Tennessee Basketball: Newest Commit Receives Massive Ratings Bump

Tennessee’s 2019 basketball recruiting class now has another blue-chip in its arsenal. Power forward Olivier Robinson-Nkamhoua recently achieved 4-star status after 247Sports moved him up 280 spots in their most recent update. He is now the 110th ranked player in the nation.

Robinson-Nkamhoua committed to Tennessee very recently. As in, May 7th. The news of Derrick Walker entering the transfer portal seems to have sped up the process of Tennessee recruiting another power forward, as they project fairly thin at the position for the upcoming season.

Enter Robinson-Nkamhoua. The timing of his ratings jump might seem suspicious to outside observers—a massive bump immediately after he committed to a recently successful Power-5 team? It gives off the impression that the rise was based solely on who he committed to.

Fortunately, it just seems to be a coincidence. Robinson-Nkamhoua was receiving Power-5 interest for quite some time from Illinois and Pittsburgh. His status as an international player and an injury in his junior year of high school meant that his recruiting process started later than most others in his class.

The main draw with Robinson-Nkamhoua is the athleticism that he brings. He’s a 6-8 power forward that moves like a small forward and handles the ball pretty well. His tape shows a good amount of fluid play when attacking the basket, as well as some toughness when battling for rebounds. In terms of his ceiling, Robinson-Nkamhoua has a considerably higher one than pretty much any Tennessee big man currently on the roster. If he continues to grow and fill out his frame, he could become a legitimate star. He has a lot of similarities with Chris Bosh and his style of play.

The biggest question remains how much he will grow and how his development goes. He’s still a bit thin and needs to put on weight if he wants to consistently play in the SEC.

Robinson-Nkamhoua’s ratings jump also means a jump for Tennessee’s class, which now ranks 21st in the nation and sixth in the SEC. He is the second highest rated member of the class behind 5-star signee Josiah-Jordan James.