NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt was oh-so-close Thursday. In the wide scheme of things, it is also not so far away.
Vandy proved, without question, with the 2021-22 season that big things are on the horizon for its program in the very, very near future. That narrative was a silver lining in the immediate moments Thursday after the Commodores had lost 53-52 to Florida in the second round of the SEC Tournament at Bridgestone Arena.
“It’s definitely a step forward from previous years and I am thankful for coach and her staff coming in and taking over, but I am really proud of my teammates. I’m proud of our girls throughout the season,” Vanderbilt senior Brinae Alexander said Thursday. “I think we grew our mental strength and our mental toughness.”
As heartbreaking as the end to the season was for Alexander and the Commodores, an end that saw a 14-point lead evaporate in the second half Thursday, there should be plenty of good vibes and positive outlooks moving forward for head coach Shea Ralph and their staff as they envision Year 2.
Vanderbilt dressed only 11 players Thursday. Just nine of those 11 played. Six logged at least 10 minutes and five played at least 32.
Ralph had a short roster to work with all season long, a commonality for many first-year coaches across the country after transitional offseasons lead to changed cultures and habits and lessened personnels. That didn’t hinder Vandy this season from winning 14 games, beating Florida – ranked inside the top 15 at the time – during the regular season and nine times being within nine points of perhaps even a few more victories.
“We’ve been fighting all year,” Ralph said after Wednesday’s win over Texas A&M, the program’s first postseason triumph in six years. “I talk with them every day about trusting the process and believing in each other and investing in each other and knowing that the results may not come that day or the next week or the next week, but eventually we’ll see them.”
Vanderbilt also developed a more-than solid foundation in freshmen Sacha Washington and Iyana Moore.
Moore emerged as one of the SEC’s top freshman by scoring 12.2 points per game. The Murfreesboro product finished with 34 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in two tournament contests.
Washington played with a fierceness and toughness in the post that gave the Commodores an edge. She averaged 6.9 points and 6.5 rebounds and recorded seven double-doubles.
And while Alexander and Jordyn Cambridge are both seniors, each have eligibility remaining and could return to the program for the 2022-23 season. The addition of some highly-touted signees will give Ralph some added depth to work with.
All those pieces should give the Commodores, who were among the nation’s best in steals and turnovers forced, plenty of confidence going into the new season in November. But these Dores have plenty of confidence already.
This week and this season they served notice to their SEC peers that another player will be part of the discussion really, really soon.
“I believe that the goal for this program is to be winning big games in March, and this is where I’m comfortable, right?” Ralph said, alluding to her pedigree as a student-athlete and assistant coach at Connecticut. “I’m used to playing in March and April and I want my players to have that expectation. I want our program to have that expectation. But the way that you do that is that you train for those moments. You don’t just come to March and say, ‘Alright, this is the time we turn it on.’ No, you’ve got to turn it on in September and October.
“So every time we come on the basketball court we’re training and preparing for the next game like it’s our Final Four, our SEC championship, our first-round win that no one thinks we’re going to get. I like playing with a chip on our shoulder, but our expectation is to win. Every time we roll the ball on the court, when we play the kind of basketball that we’re capable of playing with this program, then we should be competitive and end games to win them.”
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
