{"id":254115,"date":"2026-01-23T19:54:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/254115\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T19:54:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T19:54:09","slug":"vols-in-the-pros-update-jan-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/254115\/","title":{"rendered":"Vols in the Pros Update: Jan. 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – As the calendar has flipped to 2026, professional basketball around the world is in full swing. A breakdown of VFLs in leagues around the world\u2014from the NBA to the G League to the EuroLeague and beyond\u2014can be found below.
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\nInformation aided by Eurobasket LLC. Cover image courtesy of\u00a0Jim Dedmon\/USA TODAY Sports.
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\nVOLS IN THE NBA
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\nTobias Harris | Detroit Pistons | at Tennessee 2010-11
\nNow in his 15th season in the NBA, Tobias Harris is averaging 13.6 points in his 27.5 minutes per game. Despite missing a stretch in November, Harris has aided the Detroit Pistons to a 19-8 record in the 27 games he’s played, including a 26-point performance in the Pistons’ 138-135 win over Miami and a 24-point showing in his team’s 136-127 win over Sacramento. Harris’ Pistons currently boast the best record in the Eastern Conference. He is three appearances away from reaching 1,000 games played in the NBA.
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\nDalton Knecht | Los Angeles Lakers | at Tennessee 2023-24
\nThe runner-up for AP National Player of the Year in his lone campaign as a Volunteer, Dalton Knecht is in his second season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has aided the team to the sixth-best recorded in the Western Conference thus far in 2025-26. Knecht has scored 13-plus points in five of his appearances this season, including twice tallying 16.
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\nChaz Lanier<\/a> | Detroit Pistons | at Tennessee 2024-25
\nTennessee’s single-season 3-point record holder, Chaz Lanier<\/a> has played 16 games for the Detroit Pistons. He’s logged season highs of nine points (Nov. 18 at Atlanta), four assists and four rebounds (both Nov. 14 vs. Philadelphia). The 2024-25 All-American is shooting 34.1 percent from beyond the arc and is a perfect five-of-five at the line. Despite his limited minutes, Detroit has registered a 15-1 record in games he has appeared in.
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\nJahmai Mashack<\/a> | Memphis Grizzlies | at Tennessee 2021-25
\nThe rookie is on a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies, which he inked Nov. 16, and is thus competing in both the NBA and the G League. Jahmai Mashack<\/a> made his NBA debut Nov. 20 with six points on 2-of-4 long-range shooting in a win over Sacramento. Since then, he has made six additional appearances, most recently Jan. 7 against Phoenix.
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\nJulian Phillips | Chicago Bulls | at Tennessee 2022-23
\nA third-year pro, Julian Phillips continues to serve as a key reserve for the Chicago Bulls. He has scored in double figures twice this season, as well as played at least a dozen minutes on 10 occasions. Phillips earned two starts in December, the sixth and seventh such nods of his career.
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\nGrant Williams | Charlotte Hornets | at Tennessee 2016-19
\nAfter missing over 13 months of action following a knee injury, Grant Williams returned to the court Jan. 10 and has appeared in five games this month. In his debut performance, at Utah, he recorded nine points and eight rebounds. The two-time SEC Player of the Year is averaging 16.8 minutes per game this far, as he continues to work his way back from injury for the Charlotte Hornets, his hometown team.
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\nVOLS IN THE G LEAGUE AND OVERSEAS
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\nKyle Alexander | T\u00fcrk Telekom Ankara in Turkey | at Tennessee 2015-19
\nNow in his seventh year as a professional, Kyle Alexander is having a strong season in his second year with T\u00fcrk Telekom Ankara in Turkey. The former NBA big man is producing 11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He has two double-doubles on the year, including an 18-point, 13-rebound showing Dec. 20 at Merkezefendi.
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\nKennedy Chandler | Delaware Blue Coats (NBA G League) | at Tennessee 2021-22
\nCompeting in the NBA G League, Kennedy Chandler has averaged 36.1 minutes per game with the Delaware Blue Coats, averaging an 18.1-point, 10.1-assist double-double through 26 contests. He has tallied season highs of 34 points (Nov. 29 vs. College Park), 16 assists (Dec. 6 vs. Long Island) in those categories, as well as added 3.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game to his line. He won NBA G League Player of the Week honors Dec. 2.
