Tennessee basketball landed its fourth and perhaps biggest transfer portal commit of the offseason late last week when Chaz Lanier committed to the Vols over Kentucky and BYU.
Landing Lanier was a coup for Tennessee basketball and the talented shooting guard becomes a major piece of the Vols’ roster next season. It was a complete team effort to land Lanier including the entire Tennessee team waiting for him in the locker room when he arrived in Knoxville around midnight for his official visit.
Senior guard Jahmai Mashack expressed his excitement in Tennessee landing Lanier with a tweet following his commitment last week.
“Mission accomplished,” Mashack wrote. “Got the bros we wanted even though we kept it real about EVERYTHING! The brotherhood continues. Let’s get this WORK!”
Mission Accomplished ✅ Got the bros we wanted even though we kept it real about EVERYTHING! 💯
The brotherhood continues…Let’s get this WORK! #GBO #VFL https://t.co/E6Z6mNWHWt
— Jahmai (Jah-MY’) Mashack (@JahmaiM) May 25, 2024
The shooting guard was correct, Tennessee did a really good job of landing the players that it wanted in the portal. Rick Barnes and his staff hosted five recruits onto campus for visits in the portal and they landed all but one of them.
Belmont forward Cade Tyson, perhaps the best shooter in the transfer portal, chose North Carolina over Tennessee after visiting both schools. Hofstra wing Darlinstone Dubar and Ohio State center Felix Okpara both committed to Tennessee shortly after visiting Knoxville.
More From RTI: Chaz Lanier Explains To RTI Why He Committed To Tennessee Basketball
Charlotte forward Igor Milicic Jr. visited Tennessee between visits to Nebraska and Baylor and committed to the Vols a week and a half after the Baylor visit. Lanier visited BYU, Kentucky and Tennessee in a number of days and then committed to the Vols shortly after the three visits.
It was four players that Tennessee targeted quickly after they entered the transfer portal and they all fill major needs on the Vols’ roster.
Okpara is an elite rim protecting center who fills the void that Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka’s departure to the transfer portal left on Tennessee’s roster.
Dubar and Milicic are wings that have the versatility to play the four-spot defensively while also spacing the floor with a strong ability to shoot the ball. Those two skill sets will help Tennessee replace Josiah-Jordan James.
Lanier is a shooting guard with a high-level ability to shoot from the perimeter and create his own shot of the dribble. While no one can replace Knecht’s production, Lanier will help fill part of the void that Knecht’s departure left.
All four players are talented basketball players who fill a void on Tennessee’s roster. But as Mashack stated, they also embraced Tennessee’s culture and wanted to be about the same things the Volunteers’ program is about.
