Why Rick Barnes knew he had to have Hofstra's Darlinstone Dubar at Tennessee
Zakai Zeigler didn’t need to talk to Darlinstone Dubar. Tennessee’s junior point guard didn’t need to sit down and spend time with the Hofstra wing during his official visit to Knoxville over the weekend.
Zeigler knew all he needed to know as soon as he saw Dubar.
“Fits in perfect,” Zeigler said Thursday afternoon. “I could tell as soon as he walked in the room, man.”
It helped that Zeigler had an early scout on Darlinstone, who on Thursday morning became Tennessee’s first signing out of the NCAA Transfer Portal this offseason.
Dubar, the Charlotte, N.C., native, spent the last three seasons at Hofstra, in Hempstead, N.Y., roughly 15 miles west of Zeigler’s hometown on Long Island.
“My cousins had went to watch him play,” Zeigler said, “and had told me he’ll be really good for us. He can help us on the lot. I know he’ll be a big addition for us this season.”
Dubar, who spent his freshman season at Iowa State, averaged a career-high 17.8 points per game in 33 games last season, shooting 53.9% from the floor and 39.9% from the 3-point line.
He also averaged 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 34.6 minutes per game. Dubar averaged 10.3 points per game last season and 11.7 two years ago, shooting a career-high 68.4% from the field in 2021-22 and 40.4% from the 3-point line in 2022-23.
When Rick Barnes heard Darlinstone say he wanted to play on the same defense as Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack, the head coach was sold.
“What we’re about,” Barnes said, “he’s about.”
He’s about versatility, too, Barnes added, and brings the right mindset as the Vols begin building their 2024-25 roster.
“He saw what we want to do and he wanted to be a part of it,” Barnes said. “Special kid, very special kid. And you can tell he is a worker, got a lot of desire. He wants to be able to be really good.”
Dubar fills the first of what was six open scholarship spots created by the departure of fifth-year seniors Dalton Knecht, Josiah-Jordan James and Santiago Vescovi and Tennessee’s four NCAA Transfer Portal entries, in junior center Jonas Aidoo, sophomore forward Tobe Awaka and redshirt freshmen guards Freddie Dilione and DJ Jefferson.
Like Zeigler, Mashack said it didn’t take long during Dubar’s official visit to know that he would be a fit at Tennessee.
“He really does care about winning,” Mashack said. “Truly, he cares about winning and he wants to come here to do that exact thing. Obviously it’s going to be hard, it’s going to be tough. It’s a new, he’s in a new program, new system, new coaching, new teammates. But we are going to support him as much as we can and try to make it as easy of a fit as we can for him.
“We care about anybody that wants to give their all to Tennessee. And from talking to him, that’s exactly what he wants to do. He’s excited to come here and get better.”
