This was Vanderbilt’s first official practice of the season, with the start now 40 days away. Here are some notes on what I saw.
I don’t put a lot of stock into one practice, but today they pushed the tempo considerably and shot a ton of 3s. I think that fits their strengths.
On the whole, it was one of those “I can’t believe this is Vanderbilt I’m watching” practices with the size and the athleticism on the floor. This really is a new era.
Take everything in the context that it’s one practice. You can see some things right away, but I want to see a lot more of these before I draw sweeping conclusions.
Individual observations
Clevon Brown looked thicker, another observer at practice thought perhaps 15-20 pounds thicker. I’m not convinced it’s that much, but whatever it is, it’s muscle. The highlight of his day was when he blocked an Ejike Obinna dunk.
Darius Garland obviously had the ball in his hands a lot. The release on his jumper is really quick, and he almost seems to flick it at times. He shot the ball well from distance. I think in terms of penetration, it’ll be interesting to see how he adjust to the game. He had some highlight-reel moments but also maybe one where he got into trouble against length and didn’t have a plan. He’s going to be the face of this team and so much fun to watch.
Max Evans looked as improved as anyone to me. He shot the ball really well from distance and is maybe a tad more muscular through the torso and arms. They let him handle the ball a decent amount, too.
Saben Lee is a little bigger, and seems to have added a step-back move that he flashed to knock down a 16-foot jumper. I think I posted this earlier in the summer, he’s supposedly the most improved player on the team, though I didn’t notice much from him good or bad otherwise today.
Matthew Moyer needs some work on his shot, but he’s really long and athletic and it’s easy to see why he was so highly regarded out of high school.
If I had three words to describe Aaron Nesmith, they’d be fluid, smooth and quick. He’s right-handed but has a good handle with his left. He really struggled with his shot today, which I didn’t expect, but I don’t see any reason from concern based on summer observations of his game, and he looks like he’s in excellent shape. He also took a charge against Joe Toye in live action.
Saw an assist out of Ejike Obinna as he got the ball in the paint near the foul line and dumped one down to Moyer for a bucket. I didn’t see him stand out a lot in a good or bad way otherwise.
Matt Ryan looks to me as if he’s lost 10-15 pounds, and in a good way. His face is thinner. He’ll help with distance shooting for sure.
Simi Shittu was practicing and Bryce Drew said they’re holding him out of contact portions. I watched him move laterally and though I can’t say what percent of his former self he was, he looked fine to me. He’s har to evaluate until we see him in 5-on-5 scrimmage action.
Joe Toye shot the ball really, really well from distance today, probably better than anyone on the team. Don’t count him out on having a role.
I didn’t have a lot of take-aways on Yanni Wetzell, He’s a decent finisher inside and can put the ball on the floor a bit. He’s a little more muscular through the arms and torso. He’s not that explosive around the rim but they’ve got that other places.
I actually saw coach Bryce Drew get really upset today and almost yell at a player, proving there’s a first for everything.
Fire away with questions if you have them. I'll try to answer what I feel I'm qualified to answer.
I don’t put a lot of stock into one practice, but today they pushed the tempo considerably and shot a ton of 3s. I think that fits their strengths.
On the whole, it was one of those “I can’t believe this is Vanderbilt I’m watching” practices with the size and the athleticism on the floor. This really is a new era.
Take everything in the context that it’s one practice. You can see some things right away, but I want to see a lot more of these before I draw sweeping conclusions.
Individual observations
Clevon Brown looked thicker, another observer at practice thought perhaps 15-20 pounds thicker. I’m not convinced it’s that much, but whatever it is, it’s muscle. The highlight of his day was when he blocked an Ejike Obinna dunk.
Darius Garland obviously had the ball in his hands a lot. The release on his jumper is really quick, and he almost seems to flick it at times. He shot the ball well from distance. I think in terms of penetration, it’ll be interesting to see how he adjust to the game. He had some highlight-reel moments but also maybe one where he got into trouble against length and didn’t have a plan. He’s going to be the face of this team and so much fun to watch.
Max Evans looked as improved as anyone to me. He shot the ball really well from distance and is maybe a tad more muscular through the torso and arms. They let him handle the ball a decent amount, too.
Saben Lee is a little bigger, and seems to have added a step-back move that he flashed to knock down a 16-foot jumper. I think I posted this earlier in the summer, he’s supposedly the most improved player on the team, though I didn’t notice much from him good or bad otherwise today.
Matthew Moyer needs some work on his shot, but he’s really long and athletic and it’s easy to see why he was so highly regarded out of high school.
If I had three words to describe Aaron Nesmith, they’d be fluid, smooth and quick. He’s right-handed but has a good handle with his left. He really struggled with his shot today, which I didn’t expect, but I don’t see any reason from concern based on summer observations of his game, and he looks like he’s in excellent shape. He also took a charge against Joe Toye in live action.
Saw an assist out of Ejike Obinna as he got the ball in the paint near the foul line and dumped one down to Moyer for a bucket. I didn’t see him stand out a lot in a good or bad way otherwise.
Matt Ryan looks to me as if he’s lost 10-15 pounds, and in a good way. His face is thinner. He’ll help with distance shooting for sure.
Simi Shittu was practicing and Bryce Drew said they’re holding him out of contact portions. I watched him move laterally and though I can’t say what percent of his former self he was, he looked fine to me. He’s har to evaluate until we see him in 5-on-5 scrimmage action.
Joe Toye shot the ball really, really well from distance today, probably better than anyone on the team. Don’t count him out on having a role.
I didn’t have a lot of take-aways on Yanni Wetzell, He’s a decent finisher inside and can put the ball on the floor a bit. He’s a little more muscular through the arms and torso. He’s not that explosive around the rim but they’ve got that other places.
I actually saw coach Bryce Drew get really upset today and almost yell at a player, proving there’s a first for everything.
Fire away with questions if you have them. I'll try to answer what I feel I'm qualified to answer.
