Barnes, Vols add fifth-year man in Daniel

Tennessee put the final piece of its 2017 recruiting class into place today with the news that fifth year transfer James Daniel from Howard had picked the Vols.

The Vols got Daniel’s final official visit of his recruitment last week and Rick Barnes and his staff made that visit count, convincing Daniel to spend his final college season in Knoxville.

Daniel (6-foot-0, 175 pounds), originally from Hampton, Va., led all of Division I in scoring two years ago as a junior at Howard, pumping in 27.1 ppg.

After visiting Tennessee last week Daniel made it sound like the Vols were a real possibility, saying he was impressed with Barnes and what he saw in Knoxville.

“Coach Barnes, that’s what stood out the most from this trip, just getting to visit with him, hear his stories and get to know him a little as a person,” Daniel shared.

“I was also really impressed with what I saw about their player development, how much energy and effort they put into really making guys better and doing everything they can to make sure their players reach their potential.”

In addition to Tennessee he also visited Ohio State, Michigan and Depaul before making a decision.

Daniel becomes the fifth member of Tennessee’s 2017 signing class, taking up a spot on the roster just recently opened up by Shembari Phillips’ decision to transfer.

Daniel joins junior college guard Chris Darrington and high school big men Derrick Walker and Zach Kent and forward Yves Pons in the Vols’ five-man singing class. Daniel and Darrington were both late signees—along with Walker—but the two guards didn’t emerge as serious targets for the staff until after the season and then were locked up rather hurriedly.