I caught up with 2024 safety Rydarrius Morgan. Vanderbilt offered on Thursday. He plans to be at Vanderbilt's Junior day later this month. If you watch his film, you will love his speed and his tackling ability. He gets to the football in a hurry. When he gets there, he's taking out legs with some physicality.

Here I asked the question and I’m going to start out by saying I don’t necessarily have a favorite.

I like Jay Bilas. That’s like saying you like the New York Yankees, so I get it if that opinion is not universally well liked.

Fran Fraschilla is really good, but it’s almost like he is on TV too much.

Daymeon Fishback does a really good job in the studio in my opinion, he has really grown into that role.

Back in the day I muted the TV if Joe Dean was calling the game, but I thought Joe Dean, Jr. did a terrific job. Big time Al McGuire fan. Was not a fan of Billy Packer.

I am forgetting lots.

Star-V in an obit picture. (Heard she looked for the "fat V but couldn't find it.)

Pretty funny, and takes a shot at UTjr, which is always nice.


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Remember a couple of weeks ago when somebody asked where the Stack defenders were and I sort of sheepishly stepped up to the plate and did the best I could? Well, I'm going to try again.
I was there last night, as always, mystified but not surprised by the starting lineup. I thought that Q did pretty well initially, but the rest was pretty meh. And then the A-team game in and order was restored to the universe. And Liam and Ezra played great, and Jordan defended like a man. We were terrible from the line until OT, when we were nails.
Ezra. Wow, who knew? Did Stack see a diamond in the rough, or is he actually developing him? I used to think Ezra was a bust, but he sure looks like a gem now. Could he actually be a player that, at least for now, benefits by coming off the bench? I don't know if I'll ever feel good about him launching a 3, but from 12-15 feet, he's been money.
Liam. Our dominant player. Doesn't start. A blocking machine. Kornet without the outside shot. Injury prone? I'll let someone else do the work to compare how he does off the bench versus starting.
I'll give Stack the benefit of the doubt and assume that he knows or sees something that I (dare I say we?) don't.
Did you notice these quotes from Liam in Joey's article? "I love this team." "Obviously, we're extremely well coached." I doubt he was being sarcastic, and if any player has a "right" to complain, it's Liam.
That's all I've got, and it might not seem like much. I'm doing the best I can with what I've been dealt.
Sincerely,
Your voice crying in the wilderness

I caught up with Massachusetts athlete Cameron Monteiro. He excels in both football and basketball. He's really athletic, and he played quarterback for his high school team this past season.


I also thought I'd link his basketball highlights to get an idea of his athleticism.

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When the Balconies would tremble. The best year.

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For the record I do not engage too much in the threads about Coach Stackhouse and his future at Vanderbilt, because I believe he is here for at least two more years if he wants to be here. I do read the threads, but I do not have much to offer.

As for the team's prospects I believe we may very well be approaching a fork in the road. We are 8-8 overall, 1-2 in the SEC, and three of the next four games are at home: Arkansas, Alabama, at Georgia and Kentucky. Now, in days long ago the prospect of having three of the next four at home was a recipe for righting the ship. These days I'm not so sure.

And for the record II, I predict we go 1-3 over the course of the next four. Don't press me on the one I think we will win, though I will give you a hint: I don't think it is at Georgia.

Anchor Down!

This is incredible.

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Apologies to another poster who mentioned Disu's key role in UT's epic comeback over TCU last night. A well-deserved call out.

After 15 games, last night's 23 minutes and 14 points (7-7 from "2") represent the high-water marks in each category for Dylan this year. He has scored in double digits 5 times all year.


He is shooting at a very high % from 2 and less than 30% from "3" but averaging a whopping 7 points per game while playing about 17 minutes per game.

In two games in which UT scored 100+ points, Dylan had 2 points in each game; that kind of says it all.

Dylan is a role player for UT; obviously, he would have been a "star" at VU.

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Doesn’t sound like Dort will be getting more minutes anytime soon.

