Tennessee Basketball will have to wait a little longer for the arrival of Israeli guard Ethan Burg, who has made Israel’s FIBA Eurobasket roster and will play for his country for at least the next three weeks in international competition.
Israel is in Group D in Eurobasket in Poland and will play games in the group phase on August 28, 30 and 31 as well as September 2 and 4.
The 22-year-old Burg has three years of eligibility. He announced his commitment to the Vols in July.
“We are excited for Ethan and his family to join Tennessee basketball,” Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said in a statement after Burg signed with Tennessee. “He is a confident young man who plays with an edge.”
Burg is the final member of the Tennessee roster who has not yet made it to Knoxville. Tennessee over the weekend announced the arrival of French freshman guard Clarence Massamba.
Burg is a combo guard who spent the last two seasons playing professionally in Israel. He was cleared by the NCAA before announcing his Tennessee commitment, with the expectation that he would have multiple years of eligibility.
Over the last two seasons he averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 43.2% from the field and 32.9% from the 3-point line while playing for Bnei Herzliya in Israel.
Rick Barnes: Burg is ‘excellent in transition and can really get to the basket’
In 23.2 minutes per game last season, Burg averaged 11.1 points, 3.4 assists and 2.7 rebounds while shooting 44.7% from the floor and 37.6% from the 3-point line over 24 games.
“Ethan is a talented combo guard with backcourt versatility,” Barnes said, “who is excellent in transition and can really get to the basket off the bounce.
“He also has the ability to shoot the ball. Ethan’s experience playing high-level international basketball should help him make a smooth transition to the SEC.“
Five-star small forward Nate Ament, a consensus top-five player in the class, was the headliner in Tennessee’s 2025 recruiting class, along with four-star guard Amari Evans, four-star center Dewayne Brown, three-star point guard Troy Henderson and Massamba, a three-star prep prospect.
The three NCAA Transfer Portal additions were Maryland point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Vanderbilt power forward Jaylen Carey and Louisiana Tech guard Amaree Abram.
The Vols return just four scholarship players (Felix Okpara, Cade Phillips, JP Estrella and Bishop Boswell) after losing six seniors (Zakai Zeigler, Jordan Gainey, Chaz Lanier, Jahmai Mashack, Igor Milicic Jr. and Darlinstone Dubar).
Tennessee’s Transfer Portal Class
Gillespie, a Greeneville, Tenn., native, started all 36 games at Maryland this season, averaging 14.7 points and 4.8 assists in 31.6 minutes per game while shooting 45.3% from the floor and 40.7% from the 3-point line, where he made 87 of 214 attempts.
Carey, the 6-foot-8, 245-pound sophomore, averaged 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game at Vanderbilt this season.
Abram, a former top-100 prospect and four-star recruit who made previous stops at Ole Miss and Georgia Tech, averaged 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists at Louisiana Tech last season, shooting 42.2% from the field and 37.3% from the 3-point line.
