Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes talks to guard Cameron Carr (43) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Gardner Webb, Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

During each of the past three seasons, the Tennessee men’s basketball program has advanced to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight. Only one other team (Duke) has achieved the same feat. And while the Blue Devils have long been considered among the sport’s best, the Volunteers are relatively new to the scene on a consistent basis. Still, it looks like Tennessee will be in the national title mix again next season under veteran coach Rick Barnes.

On Monday, former Wake Forest guard Juke Harris committed to Tennessee, becoming the latest transfer to join the Volunteers. Harris is second on the Athletic’s and the Field of 68’s transfer portal rankings. According to CBS Sports, Harris’s agent asked for a $5 million deal, making Harris likely among the most highly-paid players in the sport.

Harris, a 6-foot-7 wing, averaged 21.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season, made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference’s second team and was the league’s most improved player. Harris should make an immediate impact at Tennessee and help ease the loss of the top three scorers from last season in Ja’Kobi Gillespie (18.4 points per game), Nate Ament (16.7 points per game) and J.P. Estrella (10 points per game).

Harris had declared for the NBA draft and was invited to the NBA draft combine, but he chose instead to spend another season in college. Florida forward Thomas Haugh and UConn guard Braylon Mullins are other potential first round NBA picks who recently decided to head back to school.

Besides Harris, Tennessee has three other players in the top 30 of the Athletic’s transfer rankings in Terrence Hill Jr. (No. 14), Tyler Lundblade (No. 23) and Jalen Haralson (No. 30). No other program has four players in the top 30. In the Field of 68’s rankings, Hill Jr. is No. 11, Haralson is No. 35 and Lundblade is No. 50.

Hill Jr., a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 15 points per game at VCU last season and shot 37% on 6.1 3-point attempts per game. Although he started just two of VCU’s 36 games, he was a spark off the bench and made first team All-Atlantic 10. He played well in two NCAA tournament games, as well, scoring 34 points on 13 of 23 field goals and 7 of 10 3’s in an overtime victory over North Carolina and contributing 17 points and 7 rebounds in a loss against Illinois.

Lundblade, a 6-foot-6 guard, averaged 15.6 points per game last season at Belmont, shooting 40.6% on 8.8 3-point attempts per game. The previous season, he shot 48.1% on 6.5 3’s per game, so he will give Tennessee an elite perimeter shooter. He was the Missouri Valley Conference’s player of the year last season.

Haralson, a 6-foot-7 wing, had multiple injuries as a freshman at Notre Dame last season, but he averaged 16.2 points per game in 27 games, including 23 starts. Haralson was the No. 17 player in the high school class of 2025, per the 247Sports Composite, and had scholarship offers from Duke, Kansas, Michigan and other top programs out of high school. If healthy, he should start for Tennessee and average in double figures.

The three other transfers committed to Tennessee are 6-foot-10 center Miles Rubin, who averaged 11.3 points and 7.1 rebounds at Loyola (Chicago) last season; 6-foot-9 forward Braedan Lue, who averaged 10.9 points and 5.3 rebounds at Kennesaw State last season; and 6-foot-2 point guard Dai Dai Ames, who averaged 16.9 points per game at Cal last season after playing his first two seasons at Kansas State and Virginia.

Tennessee is No. 2 in 247Sports’s transfer class rankings behind No. 1 Louisville, which has six commitments, including former Kansas forward Flory Bidunga and former Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad.

Barnes, who turns 72 in July, has put together a roster capable of making the program’s first Final Four. Before Barnes arrived, the Volunteers hadn’t even advanced to an NCAA tournament regional final, but the veteran coach has got them there in each of the past three seasons, although they lost each time.

All told, Barnes has 861 career victories, the 11th-most among Division I men’s coaches and third-most among active coaches, only trailing Rick Pitino of St. John’s and John Calipari of Arkansas. He is only 18 wins behind former North Carolina coach Dean Smith for seventh all-time, so he should pass him this coming season.

After Texas fired Barnes in 2015 following 16 NCAA tournament appearances in 17 seasons, Barnes has resurrected his career at Tennessee, leading the Volunteers to at least 25 victories in each of the past five years. Entering his 40th season, Barnes is showing no signs of slowing down. Instead, he is at the top of the game. He has embraced the transfer portal, added top players and put Tennessee in position for another deep NCAA tournament run.