The Tennessee Vols earned a hard-fought road win on Saturday night, beating the Texas Longhorns 74-70 in Austin. 

Point guard Zakai Zeigler led the Vols in scoring with 16 points. Darlinstone Dubar and Jordan Gainey came off the bench and scored 12 points each for the Volunteers. 

Guard Chaz Lanier, who has been a revelation for Tennessee this season after transferring from North Florida, scored just 10 points for the second straight game (Lanier is averaging 19.0 points per game on the season). 

After the game, Vols head coach Rick Barnes told reporters that he benched Lanier early in the second half for passing up a shot on a play that was specifically designed for the 6-foot-4 shooting guard. 

"I took him out the first play of the second half because he didn't shoot the ball," said Barnes. "I mean, that play was designed for that shot. And I told him, I said, if you're not going to do what you're getting paid to do, you sit over here. Because he is getting paid to do that."

Rick Barnes was blunt about taking Chaz Lanier out after not doing what he’s ‘Paid To Do’

“I told him, I said, 'if you're not going to do what you're getting paid to do, you sit over here.' 'Cause he is getting paid to do that."

Accountability in NIL era. ?@rockytopinsider pic.twitter.com/qMC8xvlTJ9

— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) January 12, 2025

10 years ago, or even five years ago (just ask former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt), it would've been unthinkable for a college coach to say in a post-game press conference that a player was getting paid to shoot the ball. 

If Barnes had dropped that quote when he first took the job at Tennessee in 2015, the NCAA would've been busting down every door in the athletic facilities in Knoxville while seeking the "death penalty" for the program. 

I mean, imagine going back in time and telling Barnes in the late 1990s when he was the head coach at Clemson that he would one day be telling reporters that he briefly benched one of his players because they didn't do what they were getting paid to do in a college basketball game. Barnes probably would've looked at you like you were an alien. 

College sports are in a weird place right now. There's no doubt that players deserve to get paid. College sports — specifically basketball and football — generate too much revenue for the players to not get paid. There is no product without the player. 

But at the same time, most college athletes are still developing as players. They aren't finished products (Lanier is a unique case because he's a fifth year. senior). Sure, players are getting paid to perform, but money doesn't change the developmental timeline (which is different for every athlete). There has to be a balance between "getting paid to perform" and a player developing into the best version of themselves before (hopefully) going pro.  

Barnes, however, is doing a terrific job of striking that balance. And Tennessee's recent results on the court prove it. 

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Left no doubt about it