Press release:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt men’s basketball will face 2024 NCAA Tournament participant Nevada in the opening round of the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic at 7:30 p.m. ET on Nov. 21, ESPN Events announced Thursday afternoon.

The Commodores and Wolfpack will meet for the first time on the hardwood. Nevada is coming off a 26-8 season in 2024 and its second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament under coach Steve Alford. Following the opening game with the Wolfpack, the Dores will face either Seton Hall or VCU.

The remainder of the Charleston Classic field consists of Drake, Florida Atlantic, Miami and Oklahoma State.

The 2024 Charleston Classic marks the 16th season of the tournament. The Dores are making their first appearance in the event and are 5-5 all-time against the other participants.

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GOOOOO VANDY!!!!!

Offense:

-Coming out of fall camp I'd be STUNNED if Diego Pavia wasn't the starter.

-The backup spot is where it's more interesting to me. I went into camp thinking that Pavia and Nate Johnson were closer but I honestly think Drew Dickey and Johnson is closer. I think it's a lot closer than we've been led to believe and that Dickey has a real shot at that role. He's made a real late push. Even if that ends up being the case, I still think they probably design some packages for Johnson.

-Looks like Jeremy St Hilare and Whit Muschamp are running scout as Kyron Drones.

-Sedrick Alexander had a good camp, although not much production or reps. Seems like Chase Gillespie didn't get a ton of reps either but was really good in the scrimmages. Think you'll see those two plus AJ Newberry and Moni Jones. Best case for them is Newberry works his way in as the two, in my opinion.

-Still not sure who the third receiver is. I was higher on the camp Quincy Skinner had than most were, although he didn't blow me away. I'm close to saying Junior Sherrill is the best they have at that position. If I had to guess Loic Fouonji will be their most productive transfer there. Think they'll need the freshmen, too. Joseph McVay may play the most, although Tristen Brown may be able to be used in more packages.

-Tight end will be their strongest offensive position if all goes right.

-They're close on the offensive line from what Clark Lea said a few days ago. I think I'd probably project Kevo Wesley and Delfin Xavier Castillo as factors there more than we thought at the beginning of camp. Misael Sandoval and Steven Hubbard I'd think will play but maybe not as much as we'd thought. Sandoval I think has upside like few guys they have.

-Off to the side today was Cole Spence, I don't believe it to be serious. Jeremiah Dillon spent most of camp off to the side, as did Grayson Morgan.

Defense:

-The defensive line will have a lot of bodies to rotate, still have not seen enough to believe they have a true difference maker. Maybe their closest is Khordae Sydnor or Zaylin Wood. I'm curious as to what happens with Darren Agu. He had a really quiet camp, could be better in games than he was in practice if he's healthy.

-Miles Capers I would think will start and they'll need a big year from.

-Linebackers look good, I think if I had to guess Bryan Longwell has beat out Prince Kollie for now. He'll probably start alongside Langston Patterson.

-Have my questions about the corners. Kolbey Taylor looks like their best one, Martel Hight started to come on late. Those would be the starters, I'd think. Tyson Russell had a better camp than I thought he would.

-Interested to see how good safeties can be. They've got a ton of talent there. Think CJ Taylor will be more aggressive this year, wonder about Dontae Carter. Didn't see a ton from Carter in camp. I do leave encouraged about their depth there, Jalen Gilbert had two interceptions today.

The depth chart, as I see it:

1. Sedrick Alexander
2. AJ Newberry
3. Chase Gillsepie
4. Moni Jones
5. Dominic Rezac
6. Johann Cardenas
7. Jake Balis

I think Alexander is the clear No. 1 heading into the season--maybe not based on work (it seems as if they've rested him a good bit) but just the feeling he's the best they've got.
Gillespie was one of the surprises of camp. I'd just about written him off with Moni Jones and freshmen coming in, but Gillespie out-played them all and I'll be surprised if he doesn't get some reps. He's one of the most improved players on the team.
I'm not sure what to make of Jones; we didn't see him much (if at all) in Saturday's scrimmage. Don't know if that was a load-maintenance issue or just getting passed by Gillespie, perhaps.
Rezac has gotten a ton of touches lately and looked decent. I have no idea what that means but I'm guessing he'll have a hard time crashing the top three. He's been a two-year walk-on and was a defensive back until this fall. He did play running back in high school at Westside High in Omaha and ran for 1,411 yards and 17 TDs.
I could be off on Cardenas, I just didn't see him get a ton of touches (or do much with them) when I watched.
Balis has gotten some decent scrimmage action. He's a Penn transfer.
On the whole, it's probably an average Vanderbilt group. You'd like to see Alexander step it up to the next level and at this point I'm not sure what the ceiling is. That's probably not so much on Alexander as it is the cast around him given what we saw in fall camp. Is there a scenario when the offense gels a bit more as lineups are set and guys get used to the system? Maybe, and again, that's the whole wild card with this team, can it play smart and efficiently and win by throwing things at opponents that they don't see? Do that, and maybe Alexander's got a chance to have a decent year, but it's hard to project based on August.