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\nJordan Gainey<\/a> | KK Cedevita Junior Zagreb (Croatia) | at Tennessee 2023-25
\nIn his first year as a pro, Jordan Gainey<\/a> is competing for Cedevita Jr. in both Croatia-Primijer Liga and the FIBA Europe Cup. He has averaged 15.3 points, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game through 22 contests. His best performance came in FIBA Europe Cup play, as he tallied 26 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals against Keravnos on Oct. 22, shooting a sharp 9-of-10 from the field, including a 6-of-7 clip from deep.
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\nTyreke Key | Raptors 905 (NBA G League) | at Tennessee 2022-23
\nNow in his second campaign with Raptors 905, Tyreke Key is putting up another strong season. The third-year pro is averaging 10.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game and is improving as the season goes on. His 25-point showing Jan. 15 at Capital City marked his fourth consecutive outing with 23-plus points and his fifth of the year.
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\nKevin Punter Jr. | FC Barcelona Lassa (Spain) | at Tennessee 2014-16
\nThrough 23 Euroleague games with Barcelona, Kevin Punter is averaging 14.8 points in 22.8 minutes per game, shooting a sterling 49.3 percent from within the arc and 39.1 percent from range. On Dec. 19 against Baskonia, Punter tallied 43 points, his top total of the season. One of the finest players in Europe, Punter was named the EuroLeague MVP of the Month for December 2025.
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\nJordan McRae | Hapoel Holon (Israel) | at Tennessee 2010-14
\nA 12th-year pro with an NBA title to his name, Jordan McRae is excelling in his first season in Israel. He is averaging 14.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for Hapoel Holon. In the team’s most recent outing, he notched his fifth 20-point performance of the year, tallying 23 against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv.
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\nOther Vols Playing Professional Basketball<\/p>\n


\n\tJonas Aidoo (at Tennessee 2021-24) plays for the Greensboro Swarm in the NBA G League
\n\tVictor Bailey Jr. (at Tennessee 2019-22) plays for the Beijing Ducks in China
\n\tJordan Bone (at Tennessee 2016-19) plays for Hapoel Nofar Energy Galil Elion in Israel
\n\tJordan Bowden (at Tennessee 2016-20) plays for the Rostock Seawolves in Germany
\n\tWayne Chism (at Tennessee 2006-10) plays for Al-Muharraq in Bahrain
\n\tDarlinstone Dubar<\/a> (at Tennessee 2024-25) plays for Peiramatiko in Greece
\n\tJohn Fields (at Tennessee 2010-11) plays for the Nhatrang Dolphins in Vietnam
\n\tJosiah-Jordan James (at Tennessee 2019-24) plays for Hapoel Bank Yahav Jerusalem in Israel
\n\tKeon Johnson (at Tennessee 2020-21) plays for the Maine Celtics in the NBA G League
\n\tIgor Mili\u010di\u0107 Jr.<\/a> (at Tennessee 2024-25) plays for the Delaware Blue Coats in the NBA G League
\n\tOlivier Nkamhoua (at Tennessee 2019-23) plays for Itelyum Varese in Italy
\n\tYves Pons (Tennessee 2017-21) plays for MoraBanc Andorra in Spain
\n\tJosh Richardson (at Tennessee 2011-25) signed with Basket Zaragoza in Spain
\n\tAdmiral Schofield (at Tennessee 2015-19) plays for the Cairns Taipans in Australia
\n\tJaden Springer (at Tennessee 2020-21) plays for the Birmingham Squadron in the NBA G League
\n\tLamonte’ Turner (at Tennessee 2016-20) plays for BC Lule\u00e5 in Sweden
\n\tSantiago Vescovi (Tennessee 2019-24) plays for Penarol in Uruguay
\n\tUro\u0161 Plav\u0161i\u0107 (at Tennessee 2019-23) plays for Crvena zvezda in Serbia
\n\tZakai Zeigler<\/a> (at Tennessee 2021-25) plays for Nanterre 92 in France <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – As the calendar has flipped to 2026, professional basketball around the world is in full…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":254116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-254115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}