Early look at Vanderbilt

#1
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MikeHamiltonFan

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#1
I am posting this in bball instead of in Around the NCAA because I will be focusing on teams in the SEC East. TN will be playing each of these teams at least twice next season and their RPI will directly impact our own.
I will begin with a team that is a known quantity in terms of the recruits it is bringing in and who is coming back.

Vanderbilt
23-11
9-7

Season recap:
They acquitted themselves pretty well in the non conference schedule, avoiding the Western Kentucky type debacle of the previous year. They beat Nebraska and North Carolina in San Juan, losing to West Virginia by 3 points. They beat some other nice teams in the non conference schedule, Belmont and Marquette and Davidson and Saint Mary's. Losing a close game became somewhat of a habit for Vanderbilt, notably with overtime losses to Missouri, to South Carolina, in Knoxville by 3, at Florida in OT, and at Kentucky by 2.

They had some nice conference wins over Alabama and Kentucky.

Stallings had to be disappointed and the fans may be getting tired to hear the excuses as to why they lose to a double digit seed in the first game every year for the last 3. Richmond beat them by 3, not by 30, so the players have reason to believe that as with the other 6 games I mentioned that they are close to being able to have a gaudy W/L record.

That may explain why all 3 of the players for Vanderbilt who had some shot at the NBA this year elected to return. Festus Ezeli, John Jenkins, Jeffery Taylor to return to Vandy GoVolsXtra

Forward
Name Pos. Yr. Exp. Ht./Wt. Hometown (last school)
5 Lance Goulbourne F Jr. 6-8/225 Brooklyn, NY (The Hun School)
14 Aaron Noll F Sr. 6-7/220 Fort Mitchell, KY (Covington Catholic HS)
45 Rod Odom F So. 6-9/207 Bellport, NY (Middlesex School)
35 James Siakam F So. 6-7/210 Douala, Cameroon (Brehm Prep)
44 Jeffery Taylor F Jr. 6-7/225 Norrkoping, OU (Hobbs High)
33 Steve Tchiengang F Sr. 6-9/240 Douala, OU (Montverde Academy)
54 Andre Walker F Sr. 6-7/220 Flossmoor, IL (Homewood-Flossmoor)

Center
Name Pos. Yr. Exp. Ht./Wt. Hometown (last school)
3 Festus Ezeli C Sr. 6-11/255 Benin City, OU (Igbinedion Education Center)
40 Josh Henderson C So. 6-11/220 Roanoke, VA (Caves Valley HS)

Guard
Name Pos. Yr. Exp. Ht./Wt. Hometown (last school)
11 Kyle Fuller G So. 6-1/180 Moreno Valley, CA (Rancho Verde HS)
23 John Jenkins G Jr. 6-4/215 Gallatin, TN (Station Camp HS)
1 Brad Tinsley G Sr. 6-3/210 Oregon City, OR (Oregon City High)

Tinsley PG
Jenkins SG
Taylor F
Goulborne F
Ezeli C

That is their starting lineup. Jenkins will be on the floor for 35 minutes probably, but I would expect that this upcoming year Tinsley will get more rest than he did this past year because they have a stud PG coming in in Kedren Johnson.

I bolded the guys who will be contributors for Vanderbilt next year aside from the freshmen. Stallings will not be platooning, but he does have his best and deepest team he has had in the last several years. This team will be a trendy pick to go deep in the tournament.

They have a very solid class of 3 freshman coming in. Here is the ESPN rating for each:

96 Dai-Jon Parker, SG

POS RANK SG #10 HT 6'2" WT 185lbs.

93 Kedren Johnson, PG

POS RANK PG #16 HT 6'3" WT 200lbs.

89 Shelby Moats, PF POS RANK PF #53 HT 6'8" WT 225lbs.

As a senior, Kedren averaged 28.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg and 6.0 steals. He brings something to the table that Tinsley cannot.

Vanderbilt should be a better team next year. The 3 players coming back all have NBA aspirations but they realize they need to grow as players if they are going to get the maximum money out of their professional careers. Vol fans can only hope that Tobias Harris and Scotty Hopson come to the same conclusion.
 
#11
#11
Honestly, Vandy looks a lot like UF did heading into last season in terms of returning talent that fell a bit short several times. If it weren't for UK's class coming in mixed with their probable returning talent... They would be my pick for the East next season at this point. UK and Vandy should make for great entertainment next season.
 
#12
#12
Good information. Vandy has the talent to make a run next year. If they don't advance in the NCAA next year, their coach may find his seat getting rather warm.
 
#13
#13
Vandy gets tight in big games because, imo, Stallings tightens up. Nobody wants the ball and they can't go to Ezeli down the stretch due to ft concerns, though he improved a little. If they don't make it past the first round next year Stallings will be on his way out because the following year will be dismal.
 
