these days. An NBA level agent isn’t going to step into a bad deal. It doesn’t happen. If it does, it’s on the agent and lawyer, not the program.

 

[Luke Joiner]

@bleedingTNorange is there a certain name that we may target at that guard spot if Rice ends up somewhere else? I know you’ve said we talked to Hausen and Passmore recently. I just wasn’t sure if there was a specific name we may target if we miss on Rice.

 

[CamVol8]

The gap between our offer and Nova in real terms is about 300-400. It is not 1.5. As I said before, their offer is complicated, ours is simple. You are right there. Our counter-pitch is we will make you millions in draft stock or other pro salary by improving your play. We have good data on that. He really wants to be here with Gillespie and we’re working hard to make that happen. Hopefully we can wrap things up before the zooms this week. I sense the zooms are just poker.

If he wants to be here then whats holding him back tho?