Igor Milicic Jr., Felix Okpara rising as Tennessee basketball opens preseason practices

Rick Barnes opened his 10th preseason as the Tennessee basketball coach Tuesday as the Vols held their first official practice.

The Vols have five new players with four transfers and six returners as they prepare to open the season against Gardner-Webb on Nov. 4.

Here are three notes about the Vols:

Igor Milicic Jr. can play all five spots for Tennessee basketball

Igor Milicic Jr. is an intriguing player for Tennessee. He looks like a large forward with offensive savvy who can play on the perimeter or with his back to the basket. The Vols think the 6-foot-10 forward can do more than that.

“He’ll be a guy that will play probably all five positions at some point in time,” Barnes said. “It’s fun because he allows you to do some things that maybe we haven’t done in the past.”

All five positions means UT sees the potential for Milicic to play point guard. The Charlotte transfer is both familiar and comfortable with the idea. He played point guard in Europe but stopped playing it when he came to the U.S. Milicic began his college career at Virginia before transferring to Charlotte then UT.

Milicic averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds in his junior season at Charlotte. He shot 37.6% on 3-pointers and made 56. The next step is doing even more.

“It is one of the things he wants me to do − get the rebound and push it,” Milicic said.

Who will be Zakai Zeigler’s backup?

Zakai Zeigler led Tennessee by playing 31.6 minutes per game last season. The senior point guard is likely in line for heavy minutes again as an indispensable force for UT on both ends.

Tennessee is working to develop a backup option, which has Barnes exploring many possibilities including Milicic.

“We will keep trying to create that so we can use different guys in different situations,” Barnes said.

Senior Justin Gainey is an option. So are seniors Jahmai Mashack and Chaz Lanier. Mashack filled in at point guard in March 2023 after Zeigler suffered a season-ending injury. Lanier transferred to UT from North Florida. All three are primarily off-ball players.

Barnes said freshman Bishop Boswell “has done a good job with it” and is learning on the fly by going against the veteran Zeigler.

Zeigler played at least 30 minutes in 23 of the final 26 games last season. He played at least 35 in 16 of those games and at least 38 in nine of them. He played 150 of a possible 160 minutes in UT’s four NCAA Tournament games.

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Felix Okpara, Cade Phillips have big opportunities

Tennessee has only two healthy post players as its opens the preseason: junior Felix Okpara and sophomore Cade Phillips. Sophomore J.P. Estrella is dealing with a foot injury and his timetable to fully return is unclear.

The 6-11 Okpara, an Ohio State transfer, likely is in the starting five. He might be the best shot-blocker on the interior that Barnes has had at Tennessee and brings elite length and athleticism. When healthy, the 6-11 Estrella is likely next in line after the way he performed later in his freshman season. The 6-9 Phillips is firmly in the mix.

“Cade’s another example of what you put into the game is what you get back and he put a lot into it to improve and in the areas that we asked him to improve,” Barnes said.

Milicic can play in the post. Hofstra transfer Darlinstone Dubar is more of a small-ball four but can contribute around the basket. Okpara and Phillips dominated the playing time through the offseason with Estrella battling the injury. Barnes felt that experience was great for the pair to develop, which helped Tennessee’s interior depth.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: What to know about Tennessee basketball in 2024-25 under Rick Barnes