Tennessee set to host transfer target Tyreke Key on a visit

College basketball’s offseason is in full swing, and the transfer portal race is on. Tennessee suddenly has four spots to fill following the news of Quentin Diboundje, Handje Tamba and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield entering the portal.

Tennessee now has needs to fill in the post and at guard, both coming with potentially immediate playing time. After missing on former LSU guard Brandon Murray, who opted to go to Georgetown, Rick Barnes has turned his attention to Tyreke Key.

Key is in the portal once again, coming from Indiana State. He entered the portal one year ago and drew some interest from Tennessee before ultimately deciding to return to Indiana State. Key ended up missing last season after shoulder surgery.

Now he’s back in the portal, once again looking for a new home. The good news for the Vols? Tennessee is already home for Key. The 6-3 guard is out of Celina, Tennessee, which is just north of Cookeville.

The graduate-transfer guard is a sharpshooter, connecting on 38 percent of his shots from deep in his last full season. Key hit 44 percent of his three-point attempts the year before that. Tennessee could be a natural fit for the veteran guard, who averaged 17 points per game in 2020-21. Coming off of shoulder surgery, there will be some questions about whether or not he can get back to that shooting ability.

The Volunteers have Kennedy Chandler’s minutes to replace, along with some depth to fill after the departure of Victor Bailey Jr. They’ll add four-star guard BJ Edwards into this mix this fall.

Key’s visit will span three days, beginning next week on Monday in Knoxville.