Chaz Lanier transfer: Stats, 247 ranking as Tennessee basketball lands North Florida player

Rick Barnes received some extra depth to Tennessee basketball's roster for the upcoming season heading into the Memorial Day weekend.

Chaz Lanier on Friday announced he's heading to Rocky Top for the 2024-25 college basketball season. The former North Florida guard and Nashville native was one of the most efficient players in the country last season as he shot 50% from the field, 40% from beyond the arc and 90% from the free throw line for the Ospreys.

"UT was the best because of the fit and the play style. I'll be able to showcase my ability to put the ball in the basket at the highest level of college basketball, and also develop my defense under a hall of fame coach in Rick Barnes, who has a track record of sending players to the NBA," Lanier told ESPN's Jonathan Givony on why he chose the Volunteers. "Our goals are aligned. I know that winning is everything. The culture that he created is special. I could feel it on my official visit."

REQUIRED READING: Chaz Lanier commits to Tennessee basketball over Kentucky after big year at North Florida

Shortly after the news broke on social media of his transfer, Lanier went to X (formerly known as Twitter) himself to seemingly confirm his transfer.

As reported by Knoxville News Tennessee beat reporter Mike Wilson, Lanier chose to play at Tennessee over SEC foe Kentucky and the Big 12's BYU. However, it remained unclear if Lanier would play in college this upcoming season, as he also entered the NBA draft when he entered the transfer portal. Per Givony, Lanier is withdrawing his name from the NBA draft and heading to Knoxville "after gathering valuable feedback at the NBA G League's Elite Camp in Chicago last week."

Chaz Lanier stats

Lanier is coming off his best season with the Ospreys, one in which he averaged 19.7 points in 32 games (including 31 starts). He was named to the Atlantic Sun All-Conference first team. He played in 10 games as a freshman, averaging 1.7 points per game. He averaged 4.5 and 4.7 points as a sophomore and junior, respectively.

• Career: 8.9 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, 1.2 assists per game, 48.1% shooting (40.7% from 3)

• 2023-24: 19.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 51% shooting (44% from 3)

• 2022-23: 4.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 45.4% shooting (39.1% from 3)

• 2021-22: 1.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.7 apg, 41.5% shooting (30.4% friom 3)

Chaz Lanier highlights

Here are some highlights of Lainer from this past season, posted by Givony:

Chaz Lanier 247 ranking

• Transfer: Four-star recruit | No. 11 ranked overall prospect | No. 3 ranked shooting guard

• Recruit: N/A

According to his 247Sports Composite page, Lainer was ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 11 overall prospect in the transfer portal. He was also ranked the No. 3 shooting guard in the portal, per 247Sports.

He did not receive any rankings as a recruit out of Ensworth High School, where he averaged 23 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in his senior year.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Chaz Lanier transfer: Stats, 247 ranking for Vols basketball commit