Tennessee senior guard Santiago Vescovi will return for his fifth season on Rocky Top, he announced on Instagram Tuesday night.
“I need to clear the air about the rumors going around about me,” Vescovi said in his post. “I’m only going to say this once: They are absolutely true. See you next season Vol Nation.”
Vescovi has put together a career as good as any during his four seasons. He is currently third in program history in career 3-pointers made (282) and career 3-point makes per game (2.47)—trailing only Chris Lofton and Allan Houston in both categories.
He owns the third-best 3-point percentage during NCAA Tournament play in program history among Vols with a minimum of 20 attempts — 45% (18-for-40 in six career games). His 18 made 3-pointers in NCAA Tournament games are the third-most in program history.
Vescovi isn’t only a three-point specialist. He got the job done all over the floor.
His 174 career steals are sixth-most in program history, his 1.63 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 10th in program history, his 367 assists rank 11th in program history and his 1,318 career points rank 27th on Tennessee’s all-time scoring list, scoring in double figures 71 times, including nine 20-point performances.
Vescovi finished this past season as Tennessee’s leader in scoring (12.5 ppg), minutes played (33.0 mpg), 3-pointers made (91) and attempted (246) and total steals (60). He shot 37% from 3-point range and owned a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio as he led the Vols in scoring 12 times, rebounding seven times, assists 13 times and steals 15 times.
The native of Uruguay finished SEC regular-season play as the league leader in 3-point percentage for the second straight year, shooting 38.7% (46 of 119) from three. During SEC play, he led the Vols in scoring (13.3 ppg), 3-point percentage (.387), field-goals made (77) and 3-pointers made (46).
Tennessee saw its season come to an end in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2023 NCAA Tournament when it lost to Florida Atlantic. The Vols beat Louisiana in the opening round of the Big Dance before knocking off Duke in the round of 32 to advance to the program’s ninth Sweet Sixteen.
The Volunteers finished the 2022-23 season with a 25-11 overall record. It marked the fourth time under Barnes that they won at least 25 games and it was the fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Tennessee’s roster is in a state of flux at the moment. Senior forward Olivier Nkamhoua announced his decision to move on from the program shortly after the loss to FAU and it is still awaiting formal decisions from seniors Josiah-Jordan James and Uros Plavsic, as they each have an extra year of eligibility remaining.
The Vols are also awaiting a decision from freshman forward Julian Phillips. The former five-star could decide to declare for the NBA Draft.
In addition to Nkamhoua, Tennessee is losing senior guard Tyreke Key, who just completed his final year of eligibility after transferring from Indiana State last offseason.
Tennessee has signed four high school players to this point in the 2023 recruiting cycle. It signed four-star combo-guard Freddie Dilione, who elected to graduate early and enroll with the Vols this past semester, as well as four-star center JP Estrella, four-star shooting guard Cameron Carr and three-star power forward Cade Phillips.
The Vols added their first transfer commitment on Tuesday afternoon when USC Upstate shooting guard Jordan Gainey announced his decision to transfer to play for his day, Justin Gainey, who is Tennessee basketball’s associate head coach.
The Georgia Bulldogs have been busy this offseason as they work to retool their roster for Mike White’s third season in Athens. They took another step forward on Wednesday by landing an experienced forward who just so happens to be a Georgia legacy.
Former Clemson forward RJ Godfrey has committed to the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-8, 228-pound Godfrey comes to Georgia with two years of eligibility remaining.
Godfrey is Georgia’s fourth transfer portal addition this offseason, joining Mount St. Mary’s transfers De’Shayne Montgomery and Dakota Leffew as well as Appalachian State forward Justin Abson.
Godfrey was a backup at Clemson but played in all 36 games and averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 59.4% from the field. He was particularly important down the stretch of the Tigers’ season, as he played important minutes to spell starters PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin. He hit two important free throws late in the going against Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Tournament then posted 12 points in the Tigers’ season-ending loss to Alabama in the Elite Eight.
Godfrey played in 33 games as a freshman in 2022-23 and averaged 3.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He shot 59.7% from the floor and 33.3% from 3-point range.
Godfrey was a three-star prospect at North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, Georgia. He averaged 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks during his senior season.
Godfrey’s father, Randall, was a linebacker at Georgia from 1992-95. Randall Godfrey was the first true freshman in program history to lead the team in tackles when he recorded 114 in 1992, which led to Godfrey being named SEC Freshman of the Year. He earned All-SEC recognition in 1993-93 and recorded 365 career tackles as a Dawg.
Leave a Reply