Rick Barnes spent much of Friday’s media availability and practice harping on the challenge that SEC play was going to be for the Vols’ transfers and particularly for Chaz Lanier and Igor Milicic who transferred in from North Florida and Charlotte, respectively.
That duo aced their first test in SEC play and were the two best players on the court in Tennessee’s 76-52 victory over Arkansas on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.
“We have such a high expectation for both of those guys because they’re older, they’ve been around, and they’re really, really, really terrific basketball players, but you’re always pushing to get more and more,” Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes said postgame.
After shooting zero-of-13 from deep over the last four games, Milicic hit his first three-point attempt of the game on his was to 13 points on two-of-five shooting from beyond the arc.
“I’ve told him when he’s open taking good shots, we want him to shoot it,” Barnes said. ” I mean Igor can the shoot ball, there’s no doubt.”
But what Milicic did on the glass was what made his performance special. The 6-foot-10 forward grabbed 18 rebounds including six on the offensive end. It was the most rebounds by a Tennessee player under Barnes and helped spark a massive 51-29 advantage on the glass in the win.
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“Igor was spectacular,” Barnes said. “We knew that he was a really good defensive rebounder coming here. But the fact that he’s done so much on the offensive boards, he did a lot today. He did a lot of good things out there.”
Lanier did what he’s done all season long, sparking Tennessee’s offense by hitting perimeter shots. He made his first four shots from the field on is way to a season-high 29 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field and five-of-nine shooting from three-point range.
Like most opponents, Arkansas expended a ton of energy trying to keep Lanier from getting open looks. But combining Lanier’s range with his quick trigger he was still able to get his shot up consistently and knock down jumpers whether contested or open.
“That’s one of the quickest I’ve been around, I’ll be honest with you. I mean, he does. I mean, and it’s deep,” Barnes said of Lanier. “It’s quick. It is. He gets rid of it and it is hard to guard.”
Add Ohio State transfer center Felix Okpara to the mix and Tennessee’s three transfer starters combined for 52 points on 18-of-39 shooting from the field, 23 rebounds and five assists.
It was just one game of an 18-game conference season, but Tennessee top transfers rose to the occasion in the Vols’ SEC opener.
