Chris Ledlum re-enters transfer portal

Chris Ledlum won’t play for Tennessee this season after all. The 6-6 small forward committed and signed with the Volunteers, looking to spend his final season of eligibility in Knoxville. However, after going through a few practices with the team, he has opted to re-enter the transfer portal.

Frankly, his fit in the rotation was tough to figure out. He was thrown a couple of curveballs too, with Tennessee adding Dalton Knecht while also bringing back Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James. Considering Tennessee’s obvious frontcourt of Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka, Ledlum’s opportunity to start was bleak.

Ledlum averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds for Harvard last season. He’s a bit of a hybrid three or four, but with James and Knecht in the picture, his minutes certainly would have taken a hit.

The New York native initially picked Tennessee over offers from Indiana and St. John’s. A lot has changed since then, of course, as teams round out their rosters for the upcoming season. It will be interesting to see which opportunities now pop up for Ledlum.

Tennessee is still left with quite a bit of versatility on the roster, although they do appear thin in the frontcourt now. If I had to guess, JP Estrella could be the beneficiary here — potentially as the third big. Barnes will undoubtedly use James and Knecht in four-guard looks, but he has the ability to mix things up with Awaka and Estrella.

Projected 2023-24 Tennessee Rotation

Starters

PG Zakai Zeigler

SG Santiago Vescovi

SF Josiah-Jordan James

PF Tobe Awaka

C Jonas Aidoo

Rotational

G Dalton Knecht

G Jahmai Mashack

G Freddie Dilione

F JP Estrella

G Jordan Gainey

Bench

SF DJ Jefferson

F Cade Phillips

G Cameron Carr