The morning of the NBA Draft, Derrick Jones Jr announced he would be declining his player option for the 2023-24 season. After the draft, Marc Eversley talked about how Jones Jr.’s decision impacted their decision to trade and select Julian Phillips.
The Tennessee Volunteers are gassing up their one-and-done forward Julian Phillips, who the Bulls drafted Thursday, with a sweet highlight reel from his freshman season.
Phillips, 19, had an impactful year at Tennessee. The 6-foot-8 freshman averaged 8.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, and shot 41.1% from the field in 24.1 minutes per game. With a 7-foot wingspan, he averaged 0.6 steals with a 1.6% steal rate.
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In his biggest game, Phillips posted 25 points on 7-for-13 shooting and grabbed eight boards in an overtime win against the USC. He was 10-12 at the line that day – par for the course, as he finished the season with a .822 free-throw percentage.
He earned SEC All-Freshman honors and was the University of Tennessee's only draft selection of 2023.
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