Following a late offer from Tennessee last week, three-star wing DJ Jefferson now has the Volunteers in his top three. The Minnesota native decommitted from Tulsa back in March as his recruitment began to heat up.
Now he’s set to choose between Tennessee, Wake Forest and Washington State.
— DJ Jefferson (@4buck4t_) May 7, 2022
The 6-5, 190 pound prospect is the 175th ranked player in the 2022 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Creighton, Depaul, Georgetown, Oregon, Iowa State and Memphis also have offered Jefferson, who offers some explosive athletic ability as a wing.
Tennessee has four spots to fill once again after Justin Powell opted to enter the transfer portal a couple of weeks ago.
Powell followed Victor Bailey Jr., Quentin Diboundje, Handje Tamba and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield to enter the transfer portal. John Fulkerson’s eligibility expired, while Kennedy Chandler entered the draft and signed an agent. Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi will go through the draft process, but are still expected to return to Tennessee.
There’s a lot going on here for Rick Barnes this offseason, needless to say, but that’s how it is for most programs in the transfer portal era. The staff has been working the portal themselves, landing sharpshooter Tyreke Key from Indiana State. They’re in the hunt for Iowa State guard Tyrese Hunter, and potentially St. Bonaventure guard Kyle Lofton as well.
This week they’ll get a final decision from five-star forward Julian Phillips, who is down to Auburn, Tennessee, USC, Florida State and South Carolina, or the G-League.
Now add Jefferson as a potential option to fill one of these openings, as late work in the class of 2022 continues. Tennessee holds just one signature from four-star guard BJ Edwards currently in the class.