There’s been a lot of talk since Tennessee’s men’s basketball season ended about whether or not a player off this year’s roster would transfer. And on Friday, Tennessee announced that one player is, indeed, electing to transfer.
Junior guard Chris Darrington will transfer at the conclusion of this spring semester according to a release from the University of Tennessee.
“We appreciate all of Chris’ contributions both on and off the court this past year,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said via a release. “We all wish him nothing but the best moving forward.”
Darrington transferred to Tennessee from Vincennes University after spending two years there and leading his team in points (20.7) and assists (5.1) per game in 35 games in 2016-17. He led the Vols in scoring with 14.3 points per contest in Tennessee’s exhibition trip to Europe over the summer and seemed poised to play a large role in the Vols’ guard rotation this year.
But once the season got going, Darrington never really made an impact.
Darrington played in UT’s first 13 games and averaged 12.8 minutes, 4.4 points, and 1.3 assists in those games, including a season-high 11 points against Lipscomb. But once the SEC schedule really got going, Darrington disappeared. He would only appear in 12 of the Vols’ final 22 games and only scored a total of seven points in those 12 appearances.
He’s been officially granted permission to contact other schools by UT.
Tennessee now has two scholarships to give out for their 2018 recruiting cycle if they wish to do so. James Daniel III was the only departing player off the roster before Darrington’s decision to transfer. The Vols are set to host four-star point guard James Akinjo next weekend and have reached out to transfer players from Utah State and Houston Baptist this past week as well.
