Ranking Tennessee basketball’s nine returning players for 2022-23
Tennessee basketball returns a lot of talent for the 2022-23 season despite losing another first-round NBA Draft pick and having multiple rotational players transfer. Recruiting is a big part of the Vols’ expectations, but having two starters and three of the six major rotational players back also helps.
When key players return from the program’s first SEC Tournament championship in over 40 years, there are plenty of reasons to be excited. Because of those departures, Rick Barnes’ 2021 recruiting class has a number of players poised to take a significant step forward.
With a third starter returning from injury, Tennessee basketball could have made the NCAA Tournament without bringing in new players. Our analysis of the returning players will consider what they bring to the table as well as what we can expect from them now. The following is a ranking of all nine returning Vols.
6’5, 186 pounds
Isaiah Sulack, a walk-on from Bossier Parish Community College in Louisiana, joined the Vols in 2020 and played on the scout team his first year. He played in three games last season, against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers, the Presbyterian Blue Hose, and the UNC Greensboro Spartans.
However, he saw a grand total of five minutes over those three games, and his only field goal attempt was against the ETSU Bucs. Then he got hurt in practice in January and missed the rest of the season, so he had the smallest impact of anybody returning on the roster.
As a result, Sulack clearly belongs at the bottom of this list. Still, coming back fully healthy, he’s got a chance to make a statement for Tennessee basketball. Walk-ons can sometimes find themselves contributing if teams are in foul trouble, and Sulack is one of two returning walk-ons who could compete for such action.
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