Vols insider explains the reasons why Tennessee guard Freddie Dilione entered the NCAA transfer portal
News broke on Thursday that Tennessee Vols guard Freddie Dilione is entering the NCAA transfer portal after a season and a half with the program (he enrolled midyear in 2022-23). Dilione is a former four-star recruit from Raleigh who was rated as the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina. On Friday, VolQuest's […]
News broke on Thursday that Tennessee Vols guard Freddie Dilione is entering the NCAA transfer portal after a season and a half with the program (he enrolled midyear in 2022-23).
Dilione is a former four-star recruit from Raleigh who was rated as the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina.
On Friday, VolQuest's Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will and he explained the reasons why Dilione is entering the portal.
"I think his feeling was 'hey I'm going to get ready in 2023 and it's going to be go time in 2024' and then in 2024, Dalton Knecht comes in, Josiah-Jordan James decides to come back, Santiago Vescovi decides to come back," explained Hubbs. "When he (Dilione) arrived over winter break to practice with the team as a midterm graduate, his understanding was that one, he didn't know who Dalton Knecht was. And two, Santiago was not going to be back. And Josiah was not expected to be back. And so, he felt like hey, if I practice with them for a year, then I'm going to be a major part of things for this past season (2023-24).
"Those veterans came back and obviously Rick Barnes leaned on those veterans. And I think Freddie got a little bit frustrated with that and going into practice every day with a feeling that he wasn't gonna get any real playing time. And I don't think he went out and earned playing time the way he needed to and sometimes things just don't work out."
"I think he's got tremendous upside," added Hubbs. "I think he'll go somewhere and a fresh start can be a real benefit for him. And he can be a really good player. I just don't think at the end of the day, I don't think he was comfortable and happy because this thing in year two didn't go the way he thought it was gonna go. And I don't think he pushed hard enough in the eyes of the coaches to change that narrative….there was no surprise when that news came out yesterday afternoon."
Welcome to the world of the NCAA transfer portal. There's a sense of urgency, especially in basketball, for players to make an impact at the collegiate level. And when those opportunities aren't immediately there, it results in players quickly looking for a new option.
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