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Tuesday turned out to be a major recruiting haul for Tennessee Volunteers athletics, as the football team added a 3-star athlete Tadarryl Marshall and the basketball Vols added two commitments in a single day.
Lamonte' Turner, a high 3-star point guard from Harvest, Alabama, announced his commitment to the Vols at around 3 Eastern time Tuesday, giving the Vols much-needed help at the point guard position.
Turner, ranked as the No. 134 overall player in the country according to 247Sports, chose the Vols over Alabama, Auburn, Florida, and others. The Vols are without a true point guard on scholarship heading into the 2015-16 season, so Turner addresses a major area of concern for the Vols.
Not even three hours later, the Vols received news on a second commitment, this time from 3-star JUCO power forward Ray Kasongo. LSU, Mississippi State, and others were others to offer Kasongo, but the No. 13 rated JUCO forward chose the Vols.
I feel truly blessed to officially announce that I will be attending the university of Tennessee!!!!! #Volunteers!!!
— Ray Kasongo (@RayKasongo32) April 28, 2015
In just 15.6 minutes per game with the College of Southern Idaho, Kasongo averaged 6 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 59.2% from the field (according to NJCAA.org).
At 6-foot-10, 235 pounds, Kasongo will already be the biggest player on Tennessee's roster at the beginning of the season. The Vols desperately needed a big man, and Kasongo will be a defensive presence that should immediately help the Vols next season.
Both players were the first commitments under new Tennessee basketball head coach Rick Barnes, and they both addressed areas of need. Turner and Kasongo join Shembari Phillips and Admiral Schofield for the Vols in the 2015 class.