Tennessee and North Florida faced off for the first time on the hardwood, a year removed from Chaz Lanier’s collegiate tenure.
Lanier, a North Florida graduate and one-year Vols phenom, was selected as the 37th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. He concluded his collegiate career with four years with the Ospreys and an All-SEC showing as a graduate transfer for the Vols.
Tennessee ran away with a dominant 99-66 win over North Florida on Wednesday in the battle of Lanier’s former schools.
When North Florida coach Bobby Kennen took to his first press conference as head coach at Food City Center, he delivered a statement on the former Osprey after questions concluded.
“He’s obviously a proud graduate of the University of North Florida,” Kennen said. “And we’re certainly proud of him. And the thing about Chaz, which I think makes him special, as good a player as he is, and obviously, he’s the 38th pick in the draft, and he’s in the NBA, and he’s very successful — he’s a better person than he is a player.”
Though it is Kennen’s first go-around as head coach, he’s been around the scene in Jacksonville, Florida, since 2009. It’s how Kennen was able to build rapport with Lanier during his four-year tenure.
“For a young man to have, you know, just to have that type of feel and to be able to communicate at that level, and he’s a wonderful human being, and I shared that story with any NBA team that had asked me about,” Kennen said. “I mean, he’s certainly a rare breed. I know you guys are proud to call him one of your own; we certainly are as well.”
Kennen spent a portion of the story talking about his most memorable time with Lanier. North Florida has monthly meetings with its coaching staff and the athletic department, where he was assigned a reading.
That’s when director of athletics Nick Morrow asked Kennen if he had read the book assigned before — How Full Is Your Bucket.
“I just kind of laughed and I said, ‘Yeah, I have, as a matter of fact,’” Kennen said. “You know, two summers ago, Chaz came back, he started summer school, walked in my office, sat there and we were visiting, and he handed me the book. And he’s like, ‘Coach, my mom had me read this this summer. thought of you, I thought you’d enjoy it.’”
It’s a message that Kennen directly correlates with Lanier.
“Are you pouring into people, are you lifting them up? Are you taking away from them?” Kennen said. “And it’s just it’s a great message and a great thing, and I think Chaz is one of those guys in life that he’s gonna add in people’s life forever rather than take it away. He certainly did to me, and certainly did for our program.”
During that time with the Ospreys, Lanier went from a 1.7 point-per-game player in his first season to an all-conference player in his final season — earning a roster spot and a monetary investment from Tennessee.
That’s where Rick Barnes and company scooped him up, allowing Barnes to pick up the same sentiments shared in Jacksonville.
“I know how much Chaz respects his time there at North Florida,” Barnes said. “I know what it meant to him. And I remember obviously seeing the videos that they sent back after he had committed to us, showing his graduation and just in conversation, playing for the program meant a lot to him.
“The one thing I would say about Chaz is he’s got two homes. Even though he spent one year here, I know he’d feel extremely comfortable walking back there, because I think their coaching staff understands that when — and they do a great job — and I know in the past, their philosophy was, if you’re here past two years, it’s your fault, because they probably adapted what’s going on in college basketball at that level probably as well as anybody. They know how to coach, they get guys ready, and they play a unique style, obviously, but it’s a great style, and they believe in it. And then Chaz coming here, I mean, one year, really had a great year, and he’s starting to play at the highest level. He’s starting to make an impact up there, and I know the Pistons are happy with him.”
Meanwhile, Lanier is continuing to find his role as a rookie. He’s averaging 3.1 points per game after a six-point outing on Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls.