With the women’s basketball team coming off its best season in over a decade, and in hopes of producing more content, we are seeking a season sponsor for our Vanderbilt women’s basketball coverage.

If you or anyone you know is interested, please feel free to reach out. My Twitter handle is @alainammorris.

We look forward to continuing to provide as much content as possible.

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Clark Lea

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CJ Taylor

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Seems like a weird situation. Rated as one of our top two recruits. Discussion of him even playing edge. He is skinny, yes. Listed as WR. So is he not even strong enough for wr? How was his competition in hs?

It'll be my first one in while, which hasn't been intentional, it's just been a crazy four months from me. Anyway, I'm skipping practice to be a part of it.

Presented by Sutherland & Belk. Get your questions in.

I've seen my last practice of fall camp due to personal commitments but I think I've seen enough to offer some thoughts.

How I see the depth chart:

1. Diego Pavia
2. Nate Johnson
3. Drew Dickey
4. Blaze Berlowitz
5. Jeremy St. Hilaire
6. Whit Muschamp

Overall thoughts:
I was disappointed in what I saw on the whole. To be clear, it wasn't all on the quarterbacks. Sometimes they didn't have a lot of time to throw and it's also not as if they had Randy Moss and Jerry Rice running wide open down the field at much of any time. But accuracy was an issue much of camp and there just wasn't much consistency in being able to sustain drives.
Now, if you're looking for reasons, I can give you others. It's a new system. New head coach of the offense (Jerry Kill), new coordinator (Tim Beck), and a system with tons of moving parts. It's a completely different offense. Pavia got there this summer. he's working with new linemen (who are learning under a new coach there, too). I feel like they rarely showed the same formation more than 2-3 plays in a row--and without being specific (you'll see it yourself in a week and a half) sometimes the looks they showed couldn't be much different from one play to the next. So sure, maybe there are reasons it didn't work great in fall camp and can get better. We'll see soon enough.
I think at this point, they have to roll with Pavia and hope it gets better. Maybe Nate Johnson gets better with time in terms of accuracy, but it's just not been there and it wasn't there at Utah. And I think they can find a spot for him with his legs here and there even if not.
The wild card to me is Drew Dickey. I thought he should have been the 3 leaving camp last year. He looked the best in the scrimmage last Saturday. He's not great at anything but he's solid at a lot of things. If all else fails, does Dickey get a shot? That feels like a long shot but I couldn't help leaving Saturday wondering about it a bit.
I'm sure Joey and Billy can add thoughts here.

Will hit running backs next but it may be this afternoon.

- Grayson Morgan, Christian James, Moni Jones, and Jeremiah Dillon were off to the side. That's something we can't gloss over. At this point last season, this team was dealing with too many soft-tissue injuries heading into week zero. This team is fairly healthy right now.

- Today was a big situational-type day with game week next week. Both sides of the ball came with some new pre-snap looks to confuse the other side. I think pre-snap eye candy will be a common theme on both sides of the ball this season. I'd say the offense won the day, which is a good sign.

- Nate Johnson had one of his better days, but was still inaccurate on the whole.

- Cole Spence has been catching a lot of balls. As y'all already know, he will be a frequent target this season. Pavia specifically loves throwing to him.

- Blaze Berlowitz made some good throws today, but I still think Dickey is the No. 3. Dickey has looked like the best QB on the team at times. He’s decisive with the football.

- Diego Pavia looked pretty sharp today. I'd say he had one of his better days. He was pretty accurate. He looked to have better chemistry with the receivers.

- Richie Hoskins caught a nice deep-ish ball down the sideline from Pavia. He was involved today. Loic Fouonji jumped up and some catches today as well.

- As I mentioned, the defense got even more creative with some different pre-snap looks today to try to confuse the offense. I thought Pavia handled them well. I am intrigued to see how much going up against Vandy's defense throughout fall camp will help Pavia in game action.

- Trudell Berry stood out today, he continues to improve.

- Tomorrow is Clark Lea's final availability before Tuesday of game week. Let me know if there's any questions.

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Anfernee balling with saints first team D. I’m sure Demario Davis isn’t playing and maybe some other pieces but has to bode well for him making the 53.⚓️⬇️

OFFENSE: (Joey)
- Diego Pavia continues to take ownership in the quarterback room. He's leading the room in a lot of ways.

