Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes has a problem. His most important player is woefully inconsistent.
Guard Chaz Lanier was supposed to be the scorer to step in for former Vol Dalton Knecht, who is now excelling in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers. Well, let’s go ahead and set those comparisons aside, even though Lanier will always be compared to the former Vol star that he was deemed to replace.
Lanier doesn’t have the ability to drive to the basket, so he’s never going to be as good as Knecht overall, who could slash and finish. Lanier is more equipped to catch and shoot – when he feels like it. However, his seemingly unwillingness to shoot at times is just part of the problem. Even when Lanier is hitting shots, he’s making mistakes elsewhere, the kinds of mistakes that cost Tennessee in a 76-75 loss to Vanderbilt on Saturday.
Lanier hit five-of-11 from the field, including four-of-six from three-point range, against the Commodores. That’s certainly not a bad day at the office, but one could argue Lanier should have shot the ball even more against Vandy. At least he was better than his three-of-16 shooting performance against Florida in an embarrassing 73-43 loss to the Gators.
Then he was benched in UT’s win at the Texas Longhorns, a game the Vols won 74-70, for not shooting the ball on a play designed for him to open up the second half. If you recall, that’s when Barnes laid down the hammer.
“If you’re not going to do what you’re getting paid to do, you sit over here,” Barnes said following the Texas game. “Cause he is getting paid to do that.”
Ouch.
That statement still rings true, although Lanier was more aggressive against Vanderbilt. Lanier’s decision to shoot wasn’t the major problem against the Commodores, but just about everything else was. Lanier didn’t have a single assist, turned the ball over five times and missed a free throw that would have tied the game in the final seconds.
A Lanier turnover and a poorly missed midrange jumper both led to two Vanderbilt three-pointers that ultimately kept the game out of reach. That kind of inconsistent play in all areas is tough to build around.
Knecht, nor any other great scorer, doesn’t have to be pushed to score. That’s just their nature. Lanier’s tendency to pass up shots is more than just an annoyance; it might be Tennessee’s Achilles heal. The Vols have other scoring options. They just need to know what they can expect from Lanier on a consistent basis when it comes to scoring, turnovers or when it comes time to hit a clutch free throw.
Part of the problem with Lanier is his mechanics. Lanier sometimes drops the ball in front of his face and seems to push it towards the basket. Then, there are other times in which his form looks just fine. Having two different outside shots isn’t something to brag about. It’s a problem.
Barnes is far too down the road to re-work Lanier’s shooting mechanics, but that will need to happen someday if the transfer from North Florida hopes to have a successful professional career after his time in Knoxville is complete. That sort of shot is more likely to get blocked than not in the NBA.
Lanier’s inconsistencies would make me re-think things if I’m Barnes. No, I’m not going to exclude Lanier from the offense, but there probably needs to be a few more designed plays for some other players, like Igor Milicic Jr. or Darlinstone Dubar, instead of Lanier being the go-to guy every time the Vols really need a bucket.
It’s hard to imagine the Vols advancing far into the NCAA Tournament if Tennessee tries to lean on Lanier like they did Knecht. Yes, they’re different players, but Knecht is also just flat-out better.
It would have been perfect if the Vols found another generational, offensive talent like they did with Knecht, but what were really the chances that would ever happen? Not good, and now we’ve seen enough to know that’s not going to be the case with Lanier.
The Vols have other options. Lanier isn’t going anywhere, and he’s still going to be a key cog in the Vols’ basketball machine. However, it’s become glaringly apparent that he alone can be the engine that drives the Vols.
