NCAA Basketball: Preseason top 25 power rankings for 2022-23 season

Even without leading scorer Kennedy Chandler back, the Vols have plenty of backcourt depth. It starts with 6’3 shooting guard Santiago Vescovi, who averaged 13.3 ppg last season on 40% three-point shooting on over seven attempts a game. His 3.2 apg is also something to note because he may be doing some ball-handling duties as well.

The starting point guard will be Zakai Zeigler, who came off the bench last season but still had a noticeable impact on both ends. The 5’9 playmaker has a “bulldog” mentality and already is a good scorer. But will he be able to run the offense for 30 mpg a night? Tennessee also added Indiana State scoring transfer Tyreke Key to the backcourt. He missed all of last season with an injury but averaged nearly 17 ppg in the three years prior, including a career three-point shooting percentage of 37%.

Then there’s the ultimate swiss-army knife on the court in Josiah Jordan-James. He’s a 6’6 guard/forward that can play and guard four positions and averaged 10.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg. Jordan-James can do a little bit of everything and will fill any open hole. There’s also former top-50 recruit  Jahmai Mashack on the roster, joined by four-star freshmen, DJ Jefferson and B.J. Edwards.

The frontcourt (excluding Jordan-James) has more questions but if five-star freshman forward Julian Phillips can have a big impact on both ends, then the lineup for the Vols could be highly explosive. Returning forward Olivier Nkamhoua dealt with injuries last season but had several games of 15+ point performances that show that he’s capable of being the focal point of the frontcourt.

With Jonas Aidoo and Uroš Plavšić also in the frontcourt, the Vols have enough depth to compete in the SEC. Depending on how well Zeigler can lead the team, they could be a real force in NCAA Basketball.