Vols Land 5-Star Corey Walker: What is and What Could (Ever) Be*

As we speculated two weeks ago, 5-star Wing Corey Walker committed to the Vols this past weekend in what was without a doubt the biggest recruiting weekend in the history of the Tennessee basketball program. 

What’s noteworthy about this commitment isn’t just that this is Barnes’s 2^nd 5-star commitment in as many classes, who was not coincidentally joined by the other 5-star signee, 2019 Guard Josiah James, in Knoxville this past weekend; it’s also not just that Walker, the 247 Sports #23 overall player in the class, has the kind of all-around game – able to play inside and outside on both ends of the floor at 6’7 with a shot that projects out to NBA three-point range – that is tailor made for Coach Rick Barnes’s system.  It’s also that Walker, to be honest, wasn’t on most recruiting junkies’ radar when it came onto Tennessee’s 2020 board, yet here we are and he’s first in the boat.

Taking a step back to review the weekend for a moment, the Vols hosted not just Walker from the 2020 class but also 5-star Jaden Springer (247’s #18 player overall), who plays for former Tennessee point guard Bobby Maze’s B.Maze Elite AAU program; 4-star Samson Ruhsentzev (247 Sports #60 overall); and 4-star Keon Ambrose-Hylton (247 Sports #75 overall player).  This while previously scheduled visitors C Walker Kessler (247 Sports #12 overall player) and PG Jalen Cone (247 Sports #121 overall player but the #60 overall player by Rivals) were not able to make it due to their respective teams playing games and instate Vol lean Keon Johnson (247 Sports #32 overall player) didn’t make the drive from the midstate for the same reason.  Then there are SG Jayden Stone (247 Sports #49 player) as well PF PJ Hall (247 Sports #69 player in the country), who’s been the campus multiple times, most recently last month for the UF game.

So right now you’re talking about a board with very realistic targets that include the #12/18/32/49/60/69/75/121 players in the country – 2 of whom are 5-stars and one of whom sits 6 spots away – with one 5-star already committed.  That is, to put it mildly, bananas, and frankly I don’t know if there is a coach in the country, including the legends at places like Duke and UNC and Kentucky, who wouldn’t gladly trade places with Barnes when it comes to where they sit with their respective 2020 classes.  As a reminder, there is currently one 4-star player on the current roster that’s won 52 of its 64 games since the start of last season, and he (DJ Burns) reclassified from the 2019 class and is redshirting.  So when you’re talking about this kind of talent – talent that is basically being handpicked by Barnes to ensure that they fit what he’s building in Knoxville – that Tennessee is legitimately in on, it’s mind-boggling to consider the possibilities. 

There are, to be honest, too many bigtime players for the amount of spots that are going to be available in this class, but with Walker in the boat already Barnes and Tennessee can afford to be about as picky as they want.  To that end, there are two interesting wrinkles to keep in mind:

1. The possibility that Kessler himself could reclassify to 2019.  Now, right now Tennessee does not have any scholarships available, but as discussed here there are multiple scenarios in which at least one becomes available. Now, the best case scenario is that a) Grant Williams decides to return for his senior season, b) a scholarship opens up because a player who hasn’t seen any playing time at all decides to transfer out, and c) Kessler reclassifies and signs with the Vols.  That’s a lot of “ifs” but none of them are particularly far-fetched.  Kessler has now missed two previously scheduled official visits, both of which would have been for massive home games (UF and UK), but they were both for legitimate reasons.  Nevertheless the Vols absolutely need to get him on campus for that visit.  Assuming he does one can then feel certain that Tennessee is in that one deep, and then those other “ifs” become less daunting, particularly “b.” The fact that Corey Walker is travel teammates with Kessler certainly is a positive for the Vols here
2. How urgently Barnes and the staff think they need a true PG.  Both Springer and Johnson are combo guards – capable of being a lead guard but with a scorer’s mentality.  And Stone is a pure SG.  At 6’5 Johnson is potentially growing into more of a Wing anyway, joining the likes of Walker, Ruhsentzev, and Ambrose-Hylton.  So that leaves, right now at least, only Jalen Cone in terms of a true PG that the Vols have invested a lot of time in.  But Cone – a very good player in his own right, without a doubt – probably isn’t the same overall prospect as those Wings, and the Vols will also need at least one big man in that class too.  So do the Vols take a “lesser” prospect due to positional need or do they just try and load up on Combo Guards simply because they’re all studs? 

It’s a high class problem to have, and one that will likely sort itself out both as Tennessee’s roster matures and evolves as well as of course not every player on the board ultimately wants to be a Vol.  Ideally Kessler does reclassify and sign with the Vols and has such a great freshman year that he (and maybe James?) is a one-and-done guy, leaving those four spots for one less prospect.   We’re getting greedy now, but given what Barnes has done on the court as well as the kind of recruiting he’s doing now, it’s not just dreaming.  It’s an exciting time to be a Vol hoops fan for many reasons, and when one looks into the future things look even better.

*Apologies for the tortured Zeppelin reference