Tennessee Volunteers freshman forward Julian Phillips has announced that he has entered the transfer portal and will play elsewhere next season. The freshman is a former five-star recruit and was likely expecting to be declared for the 2023 NBA Draft at this point in his basketball career. While he had a strong start to his first season, he faded some to close the year and lost some of his draft stock along the way. Now he will look for another program to regain some draft stock and prepare himself for the 2024 NBA Draft.
NEWS: Tennessee freshman Julian Phillips, a former five-star prospect and McDonald’s All American, will enter the transfer portal, a source tells @247SportsPortal.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) May 10, 2023
This past season as a freshman for the Tennessee Volunteers, Julian Phillips averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He paired those numbers with a field goal percentage of 41.1 percent and a three-point percentage of 23.9 percent. While Phillips has shown some promise as an NBA prospect, returning to college basketball for his sophomore year was likely a good one. With the right improvement, he could regain his first-round draft pick status in the 2024 NBA Draft. For now, though his focus will be on picking the right program for the 2023-24 college basketball season. Phillips will want to get it right to make sure he can maximize his draft stock.
