The Sports Bank’s college basketball season previews undergo a face lift this season. Rather than counting down the top 111 teams in 111 days, we will go conference-by-conference. I’ve already counted down the Pac-12 and Big 12 now we turn our attention to the SEC.
The Vanderbilt Commodores have undergone some adversity over the past year, having to ultimately dismiss three talented guards from their roster. As a result, Vandy should struggle mightily this season with a young, inexperienced roster.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
Last Season: T-10th, 7-11 in SEC, 15-16 overall
Predicted SEC Finish: 14th
Projected Depth Chart
C: Damian Jones (So)/Josh Henderson (Sr)
PF: Luke Kornet (So)/Shelby Moats (Sr)
SF: James Siakam (Sr)/Jeff Roberson (Fr)
SG: Shelton Mitchell (Fr)/Matthew Fisher-Davis (Fr)/Nathan Watkins (Jr)
PG: Riley LaChance (Fr)/Wade Baldwin (Fr)/Carter Josephs (So)
Gone: PF-Rod Odom, PG-Kyle Fuller, PG-Eric McClellan (transfer-Gonzaga), SG-Dai-Jon Parker (dismissed), SG-Kedren Johnson (transfer-Memphis)
2014-2015 Outlook:
With Kedren Johnson and Dai-Jon Parker not being allowed to re-join the team and dismissal of Eric McClellan during last season, the Commodores have a brand new backcourt with four freshmen competing for minutes. Riley LaChance is the most heralded of that group and should start right away at the point while former Baylor commit Shelton Mitchell was a solid late pickup for Kevin Stallings. Matthew Fisher-Davis and Wade Baldwin will certainly get their opportunities as this quartet will get thrown to the wolves from the day one.
Vandy does return two frontcourt starters in Damian Jones and James Siakam. Jones had a terrific freshman season providing some scoring and rebounding down low. Siakam is more of a glue guy who needs to step into a larger role as a senior.
Luke Kornet and Shelby Moats were reserves a year ago and should compete for the other starting forward spot. Kornet’s ability to stretch defenses with his perimeter shooting should give him the edge. Josh Henderson returns to provide some depth in the middle after he missed most of last season with a torn ACL. Freshman Jeff Roberson will try to work his way into the rotation as well.
Stallings did pick up a key transfer this off-season in Cornell shooting guard, Nolan Cressler. He averaged 16.8 points per game last year but must sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules. Vandy already has four players committed for their 2015 class so this season should just be a bump in the road.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/28 vs. Rutgers (Barclays Center Classic)
11/29 vs. Virginia/LaSalle (Barclays Center Classic)
12/4 vs. Baylor (SEC/Big 12 Challenge)
12/13 vs. Purdue
12/20 at Georgia Tech
12/31 at St. Louis
BIG 12 PREVIEWS:
#1 KANSAS JAYHAWKS
#2 TEXAS LONGHORNS
PAC-12 PREVIEWS:
#1 ARIZONA WILDCATS
#4 UCLA BRUINS
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Milwaukee to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag), and finished with the second most accurate 2013 NBA Mock Draft (nearly a three-peat.) You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.