Tennessee looking for 'somebody to make the same kind of jump' that Dalton Knecht made
Dalton Knecht spent one season at Tennessee, going from a relatively unknown wing at Northern Colorado to star for the Vols and possibly a soon-to-be lottery pick in this summer’s NBA Draft.
Now replacing Knecht and his lost production — he averaged 21.7 points while shooting 45.8% from the field and 39.7% from the 3-point line in his 36 games at Tennessee — is the task for Rick Barnes and his coaching staff.
What the Vols are selling with one of their three open roster spots is the opportunity for someone to be the next Knecht.
“Obviously people talk about it,” Barnes said Wednesday at the Big Orange Caravan stop in Kingsport, “because a year ago this time, no one who knew who Dalton Knecht really was on the national level. And so obviously when we’re talking to people, his name comes up.”
So do other names, Barnes added. Like Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack, the rising seniors and the faces of the program headed toward the 2024-25 season.
“(They are) guys who (other players) want to play with,” Barnes said. “And the fact is, whether it’s someone in your program right now, someone we’ve recruited or someone we’ve had, we’re looking for somebody to make the same kind of jump that (Knecht) made.
“None of us knew that he was going to be able to do what he did. And hopefully someone else can make the same jump he did.”
Tennessee has three open scholarship spots after adding three transfers
In a perfect world, that player for Tennessee would be North Florida transfer guard Chaz Lanier.
The 6-foot-4, 199-pound Lanier, a Nashville native, made his own jump last season, averaging 19.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 33.4 minutes per game, shooting 51.0% from the field and 44.0% from the 3-point line.
“It was just a wonderful season,” Lanier said this week during an appearance on the ‘No Ceilings’ Podcast with Stephen Gillaspie. “I thank God for it every day, to just be in this position, man.”
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Lanier averaged 4.7 points per game as a junior, 4.5 as a sophomore and just 1.7 as a freshman.
He described his increased production as a senior — he was one of the most efficient scorers in college basketball while averaging his 19.7 points per game, according to Synergy Basketball — coming after North Florida’s roster opened up, after losing a couple all-conference players in front of Lanier.
“My coaches really just put that trust in me to take a big jump from my junior year to senior year,” Lanier said. “And I had that confidence in myself and my teammates as well.
“It was just a great experience. It’s been a long journey, a crazy journey. But it is just getting started. It’s the beginning.”
Chaz Lanier: ‘I’m just enjoying the process and staying where my feet are planted’
The journey for Lanier, who is being recruited hard by Tennessee and Kentucky, continues this weekend at the G League Elite Camp in Chicago. Select standouts from the camp could earn invites to next week’s NBA Draft Combine.
Lanier announced in March he would be entering his name in the NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility. He entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in April.
“It’s all new for me and my family,” Lanier said, “but like I said, man, this is all God. It’s all a blessing man. It’s all brand new for me and my family, so I’m just enjoying the process and staying where my feet are planted and truly enjoying every day.”
