Tennessee offers five-star point guard Khristian Lander

The Tennessee coaching staff is busy working on the class of 2020 — and potentially working to fill one immediate opening in 2019 — but they took a moment to look ahead to 2021 on Tuesday.

The Volunteers sent out a new offer to Khristian Lander, a five-star point guard out of Evansville, Indiana.

Lander is the 17th ranked player in the class of 2021, according to the 247 Sports Composite Rankings. The 6-1, 160 pound guard currently holds offers from Florida, Indiana, Louisville, Purdue, Michigan, Ohio State and Kansas, among others.

Tennessee has also offered 2021 point guard prospects Cam Hayes, Zion Harmon and Carter Whitt.

Last season as a sophomore, Lander averaged 22 points per game for Francis Joseph Reitz School. He added over four rebounds per game, while averaging 3.7 assists per contest. Lander shot 53 percent from the field and 37 percent from long range.

Tennessee’s roster saw major change this offseason, losing four starters to the NBA. For the upcoming season, a couple of hold-overs from the previous core will help the Vols in a bit of a transition year. Jordan Bowden and Lamonte Turner have one year left before handing the keys over to guys like Josiah James, Victor Bailey and Corey Walker — and potentially Keon Johnson and other highly ranked members of the 2020 class.

Rick Barnes has quickly shed the “can’t recruit” stigma, landing guys like James and Walker. He’s already aiming high with his 2020 and 2021 offers, so it will be interesting to see if he can continue to recruit at this level.