One of the most coveted players in the transfer portal picked Tennessee basketball this off-season.
After testing the NBA waters, Chaz Lanier decided it was best for him to return for his final year of college eligibility and ultimately chose the Vols.
This came after a breakout year with North Florida.
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Why Tennessee, though? With plenty of suitors vying for his talents, what made the Vols stand out above the rest?
First, its his home school. A product of Ensworth in Nashville, Lanier now has the chance to return to his home state and play for the flagship school. Other factors that made the difference are the chance to play for Rick Barnes and the culture he's created.
"I mean a big factor was definitely location," Lanier said. "Coming back home and playing for my home state, it just means a little bit more to me. And then playing for a Hall of Fame coach, Rick Barnes. Just the family culture here. I knew I'd be joining a family and something that's bigger than me."
As he went through the process of navigating the transfer portal, Lanier was able to lean on some former Vols for guidance.
This included Ron Slay and Jordan Bone. Slay was one of the best players for Tennessee in the early 2000s while Bone knows what its like to play for Barnes.
Both of these inputs from trusted sources helped him gain confidence in his decision to come to Knoxville.
"Ron Slay, I'm super tight with Ron Slay and also Jordan Bone," Lanier said. "Before I committed here, I talked to Jordan Bone a lot and leaned on him. He answered a lot of my questions great. He just told me it would be super challenging but he said man, you're built for it and playing for Tennessee, it's nothing like it."
Now, Lanier is in the process of integrating himself with the team. So far, he named Jahmai Mashack, Zakai Zeigler and Jordan Gainey as guys he's quickly connected with. All being a similar age has helped them kindle a relationship during the off-season.
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When Lanier got to campus, the whole team welcomed him, though. Now that he's participating in practices, they're really seeing what he's made of on the court, as well.
This includes playing 1-on-1 over the weekend as they prepare for the upcoming season.
"The guys have been great," Lanier said. "Definitely welcomed me with open arms. I mean, every day they push me in practice. We play 1-on-1 on the weekend so they definitely want to get the best out of me to see what I'm made of for sure."
Helping with his transition is a familiar face on campus. Kaiya Wynn, a senior guard for the Lady Vols, grew up in Nashville, as well. The Wynn and Lanier families grew close as they both competed with Enplay and ultimately enrolled at Ensworth.
Having someone that he is already close with certainly helped him make the difficult change of colleges.
"Kaiya, I've been knowing her since I was knee height," Lanier said. "First, second grade, she's like my little sister. It's been great just having, like I said, just a sister here already. She's showing me around and everything."
Now, as he prepares to be one of the faces of Tennessee basketball, he is working on adjusting to this level.
It's one thing to shine at North Florida and another to do it throughout the course of an SEC schedule. Lanier knows what it takes, though, and is doing the necessary steps to make sure the transition is as seamless as possible.
"One thing for me is just working on my body and getting stronger," Lanier said. "And also just adjusting to the physicality. And also just speeding up my pace. Coming from a mid major to a high major, the pace is a little bit different. I have to do some things a little bit faster."
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