Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes didn’t mince words when revealing why he sat the team’s leading scorer, Chaz Lanier, in Saturday’s win over the Texas Longhorns.
Lanier had 10 points in 34 minutes as No. 1, Tennessee, won 74-70 over the Longhorns. He is averaging 19 points per game. Barnes said he removed Lanier after he didn’t shoot the ball on a play designed for him.
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Tennessee basketball coach Rick Barnes talks with Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier during the Arkansas game at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville on Jan. 4, 2025. (Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“I took him out of the first play of the second half because he wasn’t shooting the ball,” he said, via CBS Sports . “That play was designed for that shot. I told him, ‘If you don’t want to do what you’re being paid to do, sit over here.’ Because he gets paid to do it.”
Barnes’ “paid to do” remark raised eyebrows in the name, image and likeness era. No head coach had been as forthright as Barnes was after the win.
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Tennessee guard Chaz Lanier drives Florida forward Alex Condon on Jan. 7, 2025, in Gainesville. (AP Photo/Alan Youngblood)
Lanier has a NIL value of $1.7 million, according to On3 Sports.
“I’ve been telling Chaz all along that he doesn’t have to score the ball for us to win,” Barnes added. “He’s going to have to help those guys by learning to screen, he’s going to have to learn to cut harder, learn to do his job early coming off the screen because he kind of gallops a little bit.”
Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes protests a call during the Florida game Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Gainesville. (AP Photo/Alan Youngblood)
Tennessee is 15th–1 on the year and 2-1 against SEC opponents.
