Matthew Driscoll peppers conversations with dozens of catchy phrases about shooting.
Up and out. No fat. Four fingers to the floor.
The North Florida coach doesn’t need a phrase to describe how fast Chaz Lanier’s shot is. He needs only sounds. He claps twice. Boom. Catch. Boom. Shoot. Lanier gets the ball out of his hands before the second clap.
The Tennessee basketball guard has used the sudden movement to catch defenders by surprise and make more than 100 3-pointers this season. It is not a surprise to Driscoll. He sat with Lanier in March 2023 and told him what was to come if he refined his shooting motion.
“Man, I hope you see what is in front of you because it could be an amazing story for us to tell for years after you are gone,” Driscoll told Lanier after his junior season.
Lanier’s story now includes back-to-back prolific shooting seasons and All-American honors with the No. 2 seed Vols (27-7), who open the NCAA Tournament against No. 15 seed Wofford (19-15) on Thursday (6:40 p.m. ET, TNT) in Lexington, Kentucky.
He has done it by developing one of the fastest — if not the fastest — shots in college basketball.
Where Chaz Lanier first learned how to shoot
Thomas Lanier was a stretch-4 before it was a basketball staple, shooting his way to more than 1,000 career points under famed coach Don Meyer at Lipscomb in the 1990s.
His youngest son came asking for lessons almost two decades later.
“He always told me to hold my follow-through and act like you are digging in a cookie jar,” Chaz Lanier said.
Lanier garnered the principles of shooting from his dad. Thomas calls his son a student of the game who devoured all teaching points, applying them naturally. He taught his third grader to start close to the hoop, then keep his mechanics consistent moving back.
“He shot a lot of balls himself,” Thomas Lanier said. “He learned what would go in and not go in.”
Driscoll saw the results when Lanier was a senior at Ensworth in Nashville. He averaged 22.8 points and made more than 45% of his 3-pointers after a 9-inch growth spurt.
Lanier kept his right elbow tight to his body. His hand was under the ball. His guide hand was so picture-perfect that Driscoll has images of it on his phone.
“He has one of the most beautiful left guide hands you’ll ever see,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll loved the flow of Lanier’s midrange jumper. His 3-point shot needed work. But the elements were clear and North Florida was one of two schools to offer Lanier a scholarship.
How Chaz Lanier developed his 3-point shooting at North Florida
Lanier can still hear one of Driscoll’s phrases.
“That joker can shoot it,” Lanier said, mimicking his former coach.
Lanier honed his remarkable shot during four seasons at North Florida.
His 3-point shot was like a howitzer when he arrived in Jacksonville, Driscoll said. It either went in or smashed into the back of the rim. But his shot was straight. He rarely missed right or left. He just needed to rework the arc.
“I was like, ‘Bro, you aren’t throwing darts at a bar. You have to shoot up,’ ” Driscoll said.
He preached shooting up, not out, to redefine his arc. The perfect shot, he said, hits the back of the rim and goes straight down. Lanier set a shooting gun high, forcing him to shoot up and over the net.
He worked to finish his shot high with his fingers pointed down.
Then Lanier turned his attention to the speed of his release. He eliminated a dip in his shooting motion. He starts the ball low so he has to be quick — and he is as quick as can be. The Ospreys coaches contest shots with pool noodles in practice. Lanier had no problem getting shots off over the foam challenge.
“Next thing you know, in that (junior) year he had the breakout toward the end,” Driscoll said. “That ball was going through. It looked like he was never going to miss. It was unbelievable.”
Lanier had a minor role for his first 2½ seasons. He went on a five-game tear late in his junior season before breaking out. He averaged 19.7 points and made 106 3-pointers on 44% 3-point shooting the next season, his shot mastered.
“We talk about no fat on a shot,” Driscoll said. “That joker has no fat.”
What Chaz Lanier has added to his shot at Tennessee
Gregg Polinsky is still amazed by Lanier’s shot after 34 games.
“He takes a touch shot from 3,” the Vols assistant coach said. “The ball barely hits his hands and it is gone.”
Tennessee hasn’t sought to change Lanier’s shot but to fine-tune around the elite motion since he transferred to UT in May 2024. He has made 110 3-pointers on 40% 3-point shooting and is averaging 17.7 points.
At North Florida, Lanier established his left foot as his permanent first foot down coming around screens and mastered footwork. At Tennessee, he has polished his prep before shooting. He gets his hips turned early and lines his body up with the rim to be ready to shoot on the catch.
“That is where he may have the quickest trigger in college basketball,” Polinsky said.
Lanier doesn’t have to gather himself before shooting. He doesn’t roll the ball to the seams to shoot. He is ready to release. Polinsky, who worked in the NBA for more than 20 years, believes Lanier’s pre-shot prep and his release make him “quicker than anybody playing basketball.”
He has added more to his shooting at Tennessee, including showing a high release on midrange jumpers, fighting through physical defenses and increasing his endurance. But his 3 remains the moneymaker and the reason why his game translated into the SEC — and why Polinsky believes Lanier will be successful in the NBA.
Lanier didn’t think the past two years were possible in that March 2023 meeting with Driscoll. Lanier thought he would have a nice career at North Florida, then play overseas. The reality is better than the former vision.
“It has panned out just how we imagined — how he imagined,” Lanier said.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
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