Dalton Knecht owes Chaz Lanier an apology.
In case you wrote him off earlier this season, Lanier was once again the star for the Vols this season. The guard from Nashville, Tenn. was named SEC Co-Player of the Week on Monday. Lanier has nabbed that honor three times this season, yet he still gets a bit of a yawn from Tennessee fans. Why is that? Knecht, pure and simple.
When judging Lanier, it’s important to remember that Knecht, the former Vol who is now an NBA standout, was a generational type of player. Knecht was elite, but Lanier has been – at least – very good.
Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game last season as he was able to shoot from outside and drive to the basket and finish, which isn’t Lanier’s forte. Still, Lanier deserves more kudos for the Vols, who are expected to nab one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Lanier’s 18 points per game average isn’t too shabby. It’s just not as good as Knecht was last season.
In the Vols’ one game last week, Lanier dropped a season- and game-best 30 points to lead them to a 77-69 road win at seventh-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday. The Vols don’t win that game without Lanier.
Lanier shot 10-of-18 from the field, including 8-of-13 from 3-point range to set a career high in makes, log the most makes by a Volunteer under coach Rick Barnes (2015-25) and tie the second-most makes by an SEC player this season. He also matched the second-highest total ever by a Volunteer, becoming the fourth—fifth occasion—to knock down at least eight long-range shots in a game.
In addition to that, Lanier became just the second SEC player in the last 20 seasons (2005-25) to score 30-plus points in an AP top-10 road win, including the only one to do so in league play, and he is the first Division I player with 30 points, eight made 3-pointers and five rebounds on the road against an AP top-10 team since Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield did it in a 3OT game at Kansas on Jan. 4, 2016, and the first in regulation since Connecticut’s A.J. Price at Marquette on Feb. 25, 2009.
Moreover, Lanier ranks third nationally with 3.48 made 3-pointers per game, good for the most in the SEC. He is third in the league in 3-point percentage (41.4) and fourth in points per game (18.0). Through 27 games in his lone season at Tennessee, Lanier has scored in double figures 25 times, with 17 or more points in 18 outings, 21 or more points in 11 contests and 25 or more in five affairs.
As impressive as all that is, it can get lost in the wake of a season after Knecht moved on. It shouldn’t, and Knecht owes Lanier an apology.
