Rick Barnes has brought in many transfers to Tennessee during his time as the Vols’ head coach. In fact, UT has added a grad transfer to the roster this current offseason in the form of Sacred Heart grad transfer forward EJ Anosike. But it looks like Barnes could be interested in bringing in another transfer to Tennessee.
According to Evan Daniels of 247Sports, Tennessee is one of the many schools that has reached out to Georgetown transfer Mac McClung. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound rising junior withdrew his name from NBA draft consideration and put his name in the NCAA transfer portal on Wednesday of this week.
McClung became just the latest departure for a Georgetown team that had a severely disappointing 2019-20 campaign.
“It was a number of different events that made me feel I had no choice but to transfer from Georgetown,” McClung told ESPN about his decision to transfer. “I really wanted to stay, but things throughout my career made me realize that I couldn’t.
“I’m looking for a place I can call home. A place I can be a part of a family and help them succeed.”
Per Daniels’ report, Tennessee is one of over a dozen schools to have already reached out to the highly sought-after transfer. The Vols join SEC schools Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M, Georgia, and Arkansas as well as other high-major teams such as USC, Wake Forest, BYU, Gonzaga, Utah, Arizona State, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma State.
It’s believed McClung would have to sit out the upcoming 2020-21 season wherever he transfers to, but he plans on filing a waiver to try and gain immediate eligibility.
As a freshman, McClung was named to the Big East All-Freshman team after averaging 13.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in 26.4 minutes a game. McClung was having a strong sophomore campaign before an injury derailed his season in February. In 21 games, McClung averaged 15.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 32.3 percent from three and 39.4 percent overall this past season.
In high school, McClung passed Allen Iverson’s career scoring mark in the state of Virginia.
Tennessee may be interested in McClung, but right now the Vols don’t have an open scholarship spot available for the 2020-21 season.
The only way UT would have room to add McClung on scholarship for the upcoming season would be if SEC Defensive Player of the Year Yves Pons elected to keep his name in the 2020 NBA Draft pool and not return for his senior season. That, or the Vols would have to have someone transfer off the current roster. An even more unlikely scenario would be to have a current scholarship player forgo their scholarship for a season and be a walk-on.
McClung has family ties to Tennessee, and that may be yet another reason why the Vols have reached out. Just like with Sacred Heart grad transfer EJ Anosike, McClung had a sister play at UT. Anna McClung played soccer for Tennessee from 2014-16 after transferring from Florida State after the 2013 season. She appeared in 56 games and totaled 23 points with eight goals and seven assists.
Along with welcoming in Anosike as a grad transfer, the Vols also signed an elite 2020 recruiting class that’s comprised of five-stars Jaden Springer and Keon Johnson and four-star Corey Walker. Oregon guard transfer Victor Bailey Jr. is also eligible for the 2020-21 season after sitting out this past year, and Tennessee welcomes back all their contributors from last season other than Lamonte Turner, Jordan Bowden, and Jalen Johnson.
