Kentucky Transfer Target Chaz Lanier is ‘Still Getting Comfortable Playing at a High, High Level’
Fresh off the NCAA Recruiting Live Period, Kentucky’s staff is back to work this week, looking to land a top transfer. North Florida transfer Chaz Lanier is taking his official visit to Kentucky on Monday, fresh off a visit to BYU with Tennessee looming.
Lanier, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard transfer from North Florida recently participated in the NBA G League Elite Combine. However, his performance wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the NBA Combine and many are expecting him to return to college.
Sports Illustrated college basketball and NBA Draft analyst Kevin Sweeney was in Chicago from May 11-12 to watch Lanier and several others participate in the G League Elite Camp. He came away with mixed reviews.
“He certainly didn’t light the world on fire,” Sweeney told KSR+. “For all the hype – I among them have said Dalton Knecht 2.0 or whatever – I would maybe slow my roll on that a little bit. At the end of the day, he’s very much still growing and learning. He’s still getting comfortable playing at a high, high level. It didn’t look like he didn’t belong, but he also wasn’t a standout at that camp by any means.”
‘He Struggled More Than I Expected He Would’
Chaz Lanier was an excellent offensive piece for North Florida last season, averaging 19.7 points per game with solid shooting numbers (51 percent FG, 44 percent from 3PT). However, ahead of the 2024 NBA G League Elite Camp, expectations weren’t through the roof.
“Physically, he looked a lot more mature than I was expecting,” Sweeney said. “Obviously, he’s a really good athlete. I think he had like 25 dunks at North Florida. If you were to line up all these guys and guess who’s the dude who played at a mid-major last year, it wouldn’t have been Chaz Lanier, at least physically.”
There were a total of 112 players participating at the G League Elite Camp and during five-on-five scrimmages, there were usually a max of 10 players per team. However, Lanier’s team had 12 players, which caused him to struggle to get going quickly.
“He struggled probably more than I expected he would. Especially the first day, he wasn’t in the first two rotations. He didn’t really get his feet under him until late in the first half,” Sweeney said. “That hurt him a little bit. I thought he played a little bit tense. Obviously, the shot-making is there. He did airball a three at one point, which was surprising, but nobody really questions his ability to shoot the basketball. It’s not a question.”
What Does Sweeney Think of Kentucky’s 2024-25 Roster?
As of Monday, Kentucky currently has two scholarship spots remaining for the 2024-25 roster. Most of the team has been filled, largely through transfer additions. Still, Kevin Sweeney believes there’s more work to do.
“I’m sure the idea is that [Chaz is] the star-level shooting guard, wing,” he said. “The one area that I feel this team is lacking in is true star power.”
Despite the lack of star power, Sweeney believes Pope has put together a lot of solid pieces. The only thing they’re missing is “that upper-level piece, that All-SEC level player.”
“Pope should probably be commended for the fact that he’s stacked as many quality pieces as he has,” Sweeney said. “Maybe one of these guys develops into that. Maybe Otega Oweh is on that trajectory. Maybe there’s room to grow for a lot of these guys in a system that accentuates their strengths offensively.”
At the same time, Sweeney has been open that Kentucky needs to recruit a “star.” The hope is that Lanier can be that.
“The G League camp was not exactly the type of setting that’s going to lead you to believe that this guy is going to be the best player on a team that has national title aspirations,” Sweeney said. “I’m not sure Chaz is the best player in that system, but maybe he can be in time. That’s certainly what the sales pitch would be at this point.”
The post Kentucky Transfer Target Chaz Lanier is ‘Still Getting Comfortable Playing at a High, High Level’ appeared first on On3.
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