The investigation into the cause of a rollover crash in Halls continues and the Knox County Sheriff’s Office says the three minors injured were juniors at Halls High School and on the football team.
That crash happened Tuesday night on Hill Road near Griffith Road with one person ejected from the vehicle taken to the hospital and his condition has not been released.
The other two suffered minor injuries.
Knoxville Police arrest a man in connection to a fatal shooting on Bradshaw Garden Road earlier this year.
28 year-old Samer Jurdi was taken into custody early this (Thursday) morning in connection to the death of 30-year-old Jeronimo Gomez in January.
Jurdi was indicted by a Knox County Grand Jury for voluntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence, leaving the scene of an accident and employing a firearm during a dangerous felony. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.
SANDESTIN, Fla. – Game times and networks for Tennessee football’s contests against Virginia on Sept. 2 and Florida on Sept. 16 have been unveiled as part of SEC Spring Meetings.
The Vols’ season-opener in Nashville against the Cavaliers will kick off at noon ET/11 a.m. CT live on ABC from Nissan Stadium. UT opens a season in Nissan Stadium for the third time in what will be the first meeting between the Vols and Virginia since the 1991 Sugar Bowl.
Tennessee’s SEC opener on the road at Florida on Sept. 16 is slated for a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN.
The Vols’ home opener on Sept. 9 versus Austin Peay will be televised on SEC Network+. A game time will be announced at a later date.
Season tickets for the 2023 football campaign are sold out with 70,500 purchased.
Tickets for the Sept. 2 season opener in Nashville are on sale now through the Nashville Sports Council and Nissan Stadium via Ticketmaster.com.
Tennessee begins its 127th football season and is coming off an 11-2 campaign that culminated with a victory over ACC champion Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl.
-UT Athletics
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Tennessee basketball sophomore Tobe Awaka and redshirt freshman Freddie Dilione V have accepted invitations to attend the 2023 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team training camp.
With Awaka and Dilione V each entering their second season at Tennessee, the duo is among 35 chosen participants, age 19 or younger, who will compete at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, beginning June 11.
The participants will be narrowed down to a 12-member team, announced before departing for the 2023 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup Championship, slated for June 24-July 2 in Debrecen, Hungary.
Athletes eligible for this team must be U.S. citizens, born on or after Jan. 1, 2004.
Awaka appeared in 34 games and was the first Vol off the bench eight times during his freshman campaign in 2022-23. He led the Vols in offensive rebounding vs. league opponents (1.83 orpg). Overall, he led the Vols in rebounding five times and blocks four times. The Hyde Park, New York, native logged double-figure scoring twice on the year and tallied a career-high 11 rebounds in Tennessee’s win over Austin Peay on December 21, 2022.
Dilione V enrolled at UT in January 2023 and redshirted the remainder of the 2022-23 season while practicing and traveling with the team. Graduating from Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dilione V was rated as high as No. 24 overall in the Class of 2023 by 247Sports and also was the top-rated prospect in the state of North Carolina per the 247Sports composite.
Along with being named to the 2023 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year watch list, Dilione V was one of 50 nationwide standouts named to the watch list for the 2022-23 USA TODAY Boys Basketball Player of the Year award.
The 2023 USA Basketball Men’s U19 World Cup Team will be led by Colorado head coach Tad Boyle with Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton and Boise State head coach Leon Rice serving as the staff’s two assistant coaches.
Supporting as court coaches during trials will be Jonas Hayes (Georgia State), Kevin Kruger (UNLV), TJ Otzelberger (Iowa State) and Micah Shrewsberry (Notre Dame).
Featuring U19 teams from 16 nations, the 2023 FIBA U19 World Cup is set to be held in Debrecen, Hungary. Along with the USA and host Hungary, teams that will take part in the event are Argentina, Canada, Egypt, Korea, Madagascar, Slovenia, Turkey, Brazil, China, France, Japan, Lebanon, Serbia and Spain.
The USA was drawn into Group B, alongside Lebanon, Madagascar and Slovenia for the June 24-27 FIBA U19 World Cup preliminary round. The USA will open play against Madagascar on June 24, followed by Slovenia on June 25 and close preliminary play against Lebanon on June 27.
The USA will face off against Lebanon and Madagascar for the first time at a 2023 FIBA Men’s U19 World Cup, owning a 2-0 record against Slovenia at the U19 World Cup.
The United States has won the competition eight times, including three of the last four competitions—in 2015, 2019 and 2021.
About USA Basketball
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and chaired by retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, USA Basketball is a nonprofit organization and the national governing body for basketball in the United States. As the recognized governing body for basketball in the U.S. by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Basketball is responsible for the selection, training and fielding of USA national teams that compete in FIBA-sponsored five-on-five, 3×3 and esports international competitions, as well as for some national competitions and for the development of youth basketball.
Connect with USA Basketball at USAB.com and on Facebook (USABasketball and USABYouth), Twitter (@usabasketball, @USABYouth, @USAB3x3, @usabgaming), Instagram (@USABasketball, @USAB3x3, @USABYouth, @USABgaming) and YouTube (usabasketball).
-UT Athletics
Josiah-Jordan James, a leader and steadying force within the Tennessee basketball program since 2019, has announced plans to return to Rocky Top for a fifth season.
He becomes Tennessee’s second four-year senior to opt for a fifth season of eligibility in 2023-24, joining teammate Santiago Vescovi.
James recently went through the NBA Draft evaluation process, which included participation in the NBA G League Combine as well as individual workouts with multiple NBA teams.
“I’m excited and blessed to be able to represent Tennessee for one more year,” James said. “After last season, I talked with the coaching staff about how important it was for me to go through the draft evaluation process and get NBA feedback, since I wasn’t able to do that last offseason.
