JR Leonard On Tennessee Offer: "It Means a Lot"

Fresh off of his visit to see the Tennessee Volunteers, JR Leonard got an offer from the coaching staff. He recapped both with Volunteer Country

Tennessee basketball recently offered a prospect fresh off a visit to Knoxville. That prospect is Jalen "JR" Leonard, an Atlanta, Georgia, athlete from Riverwood High School. Leonard measures in at around 6'5 and is listed as a shooting guard.

Tennessee is not the first offer for Leonard, as he holds offers from multiple schools, including his rival school, the Georgia Bulldogs. The young Georgia athlete took the time to speak with Volunteer Country regarding his recent visit to Knoxville and his offer to play basketball at the University of Tennessee.

Leonard spoke about the importance of the Volunteer offer by saying, "It means a lot. It's a great program with a great staff, and I definitely could see myself going there." He mentioned his conversations with head coach Rick Barnes and the Tennessee staff. "Yes, I did talk to Coach Barnes and Coach GP, and that went extremely well. I gained a lot of knowledge about the program and what it means to be a Tennessee Volunteer," the Riverwood basketball star mentioned. He explained his visit by stating, "My visit went really well, and I definitely enjoyed the fan base and how supportive they are." He then followed that up by talking about a potential follow-up visit by saying, "My next visit will most likely be an official visit, so I'm looking forward to that." 

On his visit, he got to talk to a current Tennessee basketball player and a current Vol commit. "Yes, I got a chance to speak with Josiah Jordan-James and recent Tennessee commit Bishop Boswell. They both have great things to say about the program. They talked about how much the fans support them and how much the coaches and school make academics a priority, not just basketball."

His overall view of Tennessee seems to be very positive. Some things in particular stood out to him about Tennessee, as he says, "They have a great overall program and amazing coaching staff, and their fan base and support are really good. Academics also plays a huge part in the basketball program, and I value that highly." Leonard, being in the class of 2025, has two more seasons in high school to develop as a player, even more than he already has, but Tennessee jumping in on his recruitment early on can play a big factor later on down the road.

2025 CG JR Leonard on his unofficial visit to Tennessee. (Photo courtesy of JR Leonard)

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