Former North Florida guard Chaz Lanier, one of the top players available in the transfer portal, has committed to Tennessee, he told ESPN on Friday.
“I'm going home,” Lanier said. “I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to return to my home state and perform for my city and my family. My entire family will be at every game next year, God willing.”
Lanier, a first-team All-Atlantic Sun player, averaged 19.7 points per game last season. He ranked among the best shooters in college basketball, making 106 three-pointers in 31 games and converting 44% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Lanier chose the Vols over Kentucky and BYU after recently taking official visits to all three schools.
“UT was the best because of their form and style of play,” Lanier said. “I will be able to demonstrate my ability to put the ball in the basket at the highest level of college basketball and also develop my defense under the guidance of a Hall of Fame coach, Rick Barnes, who has a history of sending players to the NBA. Our goals are aligned. I know that winning is everything. The culture he created is special.
Lanier says he will withdraw his name from the NBA draft at the May 29 NCAA deadline after gathering valuable feedback at the NBA G League Elite Camp in Chicago last week.
Lanier joins a Tennessee team coming off an SEC regular-season championship and an Elite Eight appearance, a team led by SEC Player of the Year and All-American Dalton Knecht, a projected top-10 pick. first.
Knecht, an elite shooter and scorer who plays the same position, transferred from Northern Colorado, a fact that did not go unnoticed by Lanier during the recruiting process.
“Tennessee never compared me to Dalton in terms of our style of play, but we did talk about the route he took, which is a very similar path,” he said. “I may be able to do the same.”
