Tennessee Basketball's new-look roster after adding North Florida guard Chaz Lanier

Tennessee Basketball added a fourth player from the NCAA Transfer Portal on Friday when North Florida guard Chaz Lanier announced his commitment to the Vols, picking UT over Kentucky and BYU. Lanier will be the fifth new player on the 2024-25 roster for Rick Barnes and his staff.

Over the last two months, Tennessee has lost four players to transfers, added four transfers and had seven scholarship spots open up. After the addition of Lanier, the Vols enter the summer months with two open scholarships.

Here’s a recap of the offseason roster overhaul to date:

Additions

Chaz Lanier (North Florida): The Nashville native, who attended Ensworth School before going to North Florida, averaged 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33.4 minutes per game last season, shooting 51.0% from the field and 44.0% from the 3-point line. According to Synergy Basketball, his 19.7 points came on just 16.3 possessions per game, putting him at 1.20 points per possession and ranked No. 1 in scoring efficiency last season. 

Igor Milicic Jr. (Charlotte): The 6-foot-10, 225-pound Milicic averaged 12.8 points and 8.5 rebounds as a junior this season at Charlotte, shooting 48.7% from the field and 37.6% from the 3-point line. He started his career at Virginia before transferring to Charlotte after the 2021-22 season.

Felix Okpara (Ohio State): Okpara, who was heavily recruited by Tennessee two years ago as a four-star prep prospect, averaged 6.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks for the Buckeyes last season and averaged 5.3 points and 5.0 rebounds over the last two years. He started 34 times in 35 games last season, averaging 23.5 minutes per game, after starting 11 times in 34 games as a freshman, averaging 15.5 minutes. Okpara shot 58.6% from the field in his 70 games with the Buckeyes.

Darlinstone Dubar (Hofstra): The junior wing spent the last three seasons at Hofstra after playing his first season at Iowa State. Dubar averaged a career-high 17.8 points per game in 33 games last season, shooting 53.9% from the floor and 39.9% from the 3-point line. He also averaged 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 34.6 minutes per game. Dubar averaged 10.3 points per game last season and 11.7 two years ago. Shot a career-high 68.4% from the field in 2021-22 and 40.4% from the 3-point line in 2022-23. 

Bishop Boswell: The four-star point guard committed to Tennessee in September and signed with the Vols in November. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder out of Myers Park High School in Charlotte, N.C., was ranked No. 71 overall in the 2024 class. He’s the No. 11 point guard and the No. 8 prospect in the state of North Carolina. So far he’s the lone player in Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class.

Returners

Zakai Zeigler (Junior): All he did last season was come back from a torn ACL and have a career year. His 11.8 points, 6.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 31.5 minutes per game, shooting 39.3% from the field and 34.4% from the 3-point line, all career-best numbers.

Jordan Gainey (Junior): His production was up and down in his first season at Tennessee, after transferring from USC Upstate. He averaged 6.9 points in 18.5 minutes per game, coming off the bench in all 34 games. 

Jahmai Mashack (Junior): Averaged 4.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 17.7 minutes per game, starting six times in 34 games. An important piece on the defensive end as Tennessee’s best perimeter defender and one of the best in college basketball. 

JP Estrella (Freshman): The big man of the future for Tennessee. Appeared in 25 games last season, averaging 5.0 minutes per game, with 1.6 points and 0.8 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-11, 241-pound native of South Portland, Maine, was the No. 60 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. 

Cade Phillips (Freshman): Appeared in 13 games last season, averaging 0.9 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.2 minutes per game. Impressed Tennessee coaches this summer, playing his way out of the redshirt conversation.

Cam Carr (Freshman): An uber athletic wing, listed at 6-foot-5, 175 pounds. Appeared in 13 games last season, averaging 1.5 points and 0.6 rebounds in 4.2 minutes per game. Tennessee’s coaching staff believes he could have legit NBA upside down the road.

Departures

Dalton Knecht (Redshirt Senior): Consensus First Team All-American. SEC Player of the Year. First Team All-SEC. The SEC’s highest scorer in league play over the last 22 seasons, averaging 25.5 points per conference game. Finished second in Tennessee single-season scoring with 780 points, behind the 806 Allan Houston scored in 1990-91. Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game, scoring 39 or more points in three games, 35 or more six times, 30 or more in eight games and 25 or more 13 times.

Josiah-Jordan James (Redshirt Senior): Started 123 times in 144 career games at Tennessee. Averaged 8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game, giving the Vols a versatile player on both ends of the floor the last five seasons.

Santiago Vescovi (Redshirt Senior): Started 144 times in his 149 career games at Tennessee, averaging 10.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 29.9 minutes per game. He made 102 3-point field goals during a career year in 2021-22, joining Chris Lofton as the only other player in program history to hit 100-plus threes in a season.

Transfers Lost

Tobe Awaka (Arizona): Entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 9 and announced his commitment to Arizona on April 29. Continued to progress as a sophomore, averaging 5.1 points, 4.6 rebound and 0.6 blocks in 12.9 minutes per game, coming off the bench in 33 games last season. Averaged 3.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in 10.3 minutes per game as a freshman.

Jonas Aidoo (Arkansas): Aidoo entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 11 and committed to Arkansas on April 29. He started every game, averaging 11.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game. Aidoo will likely go through the NBA Draft process, receiving feedback from NBA personnel, but needs to return to college for his senior season. 

Freddie Dilione V (Penn State): Entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 4 and committed to Penn State on April 24. The former four-star shooting guard in the 2022 recruiting class was never able to consistently crack the rotation last season. He enrolled at Tennessee in January 2023, sitting out as a redshirt for the second half of last season, but rarely saw the floor during his redshirt freshman season. Dilione, a Fayetteville, N.C., native, was ranked No. 44 overall as a recruit. He was the No. 3 shooting guard and the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina in 2022. 

DJ Jefferson (Longwood): Entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 8 and committed to Longwood on April 24. Another four-star prospect in the 2022 class that has not yet got off the ground at Tennessee. His only appearance last season was in the season-opening win over Tennessee Tech. The Richardson, Texas, native was ranked No. 89 overall, No. 25 among small forwards and No. 1 in the state of Minnesota, out of Minnesota Preparatory Academy.