Tennessee a finalist for intriguing top 30 recruit thanks to Rick Barnes’ incredible 8-year streak
Barnes’ history of getting his players drafted has set the Vols up well with one talented player.
Things have gone well on the floor for Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols in recent years. The program has made it to the Elite Eight for three straight years, something the program had never done before. The Vols have proven to be one of the most consistent programs across college basketball year in and year out on Barnes’ watch.
Beyond the results on the floor, Barnes has done a masterful job preparing players for the NBA, and that’s not been lost on recruits looking at Tennessee.
You can include Bogart, GA (North Oconee) four-star 2027 shooting guard Justin Wise in that camp as well.
Wise, who ranks No. 29 overall (No. 4 shooting guard) in the Rivals 2027 top 100 rankings, cut his list of teams down to six finalists on Sunday, with Tennessee, Miami, Texas, Clemson, Georgia, and Vanderbilt making the cut. Wise talked about all six programs with On3 Sports’ Joe Tipton, and he had high praise for Barnes’ development and ability to get guys to the NBA.
Tennessee a finalist for 4-star SG Justin Wise, who mentioned Rick Barnes’ history of development and getting players drafted
“Tennessee is a great program and has a great fan base who expects winning,” Wise told Tipton. “Coach Barnes also had a history of sending players to the league and developing his players.”
That’s the brass ring for every player in college basketball, isn’t it? To end up in the NBA is pretty much every player’s dream, and Barnes has been as good as anyone at making that dream come true.
Over the last eight years, Tennessee is one of three programs, along with Duke and Kentucky, to have 13 or more players selected in the NBA Draft. Most recently, Nate Ament (No. 13 overall), Ja’Kobi Gillespie (No. 42) and Felix Okpara (No. 46) were selected in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Time will tell if Barnes can close the deal with Wise, but he certainly has shown that if getting to the NBA is the top priority for a player, few can make that happen better than him and his staff.