Rick Barnes adds to Tennessee's recruiting class by landing commitment from Olivier Robinson-Nkamhoua
Tennessee’s 2019 recruiting class just added a big man as Maryland native Olivier Robinson-Nkamhoua has picked the Volunteers over Illinois, Pittsburgh, Maryland and Kennesaw State, among others.
The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Robinson-Nkamhoua is rated as a three-star prospect by 247Sports Composite Rankings and the No. 33 power forward in the nation. The Maryland native joins five-star guard Josiah James and fellow three-stars Drew Pember and Davonte Gaines as members of Tennessee’s 2019 recruiting class. Those three players have all signed with the Vols.
Robinson-Nkamhoua averaged 17 points, 9.5 rebounds and two blocks per game as a high school senior playing for Cumberland Bishop Walsh School.
“I appreciate all the coaches that have recruited me up to this point and would like to thank everyone who has been a part of this process with me and a special thanks to my parents,” he tweeted out Tuesday morning.
“Happy to be apart of the family at Tennessee.”
We really stole one from basketball powerhouse Kennesaw State. At what point do we recognize that Diamond Jim is using the position as a pension? Maybe we can move the program to The Villages in Florida to help make his retirement more comfortable.
So you would prefer we told Barnes to pound sand and move on. Maybe we could have gotten another coach from Cincinnati! Honestly I don’t know why some fans hate Barnes so much. He is doing well. He took over a club with tons of problems and coached up a bunch of 2 and 3 stars and you want to be rid of him. Why not give the guy a chance to show he is worth all the dough we are paying him. If recruiting and performance don’t pick up in a couple years I will jump on your bandwagon but for now he is doing just fine.
I don’t hate Barnes, where was this stated? I didn’t say we shouldn’t have retained him. The point is, he needs to bring on four and five star recruits since he’s decided to go mercenary. I hope he succeeds in the future, but top 5 pay means top 5 results. The “aw shucks” act stopped when he turned merc. Just giving him the same level of respect he gave the university. Don’t ask for top off pay if you can’t take the heat and crap the bed in games that count.
Olivier just gained his fourth star yesterday and rose 43 spots nationally. So Barnes did bring in a 4* as a hidden gem that only he discovered.
In that case, I’m very pleased to be wrong. Seems like a better get than I gave him credit for.