I’m not exactly sure how to title this but I was curious about the actual things Stack does or doesn’t do that actually negatively impact his ability to win basketball games. I am bringing this up, largely because there have been a bunch of posters here who believe in their heart of hearts that if Stack would give Liam Robbins a few more minutes per game, our record would be significantly better.

Feel free to make your own list or add to mine, or tell me where I’m wrong.

1) Get a time machine and go back and start recruiting from the second you step on campus. To me, this is far and away the #1 reason we sit at 8-8 in year 4 of the Stacksperiment. I believe he told somebody he didn’t like to, or didn’t want to, or didn’t feel like it was necessary to recruit and that he planned on developing players to compensate. I *think he gets the importance of recruiting now as evidenced by this past class and the next class but I think it’s too little too late.

2) Trusting guys that really can’t be trusted. This probably goes to back to number 1, but we have probably lost 3-4 games this season because Trey Thomas and Mylar Stute can’t make wide open looks with the game on the line. Stack draws up the plays to perfection, we execute the play and then the brick happens. I’m not sure either of those guys has the level of belief needed to make shots with the game on the line.

3) Tied to 1/2, Stack always recruits shooters, we have a plethora of shooters, but….. we lack makers. Stack needs better shooters. The bottom line is that we play quality basketball but we have a bad shooting team. This is another instance where he thought he could develop better shooters and he was wrong.

4) Instead of trying to foster growth of the fanbase, he has pretty much the exact opposite from the start. Stackhouse is simply too dumb (maybe stubborn is the word) to understand that each time you block a Vandy fan on Twitter, you have more than likely lost that fan and they will no longer attend Vandy games and cheer for Vandy. In most cases, it’s not just the individual fan, but the wife and children. The practice of blocking Vandy fans is the most bizarrely unintelligent thing a coach could do. More fans at home equals more wins, more wins equals more fans, more of both equals more success / money / happiness / etc. Stack also called or implied that half of the fanbase is racist (maybe he’s too dumb to understand that he did, but he did) when referencing politics. Dumb move, shut up and coach the team.

5) Ending “The Streak.” This one probably ended a few fans’ hope for Stack pretty early in his tenure. And against UTjr nonetheless.

6) At this point, playing guys who you know can’t help you make the NCAA Tournament. Myles Stute, QMB, and Trey Thomas need to start having their minutes replaced by Lewis, Shelby, Smith, Dort and Dia. This freshman class has talent and they have to be approaching earning those minutes. This one is correctable and I bet we start seeing the freshman more.

7) Run more offense through Robbins (in the post). Liam has a good back to the basket game and very few can defend him. He needs more paint touches, more touches on the block, and a higher emphasis on staying on the block.

What did I leave out? I know y’all have more or ones I just forgot.

Half trying to be a smartass, half serious question. This team is pretty bad, and we thought that they would hang their hat on defense, but they aren't very good on defense.

Grambling, Alabama A&M, SE Louisiana, and South Carolina twice are our best remaining opportunities for wins, and after tonight, I say none of them are gimmies.

Looks like another long hoops season. This is getting old.

We've talked about how Vanderbilt could add a 2023 prospect in the late signing period. We think tight end is the main focus if that happens, and Vanderbilt offered Ismael Smith Flores today. He's listed as a wide receiver, but Vanderbilt likes him at TE.

We asked him what he likes about Vanderbilt.

"They play big time football. They play against all the big dogs in the SEC," said Ismael Smith Flores.

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Only for players who've played more than 50 minutes.