“I also knew that the coaches here had to build a full roster for this year and prepare for the possibility that I might not be back. I love the pieces they’ve put together, and I’m eager to join this new group of teammates for one more run.”
James appeared in only 24 games last season while battling injuries but finished as the team’s fourth-leading scorer (10.0 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.7 rpg).
His return adds even more postseason and championship experience to next year’s squad. James helped lead UT to the 2022 SEC Tournament championship—earning All-Tournament Team honors—and the Vols have never failed to make the NCAA Tournament with James on the roster.
For his career, he has scored 968 points for a scoring average of 9.0 points per game in 108 appearances with 87 starts.
Head coach Rick Barnes and his staff will deploy a new-look roster in 2023-24, led by James, two-time All-SEC guard Vescovi and point guard Zakai Zeigler, a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection.
Additional returners include juniors Jonas Aidoo and Jahmai Mashack, sophomore Tobe Awaka and redshirt freshmen Freddie Dilione V and D.J. Jefferson.
The Vols also recently added three newcomers with Division I experience via the NCAA Transfer Portal in guards Jordan Gainey (USC Upstate) and Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado) and forward Chris Ledlum (Harvard).
Additionally, Tennessee welcomes three true freshmen newcomers in guard Cameron Carr and forwards J.P. Estrella and Cade Phillips.
-UT Athletics
Josiah-Jordan James, a leader and steadying force within the Tennessee basketball program since 2019, has announced plans to return to Rocky Top for a fifth season.
He becomes Tennessee’s second four-year senior to opt for a fifth season of eligibility in 2023-24, joining teammate Santiago Vescovi.
James recently went through the NBA Draft evaluation process, which included participation in the NBA G League Combine as well as individual workouts with multiple NBA teams.
“I’m excited and blessed to be able to represent Tennessee for one more year,” James said. “After last season, I talked with the coaching staff about how important it was for me to go through the draft evaluation process and get NBA feedback, since I wasn’t able to do that last offseason.
“I also knew that the coaches here had to build a full roster for this year and prepare for the possibility that I might not be back. I love the pieces they’ve put together, and I’m eager to join this new group of teammates for one more run.”
James appeared in only 24 games last season while battling injuries but finished as the team’s fourth-leading scorer (10.0 ppg) and third-leading rebounder (4.7 rpg).
His return adds even more postseason and championship experience to next year’s squad. James helped lead UT to the 2022 SEC Tournament championship—earning All-Tournament Team honors—and the Vols have never failed to make the NCAA Tournament with James on the roster.
For his career, he has scored 968 points for a scoring average of 9.0 points per game in 108 appearances with 87 starts.
Head coach Rick Barnes and his staff will deploy a new-look roster in 2023-24, led by James, two-time All-SEC guard Vescovi and point guard Zakai Zeigler, a two-time SEC All-Defensive Team selection.
Additional returners include juniors Jonas Aidoo and Jahmai Mashack, sophomore Tobe Awaka and redshirt freshmen Freddie Dilione V and D.J. Jefferson.
The Vols also recently added three newcomers with Division I experience via the NCAA Transfer Portal in guards Jordan Gainey (USC Upstate) and Dalton Knecht (Northern Colorado) and forward Chris Ledlum (Harvard).
Additionally, Tennessee welcomes three true freshmen newcomers in guard Cameron Carr and forwards J.P. Estrella and Cade Phillips.
-UT Athletics
UPDATE (May 31): One week from a fire in the BirdVenture attraction at Anakeesta, the cause of the blaze is being released by investigators.
The fire has been ruled an accident. Investigators say the fire was caused by “spontaneous combustion” from construction work on the owl house portion of the new area at the theme park.
Officials said Gatlinburg Fire Department and Gatlinburg Police Department crews were dispatched to the scene around 9:23 p.m. on May 24th and were able to get the fire under control and extinguished in a timely and safe manner.
The area was closed to guests due to construction, and no one was injured in the fire.
ORIGINAL STORY: A fire breaks out near a construction site at Anakeesta in Gatlinburg.
It happened Wednesday night, when Gatlinburg Fire Department and Gatlinburg Police Department crews responded they found a 12-foot by 12-foot structure completely engulfed in flames at the Birdventure construction site.
Anakeesta officials say they remain open.
Roads in downtown Knoxville reopened following a deadly crash around 1:00 Wednesday afternoon.
Knoxville Police Department officials report two cars and a KAT bus were involved in a crash on Henley Street.
University of Tennessee officers saw an Infiniti sedan try to make a U-turn on the Henley Street Bridge but hit a KAT bus in the process. Officers then saw the Infiniti flee the scene when it hit a Jeep.
The male driver of the Infiniti was pronounced dead at the scene while a female in the Jeep was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
KPD officers responded to the crash just after 1 p.m., and the road was reopened by 3:30 p.m.
Rural Metro is investigating a house fire in East Knox County.
It happened last night (Tuesday) in the 8100 block of Clay’s Corner. Crews found flames coming from the front of the home which suffered smoke and water damage.
The resident made it out and several kittens and cats were rescued from the home.
The Red Cross is assisting the resident.
If you have a teen driver, highway officials say now is the time to start talking with them about the dangers of being on the road.
Officials say we’re officially in what’s known as the 100 deadliest days of the year. Triple A says from Memorial Day through Labor Day more teens are involved in deadly crashes.
They say when teens are cruising instead of heading to a specific destination there’s a larger risk of something going wrong.
Officials say your teen should have about 50 hours of supervised driving before going out alone.
