Tennessee basketball landed its first transfer portal commit on Friday afternoon when Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie committed to Rick Barnes and his staff.
Gillespie started his college career at Belmont, spending two seasons in Nashville before transferring to play his junior season at Maryland. The 6-foot-1 point guard impressed in his lone season at Maryland, averaging 14.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per games.
What is Tennessee getting in Gillespie and how will they use him? Taking a look here.
More From RTI: Ja’Kobi Gillespie Looking To Bring Maryland Teammate With Him To Tennessee
What Are Gillespie’s Strengths?
Gillespie is one of the very best players in the transfer portal so there are a lot of them. Just at a very basic level, Gillespie is a really good offensive player.
The 6-foot-1 point guard earned a 121.6 offensive rating last season. That was the best mark on Maryland and would have been the best mark on Tennessee amongst qualified players. Gillespie is a fantastic perimeter shooter. He made 87 three-pointers last season at a highly efficient 40.7% clip.
Gillespie ranked in the 97th percentile with a 67 estimated field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot opportunities. He wasn’t as elite off the dribble but still posted a 51 estimated field goal percentage which is in the 64th percentile.
The Greeneville, Tennessee native is also a plus defender. He’s no Zakai Zeigler but is disruptive, especially on ball and is good at forcing turnovers and scoring in transition off of it.
How Will Tennessee Use Gillespie?
Gillespie is taking over Zeigler’s role and will run the show for Tennessee’s offense. How much they’ll rely on him as a scorer is what’s to be seen and will depend on who else the Vols add in the transfer portal.
Zeigler got a lot of catch and shoot opportunities on the wings off of Tennessee’s floppy action. Finding Chaz Lanier or Jordan Gainey off of an off-ball screen, Zeigler would often lose his man relocating to the other wing. Gillespie should thrive off of that action.
He ranked in the 93rd percentile nationally in spot up scoring and had an estimated field goal percentage of over 40% on three-point attempts from both wings.
Maryland used Gillespie in ball screens a ton and Gillespie was solid in them, ranking in 66th percentile nationally in points per possession off of them. They used him less off of dribble handoffs but he was better there, ranking in the 75th percentile.
Tennessee will use him there too, especially in late shot clock situations, but likely not quite as much as Maryland did.
Questions About Gillespie’s Game?
There’s few questions in a negative tense about Gillespie. The questions are more about how good can he be, particularly in two areas.
First, how could of a true point guard can he be? He told RTI that becoming a more complete point guard is one of his biggest emphasis entering this season. Gillespie played a bunch off ball at Belmont and made major strides as a point guard in his lone year at Maryland.
He was good at it too, posting a 27.3% assist rate and finishing in the top five in the Big 10 in assists. But is there another gear there for Gillespie? They think so.
Secondly, Gillespie was elite defensively at Belmont and solid at Maryland. Can he find another level in his second year at the power five level?
What Does Gillespie’s Commitment Mean For Tennessee?
Point guard was Tennessee’s biggest position of need in the transfer portal and they landed one of the best in the country in Gillespie. It gives them a high-level point guard to build around and an All-SEC caliber lead guard.
With a highly touted point guard in hand, Tennessee can now turn its primary focus to other sports on its roster. Landing Gillespie will particularly help as the Vols pursue Maryland transfer shooting guard Rodney Rice.
Tennessee now has five scholarships to work with as it puts together a roster for the 2025-26 season.
