On the rise.
And just like that, Tennessee is a contender once again. The Volunteers lost a ton of experience and production from last year’s team, headlined by likely lottery pick Dalton Knecht. Santiago Vescovi and Josiah-Jordan James saw their eligibility expire, while Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka hit the transfer portal.
No problem — at least on paper.
Rick Barnes went out and added four veterans from the transfer portal, pairing them up with Zakai Zeigler and Jahmai Mashack. The portal class was topped off last week with the addition of Chaz Lanier, who averaged nearly 20 points per game last season for North Florida.
Lanier joining the team moved Tennessee up to No. 13 in Jeff Borzello’s way-too-early top 25.
Dalton Knecht is gone, and with him goes Rick Barnes’ best offense in several years. But if the more up-tempo, 3-point-heavy offensive system remains in Knoxville, there should be plenty of optimism. The Volunteers also landed another potential stud mid-major transfer in North Florida’s Chaz Lanier, who averaged 19.7 points and shot 44% from 3. Barnes will surround high-level point guard Zakai Zeigler with a slew of shooters and Ohio State transfer Felix Okpara will anchor the interior defensively. (ESPN)
Lanier joins Darlinstone Dubar, Igor Milicic and Felix Okpara in Tennessee’s transfer class. Dubar, Lanie and Milicic can all shoot the lights out, which gives Barnes a potential starting five that could be a lot of fun. Okpara brings defense to the table — likely an upgrade over Jonas Aidoo in that category. They’ll all join a rotation that features a senior leader at point guard with Zakai Zeigler.
Elsewhere around the SEC, Alabama checked in at No. 2 with the news that Mark Sears would return. Auburn was 11th, Texas A&M was 12th, Arkansas was 16th, Florida was 20th and Ole Miss was 22nd. Kentucky and Texas dropped out of the rankings.
Before the addition of Lanier, Tennessee was a projected No. 4 seed, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.