Wednesday night’s basketball game in Knoxville is essentially the ‘Chaz Lanier Classic,’ as No. 20 Tennessee will host North Florida in a non-conference matchup from the Food City Center.
Lanier, a native of Nashville, TN, spent his first four collegiate seasons at North Florida before transferring back to the Volunteer State to spend his final season with the Tennessee program in 2024. He wound up being a key piece to Tennessee’s Elite Eight run this past spring, and set the Vols’ all-time single-season record for made three pointers.
“Well, I know who paid him,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said with a laugh on Tuesday, when asked about Lanier’s rooting interests for Wednesday’s game. “Does that have anything to do with it? Knowing Chaz, you know what? He’s probably one of those guys that probably wouldn’t watch the game because I know he had an incredible time there.”
Following his lone season on Rocky Top, Lanier was drafted by the Detroit Pistons with the 37th overall pick to give the Motor City team some extra shooting power on the roster.
The 6-foot-3 guard has played in six games as a rookie so far, averaging 2.7 points per game in 8.7 minutes on the court.
Through the first five games, Lanier hadn’t spent more than 12 minutes on the court. This past Monday, though, he had a career-high in both points and minutes with eight points in 27 minutes in an overtime win over Washington. Lanier’s increased opportunity came with Detroit facing several injuries to the standard rotation, including VFL Tobias Harris.
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Detroit is a loaded team with a 9-2 record and the top spot in the Central Division through the first stretch of the season. It isn’t that much of a surprise to see Lanier earning his minutes and opportunity on the court, but Pistons’ head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has been high on Lanier’s potential for some time now.
“He’s taken it all in,” Bickerstaff said before the season. “I think he’s learned on the fly quickly. You watch his natural instincts offensively, and he’s unbelievable at reading the game. Like, he knows spacing on the floor, he knows when to cut. Like I’ve told our staff, there’s going to come a point in time in his career where he has 30 points and he’s only dribbled the ball four times. He’s got that type of off-ball feel and awareness and ability to shoot the ball.”
The Pistons brought in Lanier to be a three-point shooter, and that’s been the bulk of his offensive shots so far this season. He’s 7-for-20 on the court through six appearances, with a 5-of-16 mark from three-point range. During his career-high game on Monday, two of his three makes came from distance.
It might take some time for Lanier to earn a bigger role with Detroit’s red-hot team, but he’s shown to be a hard worker throughout his entire collegiate career. It may only be a matter of time before he breaks out.
No. 20 Tennessee will host North Florida at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday night in the Food City Center. Lanier might have to catch the game on replay, though, considering the Pistons take on the Bulls at the same time.
