A week after Tennessee signed some of the highest profile recruits in program history for men’s basketball, the Vols have added another highly-rated prospect to their 2020 class.
According to a report from Evan Daniels of 247Sports, 2020 point guard Santiago Vescovi committed to the Vols after his official visit to campus on Friday.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound point guard from Uruguay is viewed as one of the top international prospects in the 2020 class. He first caught the eyes of analysts and scouts at the NBA Academy Latin America last year. After spending time there, he transferred to the NBA Global Academy in Australia and excelled at the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during the NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte. While there, he earned All-Star honors.
After that, Vescovi played in a six-team NBA G-League International Challenge in Uruguay. The talented point guard was one of the youngest players participating there, but that didn’t hold him back.
Vescovi averaged 12.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, three assists, and 1.5 steals in four games. He made seven of his 13 three-pointers and went up against teams with former NBA players such as Greg Monroe, Paul Zipser, and Josh Huestis.
“I think it was high level,” Vescovi told Cody Taylor of USA Today’s Rookie Wire. “It helps everyone on our team to learn what the level is in other countries. Obviously, they have a higher level because they are in the G League and that means they are really close to the NBA. I think they have really big guys, who are really strong.”
Before committing to Tennessee, Vescovi wasn’t ranked by recruiting services. But after the 247Sports international analysts were able to view his film, he’s been rated as a four-star, the No. 74 overall prospect, and No. 13 point guard in the 2020 class.
Vescovi took an official visit to see Temple back in October, and he had offers and interest from other schools such as Butler, Miami, Rutgers, Washington State, and Kansas.
The plan for Vescovi right now is for him to take the SAT in early December and attempt to enroll at UT during the spring semester. That would allow him to play for the Vols starting in January, much like what Jarnell Stokes did with Tennessee back in the 2011-12 season.
On the court, it’s easy to see why Vescovi grabbed so much attention over the summer. His highlights from the G League Challenge show off his incredible ball handling skills and passing ability. Not only that, but he can finish around the rim and is capable of driving to either side of the basket. He’s a lefty, which makes him unconventional to guard for opponents. He has a lot of toughness in his game, and his awareness is off the charts. He makes difficult plays look routine. His release isn’t always the quickest, but he has the ability to just pull up and nail a jumper, too. He has a good outside game to complement his slashing ability. There isn’t a whole lot of film of his defense, however.
Vescovi joins five-star guards Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson and four-star small forward Corey Walker in Tennessee’s 2020 class. Vescovi has only committed to the Vols; he hasn’t signed a National Letter of Intent like the other three did last week.
With those four prospects pledged to Tennessee, the Vols currently have the No. 4 recruiting class in men’s basketball in the 2020 cycle.
