North Florida transfer guard Chaz Lanier is visiting Tennessee basketball on Tuesday, KnoxNews Mike Wilson first reported and a source confirmed to RTI.
Lanier is one of the top remaining players in the transfer portal and a top target for Rick Barnes and the Tennessee basketball program. The rising super senior is currently going through the NBA Draft process while maintaining his collegiate eligibility.
An elite scorer, Lanier is visiting BYU this weekend and Kentucky on Monday before taking his Tuesday visit to Tennessee.
The 6-foot-4, 199-pound shooting guard has one-year of eligibility after a breakout senior season at North Florida. After averaging just 4.7 points in 20 minutes per game as a junior, Lanier averaged 19.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in his senior season.
Lanier was the most efficient offensive player in college basketball last season, totaling 1.20 points per possession used per Synergy. Incoming Tennessee transfer Darlinstone Dubar ranked fourth nationally with 1.15 points per possession used.
During his senior season, Lanier shot 51% from the field, 44% from three-point range (201 attempts) and 88% from the foul line last season.
Tennessee is in need of a highly effective scoring guard to help replace the production of SEC Player of the Year Dalton Knecht.
Lanier ranks as one of the best transfers this offseason. He’s a four-star and the No. 11 transfer in the country according to the 247sports transfer rankings and a four-star and the No. 8 transfer in the country according to the On3 transfer rankings.
A Nashville native, Lanier played his prep basketball at the Ensworth School before going to North Florida. That’s the same high school that former Tennessee guards Josh and Jordan Bone played at and Lanier has a relationship with the former Volunteer guards.
Kentucky appears to be Tennessee basketball’s toughest competition to land the highly touted transfer guard though Maryland has also been linked to Lanier.
Tennessee currently has three scholarships to work with as it fills out its roster for the 2024-25 season. The Vols lost three players to graduation and four players to the transfer portal. They added four-star point guard Bishop Boswell from the prep ranks and have landed Ohio State center Felix Okpara, Hofstra wing Darlinstone Dubar and Charlotte stretch forward Igor Milicic Jr. in the transfer portal to date.
