ESPN points out what Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols 'desperately need' for the 2025-26 college basketball season
Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols are already working hard to revamp UT's roster after seeing the program's season end with a loss to the Houston Cougars in the Elite Eight. The Vols are set to lose numerous key contributor's from this past season's squad, including Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Jordan Gainey, and Chaz Lanier. […]
Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Vols are already working hard to revamp UT's roster after seeing the program's season end with a loss to the Houston Cougars in the Elite Eight.
The Vols are set to lose numerous key contributor's from this past season's squad, including Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack, Jordan Gainey, and Chaz Lanier.
Tennessee has already made a couple of key portal additions this offseason, landing Maryland transfer guard Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Vanderbilt transfer forward Jaylen Carey.
That's a good start to the offseason for Barnes and the Vols, but there's still work to be done.
ESPN's Jeff Borzello thinks Tennessee, specifically, needs to add a wing to the roster via the transfer portal.
"Rick Barnes already landed Maryland transfer Ja'Kobi Gillespie, one of the best point guards available, and big man Jaylen Carey from Vanderbilt," wrote Borzello this week. "But the Vols desperately need a boost on the wings."
The most likely wing option for Tennessee is Maryland transfer guard Rodney Rice, who was previously teammates with Gillespie in College Park.
Rice, 6-foot-4/198 lbs, averaged 13.8 points per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the field for the Terrapins this past season.
From CBS Sports: Rice emerged as a three-level scorer in his first healthy season, hitting 80 threes at 37%. He's a streaky but dangerous scorer with the skillset to average 15 PPG in the right system.
According to 247Sports' Jeff Ermann, Gillespie "badly" wants to play with Rice again.
"As I've reported, Gillespie — who's transferring to Tennessee — badly wants to play with him again," wrote Ermann earlier this week. "Rice is looking at Tennessee, Kansas, Gonzaga, Florida and a few others. Michigan, Kentucky and a few others have been cut from his list. The Gators are one to watch here, as they're selling him on filling the role soon to be vacated by All-American Walter Clayton Jr."
Tennessee should certainly be viewed as one of the favorites to land Rice.
But whether it's Rice or someone else, it's hard to disagree with ESPN's assessment that Tennessee needs to add a wing to the roster this offseason.
