Tennessee Basketball: 2022-23 season preview and outlook for Volunteers

Key reserves

Julian Phillips – Forward

Julian Phillips is the latest from a line of highly-ranked HS prospects to join the Vols since Barnes took over. Phillips is currently listed as the 19th overall incoming freshman in the nation according to 247 sports and is listed as a five-star recruit. Phillips was also a McDonald’s All-American.

At 6-8, Phillips can provide serious lineup versatility as a wing scorer in bigger lineups or as a forward in smaller lineups. He possesses elite athleticism and my favorite part about his game is the ability to run the floor. In my conversation with Ferrara from WNML, Barnes has emphasized wanting to run more in the open floor this season and push the tempo. With the addition of Phillips, the Vols will be able to orchestrate a beautiful fast-break attack with his floor awareness and ability to catch lobs in transition.

Phillips will be able to contribute in a half-court setting as well given his nice touch around the rim, excellent length, and control as well as possessing a fundamentally sound jump shot that extends to three-point range. He is also a plus shooter off the catch and off the dribble. Time will tell if he’s the best blue chip prospect Barnes has brought to Tennessee, but he certainly has the physical tools to become that. As the season progresses, I  expect to see more appearances from him in the starting lineup.

Tyreke Key (Guard)

Tyreke Key is a transfer guard from Indiana State as well as a native of Celina, TN. I have Key listed as the number 19 transfer coming into the SEC and I expect him to play an important role as an experienced scorer off the bench.

First off, Key is a small-town high school basketball legend in Tennessee. At Clay County High School, he averaged almost 40 points per game, scored 54 points against Loretto High School in a state tournament game that season as well as broke Tony Delk’s single-season state record for points in a season according to the TSSAA (Tennessee’s high school sports governing body).

At Indiana State, Key was an All-MVC player for three of his four seasons, and in the 2020-2021 season, led the team with over 17 points per game and was scoring at a rapid rate of 30 points per 100 possessions.

Key lit up really good MVC opponents and is an established scorer who can take defenders off the dribble to the basket, pull up for mid-range jumpers or knock down threes. He only made 31% of his triples in his final season at Indiana State but made 38.9% of them in with higher volume the season before that. He doesn’t miss many chances for freebies either as he made over 83% of his attempts from the line in 2020-2021.

He missed all of last year recovering from an injury but when I spoke to Ferrara about his spot in the rotation, he says he expects him to play a vital role off the bench and his work ethic has earned the respect of his teammates and coaching staff.

I expect Key to be an impact scorer off the bench and be a dark horse candidate for the conference’s sixth man of the year.

B.J. Edwards – Guard

Edwards looks to play the role as the backup point guard behind Zakai Zeigler this season. He’s a Knoxville native who won a state championship with Knoxville Catholic last season. Edwards is one of a few stellar recruits from Barnes’ class coming into this season but in my conversation with Vince Ferrara from WNML, he has been one of the biggest surprises in fall practices and could see plenty of playing time this season.

Edwards is a ball-dominant point guard who can create his own shot well off the dribble. He’s a crafty scorer who scored over 20 points per contest his senior year in high school and certainly has the touch around the rim and ball-handling ability to be able to score well at the college level.

I can see Edwards spelling Zeigler for stretches in games and providing a scoring boost off the bench for about 12-20 minutes per game.

Jonas Aidoo – Center

Jonas Aidoo appears to be the go-to center off of the bench for the Vols this year and can potentially see a big increase in minutes after Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred to Louisville over the off-season.

He played mostly garbage time minutes to start the season but saw much more of the floor after February. His best performance was arguably a five-point, seven-rebound, and three-block showing in a big win against Kentucky in Knoxville.

I expect Aidoo to play the same role he did last season off of the bench with the exception of a few more minutes during games. He’s one of the team’s biggest players at 6-11 and one of the best offensive rebounders, grabbing almost 15% of the Vols’ missed shots while he was on the floor according to college basketball reference. He won’t be a star or featured player but provides good depth as a screener and rebounder on the offensive end and a rim protector on the defensive end.

D.J. Jefferson – Guard

The wild card of the rotation might just be D.J. Jefferson. The four-star prospect was originally committed to play at Tulsa before Coach Barnes and company swooped in and took him late in the game.

He’s a fantastic athlete and all reports from Ferrara have been that his athletic ability has stood out. On tape, many of the physical tools are there, especially his ability to anticipate passes and create turnovers. At 6-5, he’s at that guard/forward position but can play in almost any lineup. He handles the ball well, and has a good-looking jump shot but his leaping ability will be what most people notice.

If he can play the passing lanes and create turnovers as he did in high school, he’ll fit in perfectly with this team. It might be difficult to find a ton of minutes for him because of the Vols’ log jam at that position so it will be interesting to see how he is used early on in the season.

Tobe Awaka – Forward

The last freshman in the rotation is 6-8 forward Tobe Awaka. Awaka is a three-star prospect according to 247 but might be the most sound rebounder in the recruiting class.

In his senior year at Cardinal Hayes High School in New York, he grabbed almost 14 rebounds per game while almost averaging 20 points per game. I don’t expect to see a ton of minutes carved out this season for Awaka but his height and muscular build and rebounding ability make him an exciting project for Barnes and the staff.

Jahmai Mashack – Guard

Mashack played a limited role last season that only saw him log double-digit minutes in a game just once. He’ll more than likely be the last man in the rotation and might see a role similar to the 4.6 minutes per game that he had last season.