Tennessee's Chaz Lanier Builds on NBA Draft Case

Chaz Lanier has a unique college basketball journey that now has him as the best player on one of the top teams in college basketball and a legitimate NBA Draft prospect.

Spending his first four college seasons at the University of North Florida, Lanier was not a standout from day one and took time to develop. He averaged under five points per game in each of his first three seasons until he broke loose his senior season when he averaged just under 20 points per game on 51% from the field and 44% from downtown on 7.5 attempts per game. Though he was a late bloomer at North Florida, his senior season production has translated to Tennessee and the SEC as he has proven he can continue playing at an extremely high level against the top competition college basketball has to offer.

Through 19 games, Lanier is averaging 18.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals while making 3.6 threes per game at a 42.6% clip. He has shown the same scoring ability he displayed last year at North Florida, especially from downtown. Lanier has a ridiculously quick shooting release and deep range that allows him to be one of college basketball's most prolific three-point shooters. More than just a shooter, he also has a knack for getting to his spots in the midrange for pullup jumpers when run off the line and can finish above the rim as well.

After a rough stretch that saw Lanier go 4-for-24 from beyond the arc over three games, he has found his footing again making nine triples in his last two contests including a big-time performance on Tuesday night where he dropped 23 points and led Tennessee to a big win over No. 14 Mississippi State.

The shooting guard has shown his ability to knock down threes in a variety of ways throughout the season. He can come off any number of screens, shoot it off the dribble, spot up for catch-and-shoot looks off drive-and-kick opportunities and in transition. His floor spacing ability is an extremely valuable skillset in today's NBA that will likely translate to the next level making Lanier an intriguing prospect. He is not regarded as high-level defender and needs to improve his off-ball awareness, but he has been a part of Tennessee's third ranked scoring defense in the country, which should help alleviate concerns of him being exposed at the NBA level.

Despite being an older prospect at 23 years old and taking time to come into the player he is now, Chaz Lanier has clear abilities on the offensive side of the ball that could help NBA teams in the near future. Lanier will continue to see his name on draft boards if he can keep up his efficient three-point shooting and lead Tennessee to a deep NCAA Tournament run.