Rick Barnes on Tennessee basketball adding transfer Chris Ledlum: 'Grit, toughness and a bit of swagger'
Tennessee basketball signed Chris Ledlum on Wednesday, the second of three transfers committed to the Vols on a retooled roster.
Ledlum, a Harvard transfer, is a 6-foot-6 forward who earned All-Ivy first-team honors. He averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds last season and chose the Vols after also visiting Indiana and St. John's.
"Chris has many of the characteristics we value in our program," UT coach Rick Barnes said in a news release. "He has a tremendous work ethic and plays with grit, toughness and a bit of swagger. We've seen similar traits in other Vols from New York, and we expect Chris to build on that history.
"He comes from a wonderful family and had a tremendous career at Harvard playing for a great coach in Tommy Amaker, so he's coming in with a strong foundation. He'll give us an inside-outside scoring presence. And his versatility — scoring, rebounding and playmaking — extends our ability to create mismatches."
The Vols are signing the commitments they landed from the transfer portal in April. So far, it's two down and one to go.
On Tuesday, guard Jordan Gainey, the son of Vols associate head coach Justin Gainey, signed with UT. He was an All-Big South performer at USC Upstate. And Northern Colorado guard Dalton Knecht should be the next transfer to officially join the team.
Ledlum, a native of Brooklyn, New York, played three seasons at Harvard. He started 41 of 70 games played, averaging 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds in his career.
Ledlum found his groove early in the 2021-22 season, when he averaged 16.7 points and 9.3 rebounds in 13 games. But multiple injuries ended his season, including a torn labrum in his hip, a sports hernia and a groin tear.
He returned to full strength in 2022-23 and was voted unanimously to the All-Ivy first team.
UT has seven newcomers next season, including guard Freddie Dilione, who enrolled in January but did not play. The Vols also signed 4-star forward JP Estrella, 4-star guard Cameron Carr and 3-star forward Cade Phillips to join the trio of transfers.
Guard Santiago Vescovi announced he is returning for a fifth season on April 18.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe. Mike Wilson of Knox News contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee basketball: Rick Barnes on Harvard transfer Chris Ledlum
