Five-Star Julian Phillips Commits To Tennessee, Joining The 2022 Class For The Vols

The Tennessee basketball program picked up a huge piece to the 2022 roster with five-star Julian Phillips committing to the Vols on Thursday.

A massive pickup for Rick Barnes and his staff, adding the third highest ranked player since 2010. Rated the No.12 overall prospect in the 2022 class, getting Phillips on campus immediately will pay huge dividends for this team heading into next season.

Having players like Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi returning for another season in Knoxville will only add to the star power of this roster. Now, add Julian Phillips to this team will make them a favorite in the SEC for the 2022-2023 season. The Vols will have Zakai Zeigler and freshman BJ Edwards running the point, but will now have the type of player that Auburn had last season with Jabari Smith.

Tennessee beat out teams like Auburn, South Carolina and the G-League for Phillips.

This is a massive win for Barnes on the recruiting trail, after losing Brandon Huntley-Hatfield to the transfer portal last month. The ability of Phillips to get to the basket cannot be overlooked, along with his shot selection. The 6-foot-8, 200-pound Phillips was a McDonald's All-American and was previously committed to LSU, before the firing of Will Wade.

Having already signed Indiana State transfer shooting guard Tyreke Key, Tennessee is finding ways to make another run for an SEC Championship. The Vols still have a few open spots on their roster, so they could potentially add a few more playmakers to this already talented squad.