RTI contributor Murphy Carlton is the author of this article
Tennessee basketball fans received some good news Friday evening as the Vols added a 7-footer to the team’s roster.
Uros Plavsic, a 7-foot center from Arizona State, made the announcement on Friday that he will be transferring to Tennessee from Arizona State.
COMMITTED!!! @Vol_Hoops pic.twitter.com/sXuq0FLOjR
— Uroš Plavšić (@urosp34) May 17, 2019
Plavsic joins the Vols as a redshirt freshman after using this past season to gain some much-needed weight to his 7-foot frame.
“Never thought I would say this, but I just made one of the toughest decisions of my life,” Plavsic said in a note in his tweet. “I am happy and proud to announce that I have decided to transfer to the University of Tennessee. After spending a lot of time thinking and discussing with my closest ones, I realized my future belongs at Tennessee. I am so grateful for the opportunity that coach Barnes and coach Schwartz gave me. Lastly, and the most importantly I want to thank God for keeping me healthy and strong thought (sic) the whole journey. Go Vols.”
The Vols will more than likely seek a waiver to make Plavsic eligible immediately rather than having him sit out the entire 2019-2020 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He only spent one year at Arizona State and left after the assistant coach who recruited him there was not retained.
Plavsic is a native of Serbia, and he moved to the US and played basketball at Hamilton Heights in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
As a high school prospect in the class of 2018, Plavsic was ranked as the No. 102 player in the 247Sports Composite and the No. 12 high school center. He was a four-star recruit.
The news of Plavsic transferring to Tennessee comes on the same day that Grant Williams announced that he would not be returning to Tennessee for his senior season. Williams announced that he will keep his name in the NBA draft pool instead. Tennessee also had forward Derrick Walker announce on Wednesday that he would be transferring from Tennessee to Nebraska for the upcoming season.
The addition of Plavsic, especially if the NCAA grants a waiver for him to play immediately, could be a big addition to a roster that lost some size from last year. The Vols lost 6-foot-11 starting center Kyle Alexander, 6-foot-7 starting forward and two-time SEC Player of the Year Grant Williams, and 6-foot-8 forward Derrick Walker.
