Tennessee basketball hires new assistant director of player development

Tennessee basketball has hired Chris Parker to its coaching staff as the new assistant director of player development. Parker replaces Riley Collins, who left in April to join Justin Gainey’s staff as an assistant coach at North Carolina State. 

Parker, a native of Plano, Texas, was a graduate assistant at TCU last season. He was a guard who spent his final season of college basketball at Liberty before playing overseas.

“Our staff is excited to have Chris join us here in Knoxville,” head coach Rick Barnes said in a press release. “He stood out to us as the ideal candidate to fill this position and we believe he will provide a great deal of value for our program. 

“An excellent player at both the collegiate and professional levels, Chris brings a diverse background within the industry and an evident passion for the sport.”

Chris Parker played guard at Liberty, Henderson State

Parker played at Henderson State before transferring to Liberty, where he averaged 10.3 points, 3.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds while shooting 45.5% from the floor and 37.3% from the 3-point line during the 2020-21 season. He started 28 of 29 games and averaged 28.3 minutes per game. 

He earned a master’s degree in executive leadership in business at Liberty, after getting a bachelor’s degree in sports management at Henderson State.

“I feel truly blessed to have this amazing opportunity to join such a storied program,” Parker said. “I want to thank Rick Barnes and the entire coaching staff for their confidence in me. I look forward to doing everything I can to help Tennessee continue its tremendous success and pursuit of championships.” 

Gainey, Tennessee’s former associate head coach, left the Vols on March 30 to become the new head coach at N.C. State, his alma mater. Collins immediately followed Gainey, traveling to Raleigh soon after Tennessee’s loss to Michigan in the Elite Eight.

Barnes later hired Earl Grant, the former head coach at Boston College and College of Charleston, to replace Gainey. 

Tennessee overhauled roster in NCAA Transfer Portal

There was much more turnover on roster, where Tennessee lost four seniors and saw six players leave through the NCAA Transfer Portal. The Vols signed eight players out of the portal. 

Tennessee added guards in Terrence Hill Jr. (VCU), Juke Harris (Wake Forest), Dai Dai Ames (Cal) and Tyler Lundblade (Belmont) and forwards Miles Rubin (Loyola Chicago), Braedan Lue (Kennesaw State), Jalen Haralson (Notre Dame) and Christian Fermin (VCU).

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Felix Okpara, Amaree Abram and Grant Hurst were the departing seniors while J.P. Estrella (Michigan), Jaylen Carey (Missouri), Cade Phillips (Texas A&M), Bishop Boswell (Maryland), Amari Evans (Texas), and Clarence Massamba (UC Davis) all transferred. Sophomore guard Ethan Burg also left the program to return home to Israel.