“Rick Barnes is not playing around building this team”: Fans react as Louisiana Tech transfer Amaree Abram commits to Tennessee 

Louisiana Tech transfer Amaree Abram committed to Tennessee ahead of the 2025-26 season. Abram started his collegiate basketball career in the 2022-23 season with the Ole Miss Rebels before transferring to Georgia Tech for the 2023-24 season and Louisiana Tech last season. He spent just one season each at the three programs and has two years of eligibility left.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Tipton Edits announced Abram’s commitment to Tennessee.

In reaction to the news, fans expressed their opinions on the move, with some hailing Tennessee coach Rick Barnes.

“Rick Barnes is not playing around building this team 👏🏻,” a fan commented.

“Let. Rick. Cook. 🧑‍🍳 🍅,” another fan commented.

There was a mix of opinions and emotions from fans concerning Abram’s commitment. Some fans took shots at the decision while others congratulated Abram on his new journey.

“Even Louisville gets better players than this,” a fan said.

“Let's Goo Amaree,” a fan said.

“Tennessee overrated,” another fan said.

Fans react as Lousiana Tech transfer Amaree Abram commits to Tennessee - Image source: Instagram/tiptonedits

---

Amaree Abram's future at Tennessee

The Tennessee Volunteers secured an addition to their roster with the commitment of Louisiana Tech transfer Amaree Abram. The 6-foot-4 guard started all 32 games last season and posted career highs across the board.

He averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 42.2 % and 37.3% from beyond the arc. Abram was a key player for his team as he averaged 32.1 minutes last season. He is set to join a Tennessee squad that made a deep postseason run to the Elite Eight in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Abram started 22 of 33 games at Ole Miss in the 2022-23 season, where he averaged 8.0 points per game as a freshman. Following that year, he transferred to Georgia Tech but appeared in only 10 games before taking a redshirt to preserve eligibility.

Throughout Abram’s three seasons of college basketball, he has scored 694 points, contributed 224 rebounds, 130 assists and 70 blocks.

Abram is the third transfer to join Tennessee this offseason, alongside power forward Jaylen Carey and point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie. The former four-star recruit from Southern California Academy was rated the No. 76 overall player and No. 10 point guard in the 2022 recruiting class, by On3.