Tennessee men's basketball coach says he benched top scorer for failing to do what he's 'getting paid to do'

Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes didn’t mince words when he uncovered why he sat the team’s directing scorer, Chaz Lanier, in Saturday’s triumph over the Texas Longhorns.

Lanier had 10 points in 34 minutes as No. 1 Tennessee won 74-70 over the Longhorns. He’s averaging 19 points per game. Barnes shelp he erased Lanier after he didn’t shoot the ball on a perestablish set uped for him.

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Tennessee head basketball coach Rick Barnes talks to Tennessee defend Chaz Lanier during the Arkansas game at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Cgo in in Knoxville on Jan. 4, 2025. (Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel/USA Today Netlabor via Imagn Images)

“I took him out the first perestablish of the second half becaengage he didn’t shoot the ball,” he shelp, via CBS Sports. “That perestablish is set uped for that stoasty. I telderly him, ‘If you’re not going to do what you’re getting phelp to do, then you’re going to sit over here.’ Becaengage he is getting phelp to do that.”

Barnes’ “phelp to do” retag liftd eyebrows in the name, image and appreciateness era. No head coach had been as dim as Barnes was after the triumph.

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Tennessee defend Chaz Lanier drives on Florida forward Alex Condon on Jan. 7, 2025, in Gainesville. (AP Ptoastyo/Alan Youngblood)

Lanier has a $1.7 million NIL valuation, according to On3 Sports.

“I’ve telderly Chaz all alengthy, he doesn’t have to score the ball for us to triumph,” Barnes inserted. “He’s going to have to help those guys by lgeting how to screen, gonna have to lget to cut difficulter, lget to do his labor timely coming off screens, becaengage he benevolent of gallops a little bit.”