- I still think Nate Johnson is the two but I have a hard time throwing out what Drew Dickey did Saturday. I think that's definitely the top three now.

- I didn't see Sedrick Alexander on the field, I believe that's got to do with class. Moni Jones was off to the side. Chase Gillespie is a guy that I wouldn't count out as the two or three, they seem to be optimistic there. I'm starting to see Gillespie more here.

- The big story at receiver today is Dariyan Wiley's return. He's not going to be a world-beater and I didn't see him separating himself today but he'll certainly be a story to watch the rest of the way. They need a third guy and they may need more than that. He's a little smaller than I originally thought. Nothing super new in that room otherwise. Quincy Skinner made a play and so did Junior Sherrill. Jeremiah Dillon is still off to the side.

- Kam Johnson is starting to get more involved. Think he's still the three. Cole Spence did some Cole Spence things again today. Still no sign of Tyler Fortenberry. Wonder if we hear something there soon.

-The offensive line is still the place I'm most interested the rest of the way. Interested to see how that ends up. I think they're higher on Kevo Wesley than most are, I wonder about how much we see Steven Hubbard. That could be the group that we're not sure about who they trot out the morning of August 31.

DEFENSE: (Billy)
- I don't have a ton from today. They mixed and matched a lot at certain spots to build reps. They'll be rotating a lot anyway at several positions, due to necessity/potential injuries. Our view was particularly shielded from any of the live-action today, so it was tough to come away with many takeaways.

- Jeffrey Ugo had an interception in 1-on-1s. He's been solid throughout camp and is a great backup option behind Fontenette at STAR.

- Khordae Sydnor continues to impress, it’ll be interesting to see how he stacks up with DiCosmo on the depth chart for week 1.

- I thought the cornerbacks looked pretty solid today, a pleasant surprise. Jaylin Lackey made a nice play on Skinner in the end zone. Kolbey Taylor also made a nice deflection on Cole Spence in the end zone. That's where I think Taylor will shine, being physical with bigger weapons that teams like to target in the red zone. Tyson Russell also made a PBU on Founji that caught my eye.

- Bryan Longwell's speed and pursuit continue to impress. He and Langston both are almost always in the right spot and playing with even more physicality this season.

We'll have more after the pressers.

I am completely convinced that Milquetoast made some very good hires in Kill, Beck at OC, and Lea at DC. I’ve convinced myself that Kill has a big enough voice to make some of the changes that needed to be made on this team too. Lea isn’t much of a competitor (more of a ceo) but Kill is, this is a big deal.

Pavia, Stowers, Spence, Sherrill and hopefully a surprise or two are running an offense that keeps defenses on their heels and I believe that we’re all going to be shocked at how decent to good our offense is.

CJ Taylor, Langston Patterson, Randon Fontenette, Dontae Carter, Longwell, Bryce Cowan, Prince Collie, Kolbey Taylor, Sewell, and hopefully a much improved DL. We have a few playmakers on this side of the ball and @Billy Derrick has assured me that Clark Lea is a fantastic Defensive Coordinator.

We host Va Tech, Bama, freaking Texas, Carl’s Jr and UTjr, what an incredible schedule. If we can show progress and toughness, we may steal a few games this year.

I’m trying to stay grounded but I really can’t do it anymore. We are 11 days from kickoff and I hope we have a decent Vandy crowd for the opener so that if we find ourselves in a game, the players will get some energy from us.

Do we expect the students to show up? At 28,500, do we have any chance of having more fans there than Va Tech does? Regardless, I’m counting down the days at this point and ready to get hurt again.

Vanderbilt checks in at 75; projected SEC record of 6-12:

Has the line-up for V Tech been published yet? Curious to see how many transfers will be starting.

It’s pretty close to set

Nov. 4: Maryland Eastern Shore
Nov. 16: Jackson State
Dec. 8: TCU
Dec. 21: Austin Peay
Dec. 30: New Orleans

Other buy games: Citadel (source)

Power five/upper echelon midmajors:
MTE, three games in Charleston
ACC/SEC: Virginia Tech

If you take a look at the NEZ construction cam, the new videoboard has been fired up and appears operational. I know several on here were concerned about its readiness, so thought you would want to take a look. Additionally, there have been a few posts questioning the readiness of the new premium seating in the NEZ. The premium seating area appears largely complete at this point. And, if you believe the renderings, the seating here will be bistro chairs rather than fixed stadium seats. If that is still the plan, then they only need to place the chairs in the next week and a half which should be easy to do. Now, the new basketball operations building that the videoboard sits atop looks unlikely to be completed by August 31, but I don't know if that building was intended to be accessed from the premium seating area on game days.