#14
#14
pl3 I agree that next year is crucial to Stallings. I do not think the next year will be horrific because he has done a good job recruiting and has some young talent, but this represents the most talented team Stallings has ever had.

If Jenkins can awaken the echoes of some of the stud 3 point shooting scorers that have come before him, he will have a team that is longer and faster and better able to help on defense around him than ever before.

Vanderbilt could legitimately be ranked in the top 15 headed into SEC play.

Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Florida will all be incredibly strong next year, it is a hostile place for Martin to be stepping into.
 
#15
#15
I'm not a fan of Stallings but he is a victim of his own success. Vandy should be happy with his consistency and the fact he wants to stay. He might not make the tourney every year but he isn't having really down years either. There are higher expectations as he is reloading recruits much better than in the program's recent history. I think Vandy will win the SEC regular season this year & I don't think he will be on his way out even with another one & done in the NCAA. That being said his teams do play tight in tournament settings. I think he would need to have at least 2 subpar years to be on the hot seat with the people who actually make the decisions.
 
#16
#16
"Victim of his own success" is interesting.

I agree with what you are saying, but I think that the truth is that his teams have lost games they should have won in the NCAA tournament specifically over and over.

If they win the SEC, they will be a 2 or 3 seed at worst in the NCAA's and losing the first game again would cement a big black mark on Stallings resume.
 
#17
#17
They aren't going to win the SEC overall. They will be a player in the East, but likely no one will pick them over KY.
 
#19
#19
BasketvolsFan said:
They aren't going to win the SEC overall. They will be a player in the East, but likely no one will pick them over KY.
Click to expand...

You saw how close they were this year right?

Arent you the guy who argued with me that Kentucky's incoming class is not nearly as good as the class from 2 years ago?

I think at some point the KY freshman are going to struggle with a smart team lead primarily by seniors.

I do think that 4th in the SEC East would not be a bad year for Coach Martin and could mean a better seeding than we had this year going into the NCAA's.

League RPI should be better as well. Hahhaah I will finally have a year when "Better SEC" is the correct prediction.
 
#20
#20
BasketvolsFan said:
They aren't going to win the SEC overall. They will be a player in the East, but likely no one will pick them over KY.
Click to expand...

I agree most will not pick them. I hate Vandy bball but another year with a core group of upperclassmen returning all with NBA potential is scary...
 
#21
#21
MikeHamiltonFan said:
You saw how close they were this year right?

Arent you the guy who argued with me that Kentucky's incoming class is not nearly as good as the class from 2 years ago?

I think at some point the KY freshman are going to struggle with a smart team lead primarily by seniors.

I do think that 4th in the SEC East would not be a bad year for Coach Martin and could mean a better seeding than we had this year going into the NCAA's.

League RPI should be better as well. Hahhaah I will finally have a year when "Better SEC" is the correct prediction.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am the guy who argued that Kentucky's incoming class was not as good as the class from 2 years ago. I still stand by that argument. Look at the players who went in the first round from that class and look at this class and first round picks. This KY team fared better in the NCAA than the other class due to having more contributions from upper class players, not because of a better freshman class. Experience usually shows come tournament time. I do agree with you that the overall SEC RPI should be better this year than last year. How well Coach Martin does next season will hinge greatly on the decisions of Hopson and Harris.
 
#22
#22
Teague, Gilchrist, and Davis are without doubt one and done. No question, barring a severe potentially career ending injury these kids are lottery picks and as a Big 3, are potentially better than the class from 2 years ago. Top to bottom, and with Knight probably returning, next years UK team should be one of the best college teams of all time.
 
#23
#23
I was comparing this years freshmen with the freshmen class from the previous year. I agree that they will be loaded next year. That's the main reason I see no way that Vandy can be a favorite for winning the SEC overall or even the East next season.
 
#24
#24
I would say top to bottom the class is on par with Wall's class. We'll all have to wait 11 months to really know though. I will say that next year, they will be the best equipped since Cal took over to make a deep run if not win it all. UNC is going to be hard to knock off, but UK will have the talent if they can put it together.
 
#25
#25
BasketvolsFan said:
I was comparing this years freshmen with the freshmen class from the previous year. I agree that they will be loaded next year. That's the main reason I see no way that Vandy can be a favorite for winning the SEC overall or even the East next season.
Click to expand...

I think Vandy can win the SEC regular season with what they have returning & the advantage they hold at Memorial Gym. KY will have more talent but their inconsistency during the regular season because of their youth and maybe a lack of interest opens the door for Vandy to win it. Once tourney time rolls around KY should win the SEC tourney and go further in the NCAA's than Vandy no doubt.
 
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