Rick Barnes says Tennessee's Chaz Lanier can't keep playing 'at his speed'

Chaz Lanier brought the basketball up the court Tuesday night at Exactech Arena in Gainesville at a pace far too slow. A Florida defender chased in pursuit on the fast break, caught the Tennessee shooting guard just past half court and poked the ball free from behind. 

Another possession in the disastrous first half — Tennessee trailed 34-15 at halftime on the way to an ugly 73-43 loss — saw Lanier pull up at the 3-point line in transition, only for his shot to be blocked by another trailing defender.

On the ESPN2 broadcast, analyst Jimmy Dykes described Lanier as too “nonchalant” on the floor and too “soft” with the ball in his hand. 

Rick Barnes confirmed Thursday afternoon that it’s a problem that needs solving as Lanier, Tennessee’s star transfer shooting guard, if going to continue to elevate his play with the Vols. 

“I think it’s moving from one level to the next,” Barnes said before practice at Pratt Pavilion. “I think just coming down the floor where he’s dribbling the ball, he got it turned over, he’s dribbling the ball and he’s playing at his speed. 

“And maybe in the past he could get by with that. He can’t (here). And then drove down, had a chance to either go to the basket or pull up and he decided to pull up. But he slowed down way too much.”

Lanier finished with 10 points on just 3-for-16 shooting, including just 1-for-9 from the 3-point line. It was his lowest output since November 17 against Austin Peay. His three turnovers in his 30 minutes at Florida were a season high. 

“When you’re doing what he has done and having this kind of success he’s had here,” Barnes said, “he’s got to understand that it’s not going to get easier. It’s going to get harder. And that means that you get out in the open court, you can be assured that somebody’s coming from somewhere and maybe different guys. And that’s part of his growth process.”

Up Next: No. 1 Tennessee at Texas, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET

Lanier has showed very few growing pains this season. He’s averaging 19.6 points per game, shooting 43.6% from the field and 44.2% from the 3-point line. But in the season’s toughest test to date, Lanier struggled to keep the pace. 

Lanier and his teammates will get a chance to respond when Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) goes to Texas (11-4, 0-2) on Saturday (6 p.m. Eastern Time, ESPN2).

Barnes said the need to make adjustments while moving up from one level to the next — Lanier averaged 19.7 points per game at North Florida last season as college basketball’s most efficient scorer — is the same thing he would tell his other Igor Milicic, a Charlotte transfer, and Darlinstone Dubar, who transferred from Hofstra.

It’s the same thing Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Zeigler told their teammates in the locker room after the loss at Florida. 

“(They) were really good with their teammates,” Barnes said, “saying to them, ‘Hey man, this is a different animal we’re dealing with right now. We told you guys about it.’ 

“Sometimes you got to be put in that situation to see it, to feel it, to have it touch you before you can really understand what you have to do and embrace it so you can take those steps forward to get you where you really want to be.”

‘It’s a grown-man league, and it’s hard to tell you what it’s about, really. Whenever you get into the field, it’s real’

Jordan Gainey had his own struggles in adjusting last season after transferring from USC Upstate. He shot just 29.1% from the 3-point line with the Vols after shooting 40.8% over two seasons at Upstate. This season he’s up to 11.1 points per game, up from 6.8 last season, while shooting 43.4% from the floor and 35.6% from three. 

Like Barnes, Gainey said there’s no substitute for the real thing in the SEC. There’s only so much you can do to prepare.

“Because this isn’t like any other league you ever see in the country,” Gainey said.

Lanier is going to have to adjust on the fly.

“You have to know what you’re getting yourself into,” Gainey added. “It’s a grown-man league, and it’s hard to tell you what it’s about, really. Whenever you get into the field, it’s real.”