Tennessee freshman wing Julian Phillips has received an invitation to the 2023 NBA Combine according to a press release from the NBA.
Phillips is the lone Volunteer representative out of the 78 players that are “expected” to attend the event from May 15-21 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriot Marquis in Chicago.
The 2023 NBA Draft will then take place on June 22 from Brooklyn, New York.
Considering that Phillips is testing the NBA waters while still maintaining his collegiate eligibility, this invitation was widely considered the logical next step for the South Carolina native.
The deadline for underclassmen college players to remove their name from the NBA Draft pool and return to the collegiate level is prior to June 1, 2023.
“Both Josiah [Jordan James] and Julian [Phillips] are going through the NBA process,” Tennessee HC Rick Barnes said on April 19. “That’s what they have to do and it’s a process they have to go through. They’re certainly training for it. We want what’s best for them. That’s just a process they have to go through.”
While Julian Phillips did struggle with consistency on the court at some points during his first year on Rocky Top, the impressive NBA prospect does bring a lot of the tools to the table that NBA scouts are looking for. Phillips stands at 6-foot-8, 198 pounds, and has a great wingspan. Phillips is long and agile and showed flashes of what he can do with those tools on the court at Tennessee.
Phillips landed as an SEC All-Freshman Team selection following the 2022-2023 Tennessee basketball season. Phillips also ended the year averaging 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 32 games with the Vols.
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The full list of invited players (via NBA) is as follows:
| Trey Alexander (Creighton) | Seth Lundy (Penn State) |
| Amari Bailey (UCLA) | Kevin McCullar (Kansas) |
| Emoni Bates (Eastern Michigan) | Mike Miles Jr. (TCU) |
| Reece Beekman (Virginia) | Brandon Miller (Alabama) |
| Anthony Black (Arkansas) | Jordan Miller (Miami) |
| Adem Bona (UCLA) | Leonard Miller (G League Ignite) |
| Kobe Brown (Missouri) | Judah Mintz (Syracuse) |
| Kobe Bufkin (Michigan) | Dillon Mitchell (Texas) |
| Toumani Camara (Dayton) | Omari Moore (San Jose State) |
| Sidy Cissoko (G League Ignite) | Kris Murray (Iowa) |
| Jaylen Clark (UCLA) | Grant Nelson (North Dakota State) |
| Noah Clowney (Alabama) | James Nnaji (Barcelona [Spain] ) |
| Ricky Council IV (Arkansas) | Julian Phillips (Tennessee) |
| Gradey Dick (Kansas) | Jalen Pickett (Penn State) |
| Nikola Djurisic (Mega [Serbia] ) | Brandin Podziemski (Santa Clara) |
| Zach Edey (Purdue) | Olivier-Maxence Prosper (Marquette) |
| Adam Flagler (Baylor) | Rayan Rupert (New Zealand Breakers [Oceania] ) |
| Keyonte George (Baylor) | Adama Sanogo (Connecticut) |
| Mouhamed Gueye (Washington State) | Marcus Sasser (Houston) |
| Coleman Hawkins (Illinois) | Brice Sensabaugh (Ohio State) |
| Jordan Hawkins (Connecticut) | Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois) |
| Scoot Henderson (G League Ignite) | Ben Sheppard (Belmont) |
| Taylor Hendricks (UCF) | Jalen Slawson (Furman) |
| DaRon Holmes II (Dayton) | Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas) |
| Jalen Hood-Schifino (Indiana) | Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State) |
| Jett Howard (Michigan) | Julian Strawther (Gonzaga) |
| Andre Jackson Jr. (Connecticut) | Amen Thompson (Overtime Elite) |
| GG Jackson II (South Carolina) | Ausar Thompson (Overtime Elite) |
| Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana) | Drew Timme (Gonzaga) |
| Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA) | Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) |
| Keyontae Johnson (Kansas State) | Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona) |
| Colby Jones (Xavier) | Tristan Vukcevic (Partizan [Serbia] ) |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton) | Jarace Walker (Houston) |
| Arthur Kaluma (Creighton) | Cason Wallace (Kentucky) |
| Mojave King (G League Ignite) | Jordan Walsh (Arkansas) |
| Bobi Klintman (Wake Forest) | Dariq Whitehead (Duke) |
| Maxwell Lewis (Pepperdine) | Cam Whitmore (Villanova) |
| Dereck Lively II (Duke) | Jalen Wilson (Kansas) |
| Chris Livingston (Kentucky) | Isaiah Wong (Miami) |
