On Monday morning, Tennessee officially announced the addition of four-star point guard Santiago Vescovi to the roster.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound point guard from Uruguay signed with the Vols on November 22nd and is officially joining the team this upcoming weekend. He will begin classes at the University of Tennessee on January 8th and will major in Business.
As of right now, Vescovi must wait for standard NCAA and SEC clearance protocols before becoming eligible to compete in games. A decision on whether or not he will compete this season has yet to be made.
On Friday of last week, Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said it was “highly unlikely” that Vescovi plays this season. But that was before this weekend’s news that starting point guard Lamonte Turner would be shutting it down and missing the remainder of the season for shoulder surgery.
“He got everything in place academically,” Barnes said after UT’s practice on Friday. “We’re excited about him being here. But whether or not he plays this year, I would say it’s highly unlikely. But he will be here on the 28th.
“It’s hard enough to learn (the system) when you’ve been around it a while. He’s young. But he’s coming in, and we’re excited. Our team is excited, and we’re looking forward to him getting here.”
Vesovi is rated by 247Sports as the No. 74 overall prospect and No. 13 point guard in the 2020 cycle. He comes to UT via the NBA Global Academy.
The talented point guard started out at the NBA Academy Latin America in Mexico City when it opened in the winter of 2018. He transferred to the NBA Global Academy in Australia this past July. There, Vescovi led the NBA Global Academy to a championship at the 2019 NBA Academy Games. He led his team in scoring in the semifinal and the title game. Vescovi also starred in the NBA G League International Challenge in Uruguay and the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp.
At the Basketball Without Borders camp, Vescovi competed against former NBA players such as Greg Monroe, Paul Zipser, and Josh Huestis. Vescovi earned all-star honors at the event and was named MVP of the 2019 Skill Factory Tournament of Champions in Atlanta after totaling 29 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in the championship game.
Vescovi will wear No. 25 at Tennessee. With his addition to the roster, the Vols now have four international players on the roster and seven left-handed players.
You can check out our impact report on what Vescovi brings to the Vols’ roster here.
