Oct. 16, 2009
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A year after Vanderbilt basketball was forced to retool, losing four key seniors (Alex Gordon, Alan Metcalfe, Ross Neltner, and SEC Player of the Year Shan Foster) from a team that contended for a SEC title, the Commodores (19-12, 8-8 last year) have the look of a team that is ready to rebound from a season where experience at times took precedent over effectiveness. Now, though, Vanderbilt is primed to reap the benefits of that experience, with several of last year’s young guns chomping at the bit to take their gameâ€â€Âand their teamâ€â€Âto the next level.
“It was very disappointing for us not to get into any kind of tournament last year,” sophomore forward Jeffery Taylor said. “But, as far as the team goes, we’ve always been hungry and have been working all summer and all fall to hopefully get better this year.”
If the Commodores are to leap back into the national spotlight, Taylor will be a major reason why. The 6’7″, 210 lb. swingman performed admirably after being thrown into the fray as a freshman, finishing third on the team in scoring (12.2 ppg) and second in rebounding (6.2 rpg). Even so, Taylor spent his summer refining his game, building his offensive repertoire to keep up with a team thatâ€â€Âin Taylor’s eyesâ€â€Âhas seen its skill level rise exponentially in the past year.
“The skill level has gotten way better,” Taylor said. “I think physically we’ve gotten better, too. Just as a team, we feel more comfortable with each other and are working better as a unit.”
Another vital cog for this Vanderbilt unit is sophomore sharpshooter Brad Tinsley, who started all but three games last year and led the Commodores in three-point field goal percentage, making over 41 percent of his attempts for a team that had lost two of the conference’s most feared marksmen in Foster and Gordon. According to Tinsley, though, the focus is no longer on how the Commodores will replace past production, but rather on how this team will forge its own identity, especially with the addition of freshman sensation John Jenkins.
“John is going to have a big role coming in,” Tinsley said. “He’s a great shooter, great player. He’s going to need…leadership, which is where the guys who have experience come in, and I think we’re already doing a great job with that.”
Thus, with one bright new face on a squad that returns every major contributor from last year with the exception of transfer George Drake, the Commodores are confident they are a team ready to right the ship and compete for a championship.
“It’s one of the biggest things on our minds,” Tinsley said. “With any college athlete, their hunger is to get to the NCAA tournament…We’re well-experienced and well-led…and I think we’re ready to get this going.”