The Tennessee Vols basketball team is back and getting ready for the 2024-25 season. On Tuesday, the team’s first preseason practice got underway.
Given the sizeable number of key departures and arrivals from last year’s team, there’s naturally a lot of curiosity about what this team will look like next season.
One of those new arrivals made an emphatic announcement of his presence at practice with thew news camera rolling. Ohio State transfer big man Felix Okpara absolutely posterized his teammate with a thunderous dunk during practice.
Okpara is helping to fill a big hole in the Vols’ roster that opened up after Tennessee’s season ended when Jonas Aidoo transferred to Arkansas. Aidoo, who was a strong rim protector for the Vols during his time in Knoxville, was an All-SEC team member last year. However, he had one of his worst career games in the team’s 72-66 Elite Eight loss to Purdue, getting benched and not returning in favor of J.P. Estrella.
Now, the Vols will be counting on Okpara to help deliver a physical presence on both ends of the court this year. It sure seems as though he can do it on the offensive end of the court.