Cuonzo Martin will add his third signee during the 2011 late period, as this afternoon 6'5" guard Quinton Chievous chose the Volunteers over Saint Louis. As has been the case with Martin's other two additions, Chievous had a pre-existing relationship with the new staff, this time via assistant coach Tracy Webster during his time at Nebraska.
Chievous comes to Tennessee from the Chicago area, where he'll join point guard Wes Washpun and wing Josh Richardson as the freshmen additions to the 2011-12 Vols (assuming Chris Jones fails to qualify, which is by far the dominant opinion at this point). This will give the Vols ten scholarship players, eleven if Scotty Hopson returns. While overall depth has been addressed with these additions, the Vols remain painfully thin in the post - Coach Martin has apparently elected to wait to address that need with the Class of 2012, where the Vols must like their chances with several higher-quality post prospects.
If Hopson returns, he would join Cam Tatum as the only seniors on the 2012 roster, so the foundation of Tennessee Basketball under Martin will be built with returning role players and these three freshmen. Competition appears crowded at Chievous natural position on the floor, but we've seen players like Ryan Childress come in and contribute right away after being recruited by members of a new coaching staff at their old school. My assumption is that if Martin was just looking for warm bodies, the Vols would've signed a big man. To be so deliberate all around means there must be something significant this staff sees in Chievous, even if we don't get to see it right away.
Welcome to the Vols, Quinton!