Tennessee adds former Auburn sharpshooter Justin Powell

Tennessee entered the offseason with a couple of obvious needs — a big man (or two) and a shooter. Check shooter off of that list.

Rick Barnes and the Volunteers added a commitment from former Auburn guard Justin Powell on Saturday morning. The 6-foot-5 shooter made the announcement via Twitter.

Powell played in just ten games for the Tigers after his season was cut short due to a concussion. He started seven of those games, averaging 11.7 points per game. Powell shot 44.3 percent from the three-point line on 43 attempts.

The former three-star prospect is just what Tennessee needed after the Vols’ most efficient shooter, Jaden Springer, declared for the NBA Draft. The Volunteers failed to find consistency out of Santiago Vescovi or Victory Bailey Jr. from long range, though each had their moments last season. The addition of Powell should space the floor even more for Tennessee, giving five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler another shooter to find.

Powell scored a career-high 26 points against Memphis back in December. He also shot 70 percent (7-10) from three-point range against South Alabama.

The Kentucky native was the 185th ranked prospect in the 2020 class — the third ranked prospect to come out of the state of Kentucky during that cycle.