Tennessee is in the running for Charlotte transfer Igor Milicic, who narrowed his list to three schools on Tuesday afternoon. The Volunteers made the cut alongside of Nebraska and Baylor, Milicic told Jon Rothstein.
The 6-10, 225 pound forward plays more like a wing, as evidenced by a quick glance at the tape. Milicic has the ability to handle the ball and is already an accomplished three-point shooter. While averaging 12.8 points per game last season for Charlotte, Milicic hit 37.5 percent of his shots from three-point range. He used his big frame to pull down 8.5 rebounds per game.
Milicic started his college career at Virginia, but transferred after just one season. He lands at Charlotte, where he’s developed into an offensive threat over the last two seasons. Having used three seasons of eligibility, Milicic only has one season remaining.
So Milicic, a bit of a hybrid, would offer Rick Barnes a ton of length while perhaps filling a sort of hybrid three/four role in the lineup. Honestly, he doesn’t seem all that different from Tennessee transfer commit Darlinstone Dubar — a 6-8 wing who can also shoot. That starting lineup paired with Zakai Zeigler, Jahmai Mashack and Awaka/Estrella would be pretty interesting to see.
We’ve seen Barnes work with hybrid types in the past — think Josiah-Jordan James, Yves Pons. Adding Milicic would give Tennessee plenty of three-point pop, but I would be interested to see if Barnes pushed for more of a post role for him. Regardless, it still feels like Tennessee would still be in the market for another big man, pending the Awaka situation. The Volunteers currently only have JP Estrella and Cade Phillips on the roster in the frontcourt.
Tennessee is also in on Belmont transfer guard Cade Tyson, who took his visit to Knoxville last weekend. He’s set to see North Carolina this weekend.
