Skip to main content
Tennessee
Join Now

Tennessee's Cade Phillips issues statement on decision to undergo shoulder surgery

IMG_3593by: Grant Ramey3 hours agoGrantRamey

Tennessee Basketball’s Cade Phillips addressed his decision to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery in a post on social media on Tuesday, a day after the Vols announced the junior power forward would miss the remainder of the season:

“After a great deal of consideration and prayer, as well as consultation with my family, coaches and the UT medical staff, we’ve made the difficult decision for me to have season-ending shoulder surgery.

“I pride myself in giving my all for Tennessee not just during games, but every single day. I battled through this injury as much as possible, but it reached a point where surgery is needed.

“There is nothing I love more than competing alongside my teammates and I’m gutted I won’t be able to take the court with them the rest of the season. Instead, I’m going to do whatever I can to help our group succeed. 

“Thank you, Vol Nation, for your never-ending support.”

Up Next: No. 20 Tennessee vs. No. 11 Louisville, December 16

The 6-foot-9 junior is averaging 3.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 16.9 minutes per game in 10 games season, starting making nine starts. Tennessee will apply for a medical redshirt for Phillips, with the expectation being that he would qualify.

“We will sincerely miss having Cade on the court and he is certainly disappointed he won’t be able to play the rest of the season,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a statement on Monday, “but it is essential he gets healthy.

“Cade did all he could to play through this injury as long as he could. We love Cade and we’ll do everything we can to support him. We know Cade will continue help us this year, even from the sideline, because that is the type of person and teammate he is.”

No. 20 Tennessee is off until December 16, when the Vols return him to host No. 11 Louisville at Food City Center, in a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN.

Cade Phillips injured his shoulder last season

The injury for Phillips occurred against Arkansas in Tennessee’s SEC opener in January. He played in all 38 games last season, despite the injury, averaging 4.6 points and 3.5 rebounds in 15.0 minutes per game.

“I think it’s something that’s kind of a lingering thing for him,” Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey said on Friday. “I think it’s getting better, but he’s still limited in some things that he can and can’t do.

“I don’t think it’s right now to the point where he can’t play, but Cade’s tough. He’s mentally tough, he’s physically tough. He wants to be out there with his teammates, so he’s going to figure it out.”