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Former Salpointe Catholic High School guard Jordan Gainey, left, was a high-scoring freshman guard at USC Upstate.Β 

Jordan Gainey,Β a former standout guard for Salpointe Catholic, transferred from South Carolina Upstate to Tennessee on Tuesday.

Gainey will play for his father and Tennessee assistant coach Justin Gainey, who coached at coached for the Arizona Wildcats under then-head coach Sean Miller from 2018-20, and has coached with Rick Barnes at Tennessee since the 2021-22 season.Β 

The younger Gainey helped lead Salpointe Catholic to its first-ever state championship in 2020, then initially signed to play for Pima College but spent a season at South Kent School in Connecticut for a post-grad year.Β 

After signing to USC Upstate, Gainey bloomed into an All-Big South player and averaged 14.5 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in two seasons for the Spartans. Gainey shot 49.3% from 3-point range in his first season and was the won the conference's Freshman of the Year award.Β 


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Contact sports producer Justin Spears at jspears@tucson.com. On Twitter: @JustinESports