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

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Tennessee Volunteers men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes didn’t mince words when he revealed why he sat the team’s leading scorer, Chaz Lanier, in Saturday’s win 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 said he removed Lanier after he didn’t shoot the ball on a play designed for him.

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

"I took him out the first play of the second half because he didn't shoot the ball," he said, via CBS Sports. "That play is designed for that shot. I told him, 'If you're not going to do what you're getting paid to do, then you're going to sit over here.' Because he is getting paid to do that."

Barnes’ "paid to do" remark raised eyebrows in the name, image and likeness era. No head coach had been as blunt as Barnes was after the win.

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

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

"I've told Chaz all along, he doesn't have to score the ball for us to win," Barnes added. "He's going to have to help those guys by learning how to screen, gonna have to learn to cut harder, learn to do his work early coming off screens,