2026 Vols Transfer Portal Thread

#177
#177
CamVol8 said:
I know this will be an unpopular take but I think we need to move on from Estrella and Boswell.
I think they are perfectly fine bench/role players but I simply can’t imagine them logging big minutes on a team that is Final 4 or National championship caliber. The difference between the players Michigan had was consistency but also just had more overall skill. Are they going to improve that much next season? College basketball is a business now so unfortunately we have to treat it as such. Boswell being your starting 2 limits a lot of things offensively and Estrella struggles to make layups and defend. I do miss the days where it was rare for players to transfer in and out but that’s gone now. Tough decisions gotta be made if we truly want to break through
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Do you suggest all 9 players move on then? I would think you probably agree that Estrella and Boswell are 2 of the 4-5 best returnees we have, no?
 
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#178
#178
bleedingTNorange said:
Do you suggest all 9 players move on then? I would think you probably agree that Estrella and Boswell are 2 of the 4-5 best returnees we have, no?
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Nobody said all 9 players move on. Estrella and Boswell have not proven to be starting caliber players. Also, them being the best of the returnees isn’t saying a lot?? lol. We lose Gillespie, Okpara, and Ament. We can find their production easily in the portal but most likely even better production
 
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#179
#179
walkenvol said:
Most folks view these players in their current state instead of projecting what they will be in another 8 months of physical and skills development. Excited to see where the returning guys are at next season.
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I think it is more of a grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Or everyone loves the backup QB until he gets in a game. Lots of P5 teams would love to get Estrella and Boswell on their roster.
 
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#180
#180
VolsNetClippers2025 said:
Burg said in an interview he wants to be back if the team will take him. Didn’t see him returning but his play has improved, wonder how that would impact the rotation.
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Biggest Burg hater on this planet, but I have developed a soft spot for him. I hope he gets a spot.
 
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#181
#181
LeannaVol said:
I think it is more of a grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Or everyone loves the backup QB until he gets in a game. Lots of P5 teams would love to get Estrella and Boswell on their roster.
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Estrella should be a fantastic player next year. I feel like he was close to doing it this year. I would not let him go.

Boswell is a great 6th man.

but we need PROVEN guards, preferably upper classman who can handle the ball and score at will and another big guy who can play D to replace Okpara and pair with Estrella.
 
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#182
#182
LeannaVol said:
I don't totally disagree but I saw a lot of improvement this year over last. Maybe that continues. And we know Barnes loves defense.
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Boswell has a low ceiling for scoring, someone like Evan’s has the ability to easily be a better scorer than Boswell.
 
#184
#184
CamVol8 said:
Nobody said all 9 players move on. Estrella and Boswell have not proven to be starting caliber players. Also, them being the best of the returnees isn’t saying a lot?? lol. We lose Gillespie, Okpara, and Ament. We can find their production easily in the portal but most likely even better production
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Finding better is not guaranteed. We need good backup depth and good locker room culture guys. This is when guys like Boswell, Berg, Phillips, etc fit in.
 
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#186
#186
Stoked said:
Keeping Evans is my number one priority and then Brown. After that I don't really know but those two are so talented and could be All-SEC type of players! I feel like Estrella could too, but man his injury history scares me.
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How is his market value so high with his injury history?
 
#187
#187
BallerVolFan said:
I don’t really care if I’m on an island here or if anyone agrees but if I’m recruiting, I’m looking for the best offensive guards I can possibly find. I’m never recruiting a guy based on them having good defense. You can teach them and demand them to play defense. We can’t keep getting 2 or 3 or 4 guards that aren’t shooters. We just can’t do that. Barnes has landed Knecht, and Lanier, and Gillespie. But in all of those years, there was either lack of offensive production from the posts or lack of offensive production from the supporting guards. Recruit all the offense and size you can find and get them to play the Barnes defense. Not as easy as I’m making it sound but that should be the mindset. You will not win a championship with multiple contributing players with a lack of offensive arsenal. Won’t work.
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Your philosophy has one sticking point: the player has to want to play here....in a system that he KNOWS will require him to play defense the right way. A way that is not easy. Or does your philosophy include telling these players "Don't worry about what we build our entire program on here at UT, you can come in and just play offense. We won't require you to buy in on defense." You know the common thread with the guards you listed that are good on offense... they WANTED to be forced to get better on defense. The player has to be great on offense and want to become a good defensive player.
 
#188
#188
LeannaVol said:
Call me crazy but I think DeWayne Brown is a starter next year. He showed a lot as a true freshman. Does a lot of little things well. And Boswell and Estrella assuming he is back.
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Nah, he's a good rotation guy next year but would need huge improvement to be a starter on a team trying to win an SEC championship and make a deep tourny run.
 
#189
#189
Chaz-Vol said:
If this is Barnes last ride then let's send him out with biggest most expensive roster money can buy.
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They have to have ethics and play as a team, too. We saw the crapshow with the Lady VOLS stars that were all about themselves.
 
#190
#190
walkenvol said:
Do you feel $4million was a good value on Nate’s production as I don’t? Obviously, when we agreed to whatever the price was, we were buying potential which didn’t fully develop. JMO
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I kinda agree if there is a cap to our spending. In theory, there isn't. Not in terms of a true salary cap, anyhow. So, paying Nate his "value" just means you have to spend more money. How much is available is the question.

Under a cap, though (either real or theoretical), I do think hamstringing yourself to one elite asset leaves you extremely vulnerable in other areas.
 
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#192
#192
It's simple, bring back all the rotational pieces that want to come back. Add scoring punch to them and combined with their off season improvement you have a good roster that keeps the culture going.
 
#193
#193
CamVol8 said:
We can find their production easily in the portal but most likely even better production
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I think this is a false statement as the portal has proven to be risky and a large number of portal signings don’t pan out to be what was expected. It’s also a common statement from many coaches about the value of returning players who understand the culture and expectations of the program.
 
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#194
#194
UTFranklinVol said:
Estrella should be a fantastic player next year. I feel like he was close to doing it this year. I would not let him go.

Boswell is a great 6th man.

but we need PROVEN guards, preferably upper classman who can handle the ball and score at will and another big guy who can play D to replace Okpara and pair with Estrella.
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I feel like Phillips is sort of Okpara light. If he fully recovers and continues to develop his body and skills then he could be what we’re looking for.
 
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#196
#196
walkenvol said:
I feel like Phillips is sort of Okpara light. If he fully recovers and continues to develop his body and skills then he could be what we’re looking for.
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As much as I love Cade, I think he needs to go elsewhere. At this point he’s probably behind JP, Brown and depending on what version of Carey you get, he’s probably better as well.

Then add in the fact we’re looking for post players this off season, I think the writing may be on the wall for him as far as playing time goes.
 
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#198
#198
THEONLYTENISEE said:
Boswell has a low ceiling for scoring, someone like Evan’s has the ability to easily be a better scorer than Boswell.
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Boswell isn’t a scorer for sure but he’s on a Mashack like trajectory and Mashack is in the NBA. He did an outstanding job guarding the Iowa State forward.

He needs to work on his shooting (doesn’t our entire team) 😂 I wonder who the player development person is.

I know we’re defense focused but you have to score to win big. UConn, Florida 🤮, AZ/Mi all run really good offenses.
 
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