North Florida guard Chaz Lanier schedules two visits, expected to visit Tennessee third

North Florida transfer guard Chaz Lanier has set dates for official visits at BYU and Kentucky and is expected to visit Tennessee third, sources confirmed to Volquest. Travis Branham first reported the order of the visits, with Lanier headed to BYU this weekend and Kentucky on Monday.

Dates for a Tennessee visit have not yet been determined.

The Vols so far have added three transfers — Hofstra wing Darlinstone Dubar, Charlotte forward Igor Milicic Jr. and Ohio State center Felix Okpara — but Lanier is the biggest name, and right now the only name, on the board for Tennessee.

Lanier on Thursday held a pro day after his trip to the NBA’s G League Elite Camp over the weekend.

In two games at the G League Camp in Chicago Lanier scored 10 points in 33 minutes, going 3-for-7 from the field, including 1-for-4 from the 3-point line, and aded five rebounds, an assist and a turnover.

He was not one of the five standout players from the camp that were called up to the NBA Draft Combine this week in Chicago. He declared or the NBA Draft in March and entered the NCAA Transfer Portal in April.

Lanier measured in at 6-foot-3.75 without shoes at the G League Camp. He had a 6-foot-9 wingspan and weighed in at 196.0 pounds. He had a max vertical of 36.0 inches and a standing vertical of 30.0 inches. Lanier’s full measurements from the G League Elite Camp can be seen here.

In the first game of the camp on Saturday, Lanier had five points on 2-for-4 shooting, going 0-for-1 from the 3-point line. He had three rounds, an assist and a turnover and was a plus-1.

In the camp’s final game on Sunday, Lanier scored five points in 21 minutes, going 1-for-3 from the field (all of his shots came from the 3-point line) while adding two rebounds. He was a plus-10 in his 21 minutes on the floor.

‘It’s all new for me and my family’

Tennessee has been mentioned in connection with Lanier since the moment he entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on April 24. Kentucky has been the program that has been mentioned more recently as one of the main competitors for Lanier, considered one of the best players remaining on the transfer market.

Lanier, the Nashville native, 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. 

“It’s all new for me and my family,” Lanier said of the NBA Draft process recently during an appearance on the ‘No Ceilings’ Podcast with Stephen Gillaspie, “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.”

What the Tennessee is looking to add

Tennessee currently has three roster spots open on its 2024-25 roster and the Vols are looking to add a scoring guard in the backcourt. In a perfect world, that addition would be Lanier.

Rick Barnes addressed the front court with the addition of Okpara, the 6-foot-11 transfer center, and Milicic, the 6-foot-10 stretch forward. He addressed a need on the wing in with Dubar, the first transfer addition of the offseason.

Now Tennessee is all in on adding a scorer at guard.

“I think what we’re looking for now is the best player we can find,” Barnes said last week during the Big Orange Caravan stop in Kingsport. “And someone that … you’re always looking to add some scoring if you can. And that’s something we look at, whether it’s up front or in the back court. 

“But right now it’s whatever we do, it’s got to be something that we think that we don’t have and something that we know can benefit us.”