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Three-star 2014 forward Tariq Owens commits to Tennessee

Tennessee Tyndall Basketball

Donnie Tyndall, right, is introduced as Tennessee men’s basketball coach by athletic director Dave Hart during a news conference Tuesday, April 22, 2014, in Knoxville, Tenn. The former Southern Mississippi coach succeeds Cuonzo Martin, who resigned last week to take the coaching job at California. (AP Photo/Knoxville News Sentinel, Amy Smotherman Burgess)

AP

When Donnie Tyndall accepted the offer to become Tennessee’s new head coach a month ago, the program’s lack of interior depth was something that needed to be addressed. It’s safe to say that Tyndall and his staff have done just that on the recruiting trail, with four of their eight additions being forwards.

The fourth addition is former Ohio signee Tariq Owens, a 6-foot-10 forward from Laurel, Md. who committed to Tennessee on Wednesday. The news was first reported by Evan Daniels of Scout.com. Owens’ decision moves Tennessee back to the scholarship limit (13) for the 2014-15 season, one day after it was announced that reserve point guard Darius Thompson would be transferring to Virginia.

Owens picked Tennessee over Temple and UT-Martin, and he’d also received offers from programs such as Florida State, Miami and Seton Hall in the weeks following his decision to reopen his recruitment.

Owens joins a front court that will include FGCU graduate transfer Eric McKnight, fellow freshmen Jabari McGhee and Willie Carmichael and senior Rawane Ndiaye. Tennessee also welcomes back wings Josh Richardson, who is the team’s leading returning scorer, and Derek Reese.

Tyndall and his staff hit the ground running from a recruiting standpoint, with the perimeter rotation being bolstered by the additions of graduate transfer Ian Chiles (IUPUI), junior college transfer Kevin Punter and highly-regarded freshman Detrick Mostella. There will be an adjustment period to Tyndall’s style of play, but thanks to the work of he and his staff the Volunteers are capable of returning to the NCAA tournament in 2015.

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