Tennessee guard Josiah-Jordan James makes call on NBA Draft

As Volunteers fans may have expected, Tennessee star guard Josiah-Jordan James is choosing to put his name in for the 2022 NBA Draft. However, the junior will not sign with an agent, maintaining his ability to return to Knoxville if he doesn’t get a favorable draft rating.

Volunteers head coach Rick Barnes previously indicated that James would test the draft waters.

“He will do that,” Barnes said. “Jo is a very methodical and well-thought-out person. He will do it based on how he feels and when he decides when he is going to announce, whether he is going to do it or not.”

James, a Charleston, South Carolina, native, had the best season of his career so far in 2021-22. He posted a career-high 10.3 points per game with six boards, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks. He finished third on the team in points per game, behind fellow draft declarees Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi.

A 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard, James is not projected to be selected by most major NBA Draft outlets, so a return to Tennessee — at least this early in the process — appears likely. Vescovi is also in the same boat but potential one-and-done Kennedy Chandler is a mid-first-round projection.

The 2022 NBA Draft will take place June 23 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Players have until June 1 to withdraw their names to maintain their collegiate eligibility.

Vols add transfer guard

Indiana State transfer guard Tyreke Key is transferring to Tennessee for the 2022-23 season, he announced on Saturday evening. The move is a return home for the talented guard, who is a native of Celina, Tennessee.

Key spent the first five years of his college career with the Sycamores, making an immediate impact as a freshman. His first year with the team in 2017-18, he averaged 8.3 points and 4.2 rebounds per game and was named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team.

He took a huge leap the next year as a sophomore, leading the team with 17.4 points per game. That earned him the honor of being named team captain to the MVC Most Improved team. Key would only get better the next two years, earning back-to-back appearances on the all-conference first team. In 2020-21 he averaged 17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and two assists as Indiana State finished 15-10. He did not play this past season after undergoing shoulder surgery in November.

Key is not listed in On3’s Transfer Portal Rankings, but should still have a chance to make an impact for the Volunteers next season.

On3’s Chandler Vessels contributed to this report.