Big loss, big addition for Vols hoops

GoVols247’s Wes Rucker, Grant Ramey and Patrick Brown went into the Fort Rucker Sun Room — the Fort Rucker Studio somehow is still being renovated — to discuss a newsy offseason week for the Tennessee basketball program.As expected, junior All-SEC point guard Jordan Bone became the second Tennessee player to forgo his final season of eligibility and remain in the NBA Draft. All-American and two-time reigning SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams did the same thing last week, meaning the Vols have now lost five contributors (including four starters) from last season’s roster.Bone’s loss was expected, but that won’t make one of the college basketball’s fastest players any easier to replace. But … Tennessee still has some quality, battled-tested backcourt players, and five-star point guard signee Josiah-Jordan James is already on campus, so perhaps this loss isn’t a dealbreaker for the Vols heading into next season. Regardless, it’ll be a challenge, and it’s a challenge discussed in detail on this episode.It wasn’t just tough news this week for Tennessee, though.Uroš Plavšic, a 7-foot-1 Serbia native who finished his high school career in Chattanooga, Tenn., transferred to Tennessee after redshirting in his first and only season at Arizona State. Plavšic has a chance to earn an immediate-eligibility waiver from the NCAA and play next season, and Tennessee’s staff believes there’s a good chance that will happen. Plavšic’s arrival and the impact he could have is discussed in this episode.This episode was recorded before the Vols added another transfer — Oregon guard Victor Bailey Jr., a native of Austin, Texas, who certainly has a connection to Tennessee (and former longtime Texas) coach Rick Barnes. We have a special show planned to discuss Bailey in the very near future.