Tennessee basketball is the top-ranked team in the country and is off to its best start since the 1922-23 season. The Vols had just 10 scholarship players healthy which presented opportunities for everyone to play.
But that didn’t keep sophomore wing Cam Carr from leaving the Tennessee program on Monday with intentions on entering the transfer portal once the season ends.
Tenth-year head coach Rick Barnes was caught off guard by Carr’s departure saying that he “just walked out” without any discussions. But Barnes wasn’t surprised by the move.
“It didn’t surprise me,” Barnes said. “I actually made that comment to the coaches. … We are around these guys all the time. We know when guys are locked in and when they’re not. We know guys. We know these guys like the back of our hand. They talk. We talk. If you ask me, I was not the least bit surprised.”
Carr was averaging just 4.8 points in 10.3 minutes per game through the first four games of the season when he broke his thumb. The sophomore had missed the last seven games but was nearing a return to the court around the start of SEC play.
While healthy early in the season, Carr’s role was slightly smaller than expected entering the offseason. That combined with the injury made Carr entering the transfer portal at the end of the season plausible if not likely. But Carr leaving in December with no ability to play anywhere else this season is puzzling.
“Not really,” Barnes said on if there was any upside to leaving in December. “I think they probably didn’t understand the rule. I don’t know that but that is what I would assume. We were obviously counting on him being part of the team. Surprised his teammates. They were very disappointed. So from here on, there is nothing to really talk about. He made his decision. No reason. It’s baffling to be quite honest with you.”
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Like any school, Tennessee has lost players to the transfer portal in recent years. The Vols lost a pair of key players to the transfer portal this offseason when Jonas Aidoo left for Arkansas and Tobe Awaka left for Arizona.
But a rotational player quitting the team in December is brand new for Tennessee. It comes in a season where the Vols could use all the bodies available due to lack of scholarship numbers.
“It’s like Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler said a year ago when we lost some guys,” Barnes said. “They said plain and clear, ‘if they don’t want to be here then we don’t want them here.’ We want guys that want to be here and guys that really care about being part of the team. They said that and I think that’s how we all felt.”
Barnes said that Tennessee’s coaches hadn’t yet thought much about having one of its signees enroll early to add depth but that they would discuss it in the coming days.
For now, Tennessee enters Christmas break with 10 scholarship players. JP Estrella is out for the year with a foot injury and Bishop Boswell is day-to-day with a shoulder injury.
The Vols are back in action in eight days when they face Norfolk State on New Years Eve at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center.