True shooting percentage
Robbins - 63
Stute - 57
Lawrence - 57
Dort - 56
QMB - 54
Shelby - 54
Manjon - 52
Wright - 49
Thomas - 49
Smith - 48
Ansong - 46
Dia - 42
Lewis - 42

Points per 70
Robbins - 24.7
Shelby - 22.7
Wright - 17.3
Lawrence - 15.9
Stute - 15.0
Dia - 13.1
Manjon - 12.8
Thomas - 11.8
Smith - 11.3
Dort - 11.1
Ansong - 9.8
QMB - 9.0
Lewis - 7.0

Rebounds per 70
Dort - 14.5
Robbins - 11.3
Dia - 10.2
QMB - 9.0
Smith - 8.5
Stute - 8.2
Ansong - 7.9
Wright - 7.6
Lewis - 6.5
Lawrence - 5.4
Manjon - 4.7
Thomas - 3.0
Shelby - 2.1

Blocks per 70
Dort - 6.9
Robbins - 5.5
Ansong - 1.6
QMB - 1.2
Wright - 0.6
DIa - 0.5
(everybody else under 0.5)

Steals per 70
Manjon - 1.6
Wright - 1.4
Lawrence - 1.4
QMB - 1.0
Thomas - 0.9
Stute - 0.8
Lewis - 0.8
Robbins - 0.7
Shelby - 0.5
Smith - 0.5
(everyone else under 0.5)

Fouls per 70
Dort - 11.1
QMB - 5.4
Robbins - 4.6
Dia - 4.4
Stute - 3.5
Wright - 3.4
Ansong - 3.3
Manjon - 3.1
Shelby - 3.1
Thomas - 2.6
Lawrence - 2.5
Smith - 1.7
Lewis - 1.6

Assists-to-turnovers
Manjon - 1.8
Smith - 1.7
Wright - 1.6
Thomas - 1.4
Lewis - 1.3
QMB - 1.2
Lawrence - 0.9
Robbins - 0.8
Dia - 0.8
Ansong - 0.4
Stute - 0.3
Dort - 0.1

Per a school press release:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Dates and times have been set for Vandyville activities at select Vanderbilt men’s and women’s basketball home games it was announced on Thursday.

Vandyville events—all available for free—will take place in the practice gym which can be accessed via Gate 1 at Memorial Gymnasium, beginning when doors open 60 minutes prior to tip off and running through the conclusion of halftime. Activities on site will include inflatables, arts and crafts, a station to try on basketball jerseys.

Vandyville opens at the times listed below for the following Commodore home dates in the coming weeks:

-Men vs. Arkansas, Saturday, Jan. 14, noon

-Women vs. Texas A&M, Sunday, Jan. 29, 11 a.m.

-Women vs. Kentucky, Sunday, Feb. 19, 1 p.m.

Individuals can click on the following links to access full 2022-23 Vanderbilt men’s and women’sbasketball schedules. Fans wishing to purchase tickets to upcoming Commodore home basketball games can click here.

I caught up with Samuel Madu. Vanderbilt was his first offer in November. He's added several offers since. He plans to visit Vanderbilt later this month for Junior Day. Madu was a good interview.

Strange that he committed without signing yet. Is he signing in February?

Some of you are just haters.

The freshman are LEGIT. We will likely lose this game but this Memphis team has played well.

The future looks bright.

I caught up with Georgia offensive tackle Andrew Rosinski. He recently picked up a North Carolina offer.

This team is down to eight players , only one of which, 5th year senior Ciaja Harbison, could start and play for most SEC teams. Her backcourt mate, 5th year senior Marnelle Garraud, is a decent defender and shooter but not super quick. Our main post player is 6’2”” sophomore Sacha Washington who rebounds well and has long arms, is not quick and is at a size disadvantage against SEC posts. Senior Yaubryon Chambers has contributed well as a would be post but is barely over 6’ and never got extensive playing time until this season. This may seem harsh, but I don’t think the rest of the roster would even sniff playing time on most SEC teams. Overall, we are relatively slow, unathletic, and don’t shoot well. We’ll be fortunate to win five games and it could be significantly worse than that.
Neither of the remaining two freshmen are game changers. I can’t see them being that next season , either. We do have a five member incoming freshmen class for 2023/24 - not ranked in the top 25 - and two very good players in Jordyn Cambridge and Iyana Moore hopefully returning from injury. That frosh class needs to be better than advertised for us to make a significant upward turn. We got 1 excellent player from the portal last year in Harbison; we need more. Shea Ralph has her work cut out .