Dores in the Pros

Tracking former Vandy basketball standouts playing in the professional ranks

This information on former Vanderbilt student-athletes playing professional basketball was updated July 27, 2021.

Darius Garland (2019-20) // Cleveland // Garland was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He played five games for the Commodores before a knee injury ended his only Vandy season. 

Garland played in 54 games in 2020-21 and averaged 17.4 points, 6.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. Garland shot 45.1 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent from 3. He upped his scoring average by more than five points per game from his rookie season and through two seasons with Cleveland, Garland has played in 113 games and averaged 14.8 points and 4.9 assists. 


Damian Jones (2013-16) // Sacramento Kings // Jones is in his fifth season in the NBA after three with Golden State and one with Atlanta. The 7-foot center played with the Suns, Lakers and Kings during the 2020-21 season.

Jones played in a total of 39 games during the 2020-21 season—14 in Phoenix, eight in Los Angeles and 17 in Sacramento where he averaged 6.9 points, 1.4 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game. Jones shot 65.7 percent from the floor with the Kings and 68.0 percent overall last season. In total, he averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in his fifth NBA season. 

For his career, Jones has played in 143 games with a 66.9 shooting percentage, 4.6 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and 101 blocks.


Luke Kornet (2015-18) // Boston // A 7-foot-2 forward, Kornet began the 2020-21 season with the Chicago Bulls where he spent the 2019-20 campaign after two seasons with the New York Knicks. He finished last season in Boston and helped lead the Celtics into the NBA playoffs. 

In 18 games for Boston, Kornet averaged 4.4 points, 1.1 assists and 2.9 rebounds. Kornet shot 47.3 percent from the floor and averaged 1.4 blocks per game. Including his 13 games in the Windy City, Kornet averaged 3.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 assists while shooting at a 43.6 percent clip. 

During his four-year NBA career, Kornet had played in 133 career games. He has totaled 777 points (5.8/game), 350 rebounds (2.6), 136 assists (1.0) and 116 blocks (0.9) in his professional career. 


Saben Lee (2018-21) // Detroit // Lee was selected 38th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft after the 6-foot-2 guard averaged 13.9 points per contest during 96 career games with Vandy.

Lee played in 40 games in his rookie season and averaged 5.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game. Lee shot 47.1 percent from the floor and 34.8 percent from 3.


Aaron Nesmith (2019-2021) // Boston // Nesmith was selected 14th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. In two seasons in Nashville, he played in 46 games for the Commodores and scored 14.7 points per contest while shooting 41 percent from 3.

Nesmith appeared in 46 games during his rookie season with the Celtics in 2020-21, including all five playoff games. He averaged 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, and shot 43.8 percent from the field, including  37 percent from 3.


Wade Baldwin IV (2014-16) // Bayern Munich (Germany) // A 6-foot-4 guard, Baldwin was the No. 17 overall pick by Memphis in the 2016 NBA Draft. Baldwin has played with Memphis and Portland in the NBA and Iowa, Texas and Raptors 905 in the G League.

Baldwin has spent the last two seasons in the EuroLeague with Olympiacos in 2019-20 and Bayern Munich in 2020-21. In Germany, he played in 39 games averaging 15.3 points and 4.0 assists per game.

Kyle Fuller (2010-14) // Corinthians (Brazil) // A 6-foot-2 point guard, Fuller began his professional career in the NBA’s D League before playing in Venezuela, Peru and Brazil.

In 2020-21 for Corinthians, Fuller led the team with 19.1 points and also averaged 2.65 rebounds and 2.55 assists per game in 31 games. He shot 42.1 percent from the floor as the Brazilian NBB team finished 19-15 overall and seventh place in the league. 

Lance Goulborne (2008-12) // Pass lab Yamagata Wyverns (Japan) // A 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward, Goulborne graduated in 2012 and has played nine seasons of pro ball, including two seasons with the Santa Cruz Warriors, three years in France, one each in Turkey and Mexico and the last two in Japan.

In his first season with the Trains, he played 46 games and averaged 12.6 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 39.9 percent from the field.

John Jenkins (2009-12) // RETAbet Bilbao Basket (Spain) // A 6-foot-4 guard, Jenkins was drafted 23rd overall by Atlanta in the 2012 NBA Draft. He played in 28 games for the Hawks over three seasons and then made stops in Dallas and Phoenix in 2015-16. Following a season in Spain, he appeared in four games with the Wizards and 22 games for New York during the 2018-19 season and averaged 5.2 points per game.

After a short stint in China in 2019-20, the 2020-21 campaign marked the ninth professional season for Jenkins, who was also invited to the Team USA Select roster and helped train the USA Olympic team. Back in Spain with Bilbao Basket, Jenkins averaged a team-high 12.6 points with 1.2 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 23 games this season.

Riley LaChance (2014-2018) // Zorg en Zekerheid Leiden (Netherlands) // A  6-foot-2 guard, LaChance spent a season in Poland in 2018-19 followed by a year in Belgium in 2019-20 and just finished his first season with ZZ Leiden in the Netherlands last season.

LaChance was named the Dutch Basketball League Sixth Man of the Year as he helped Leiden to the 2021 DBL title with 13.8 points and 3.6 assists on 49.3 percent shooting in 15 games.

AJ Ogilvy (2007-10) // Illawarra Hawks (Australia) // A 6-foot-11 center, Ogilvy started his professional career in Turkey in 2010-11 and has since played in Spain, Germany, Puerto Rico and Iran. He has played the last six seasons in Australia. 

In his 11th professional season, Ogilvy played 39 games with the Hawks in 2020-21 and averaged 4.9 points, 1.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. The Hawks were one of four to make the NBL playoffs but fell in a best-of-three in the semifinals. 

Jeff Roberson (2014-18) // Greensboro (NBA G League) // A 6-foot-6 forward, Roberson began his professional career playing for the Maine Red Claws in the G League in 2018-19. He spent some time in Poland with Trefl Sopot before returning to the G League with the Greensboro Swarm. 

Roberson appeared in 11 games for the Swarm in 2020-21 and averaged 8.0 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Simi Shittu (2018-19) // Westchester Knicks (NBA G League) // Shittu averaged 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per game during his one season in Nashville.

Shittu averaged a double-double in 13 games this season with 14.5 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.

Jeffery Taylor (2008-12) // Real Madrid (Spain) // A 6-foot-7 forward, Taylor was the 31st overall pick by Charlotte in the 2012 NBA Draft. He spent three seasons in the NBA before playing for the Austin Spurs in the NBA’s D League.

Taylor finished his sixth season in 2020-21 with Real Madrid and averaged 3.8 points and 1.4 rebounds in 30 games. During Taylor’s tenure Real Madrid has won three Liga ACB titles, three Copa Del Rey championships, two Supercopa titles and the 2017-18 EuroLeague championship.