Tennessee Vols basketball now has two of the best players in the nation in a very important category
The Tennessee Volunteers are certainly going to be a new look team in 2024. With the departure of Dalton Knecht to the NBA and Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka off to new destinations in the portal, opportunities were there for new faces to come to Knoxville and play for Rick Barnes. And oh, how they […]
The Tennessee Volunteers are certainly going to be a new look team in 2024. With the departure of Dalton Knecht to the NBA and Jonas Aidoo and Tobe Awaka off to new destinations in the portal, opportunities were there for new faces to come to Knoxville and play for Rick Barnes.
And oh, how they showed up.
Barnes was able to first persuade forward Darlinstone Dubar from Hofstra to commit to the Vols after visiting Knoxville. Two big men followed in Ohio State center Felix Okpara and Charlotte forward Igor Milicic, Jr. That alone would have been a solid answer to the roster losses suffered.
But Barnes still had a big ace up his sleeve. He secured the commitment on Friday of the #3 overall shooting guard in the portal in Chaz Lanier on Friday. Lanier created plenty of reason for Vol fans to be excited in 2023-24, averaging 19.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game with a red-hot 44% three-point percentage.
However, it's what Lanier and Dubar bring in another aspect that should also have fans excited for next season. According to Synergy Basketball, Lanier was the most efficient player in the country last year, with 1.20 points per possession (19.7 points per game on 16.3 possessions per game). Dubar was fourth in the country at 1.15 points per possession, even with Alabama's Mark Sears and just behind Purdue's Zach Edey.
Possessions are typically calculated by taking the number of field goal attempts and adding in turnovers plus a number equal to the number of free throws times 0.44. That number is then divided into the total points for the points per possession figure.
As such, it's a great sign that the Vols will have two new faces who've shown they can find ways to get the ball through the hoop more often that just about every other player in college hoops on any given trip down the court. That can't be a bad thing when trying to replace one of the best Vols ever in Knecht.
Vols’ Rick Barnes dunks on Kentucky’s Mark Pope in first major recruiting battle by landing Chaz Lanier
The Vols’ head coach landed a major name on Friday
