Nov. 9, 2009
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Vanderbilt Gamenotes
Note: Walk-up tickets will be available on game day for $15 starting at 5:30 p.m. CT at Memorial Gym
The Vanderbilt Commodores hit the floor for head coach Kevin Stallings’ 11th season and the university’s 110th campaign in Tuesday’s game against Alabama-Huntsville, their only exhibition game of the year. The game tips at 7 p.m. CT and can be heard on 104.5 the Zone in Nashville and worldwide on www.vucommodores.com, with Joe Fisher and Tim Thompson on the call. A free live webcast of the game can also be seen on www.vucommodores.com.
The Commodores return 14 letterwinners from a year ago, including all five starters for a team that finished with a 19-12 overall record and an 8-8 record in SEC play in 2008-09. Vanderbilt missed the postseason for the first time since the 2002-03 season and only the second time in the Kevin Stallings era, which began prior to the 1999-00 season. However, the Commodores were the eighth-least experienced team in the nation in 2008-09 according to KenPom.com, and the team won eight out of its last 11 regular season games, including a win over SEC regular champion LSU in Baton Rouge on March 4.
Senior point guard Jermaine Beal is back after leading the SEC for the second consecutive season in assist-to-turnover ratio, while also increasing his scoring average to 12.5 points per game as a junior, a 4.9 point-per-game increase from his sophomore season. Beal, from DeSoto, Texas, is one of the program’s hardest workers and will lead the Commodores as the only senior on the squad.
The other four starters returning for Vanderbilt include junior center A.J. Ogilvy (15.4 points, 7.1 rebounds per game), sophomore forward Jeffery Taylor (12.5 points, 6.2 rebounds), sophomore guard Brad Tinsley (11.0 points, 2.5 rebounds), and a combination of Steve Tchiengang (3.6 points, 3.1 rebounds) and Darshawn McClellan (2.1 points, 3.0 rebounds) at the power forward position.
Other returning letterwinners include redshirt sophomore wing Charles Hinkle, redshirt sophomore center Festus Ezeli, sophomore forward Lance Goulbourne, redshirt sophomore forward Andre Walker, junior forward Joe Duffy, and walkons Chris Meriwether and Aaron Noll.
6’6 guard Jordan Smart returns after redshirting a year ago, and the only newcomer to the fold, freshman guard John Jenkins, also joins the team.
Walk-on junior guard Elliott Cole will miss the entire season due to a shoulder injury.
League coaches have named Ogilvy to their preseason All-SEC first team. He was a second-team All-SEC preseason selection by the SEC media. Last season, Ogilvy was named to the All-SEC second team and Jeffery Taylor was selected to the league’s All-Freshman team.