Tennessee basketball working to set up visit with highly touted guard in transfer portal

The Tennessee Volunteers are aiming for another strong transfer portal season, but they acknowledge that it’s easier said than done. That became evident on Thursday when Isaac McKneely chose to commit to the University of Louisville over Tennessee. Head coach Rick Barnes missed out on a shooter he had successfully acquired the last two years.

Tennessee will need to quickly move past the loss of McKneely, as one of the top guards in the portal is reportedly strongly considering the Volunteers. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, a Tennessee native who spent last season at Maryland, is drawing significant interest, and all signs are pointing toward the Vols.

“According to Pete Nakos of On3, the sophomore guard is already favored to land at Tennessee, with Nakos placing his confidence level at 70%,” wrote Shane Shoemaker.

Despite the crystal ball prediction favoring Tennessee, Barnes and his staff aren’t taking any chances on missing out on Gillespie. On Wednesday, the Vols’ staff met with the point guard at his home.

“Maryland transfer Ja'Kobi Gillespie will have an in-person visit with Tennessee today, per his father,” Jon Rothstein said

Before the Vols’ season ended, Barnes told the media that he was excited for the upcoming transfer portal season.

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“Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said the Vols recently added a commitment and plan to have another really productive year in the transfer portal. He said he’s really excited about the next step at Tennessee,” Wes Rucker posted.

As if the in-home visit wasn’t enough, the Vols are now setting up a visit for Gillespie to see Knoxville in person, allowing him to experience what Rocky Top is really like.

“Maryland transfer Ja'Kobi Gillespie is working on setting up visits to both Tennessee and Villanova, per his father,” Rothstein reported.

Though it’s still early in the recruiting process, after missing out on McKneely, it seems critical for Tennessee to land Gillespie. Otherwise, the whole process may have to start over.