There is no shortage of questions surrounding Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball as it enters the 2024-25 season.
2023-24 saw the Commodores flame out entirely, as they finished at 9-23 (4-14), their worst record in head coach Jerry Stackhouse’s tenure despite sky-high expectations entering the season. Stackhouse was fired after the final game of the season, and the vast majority of Vanderbilt’s roster left, too. Star players Tyrin Lawrence and Ven-Allen Lubin hit the transfer portal. Ezra Manjon ran out of eligibility.
Vanderbilt hired Mark Byington as its new head coach in March. He hit the portal heavy, bringing in 10 transfers to fill the voids left by Lawrence, Lubin, Manjon and Co.
With a brand-new coach and an almost entirely overhauled roster, the Black and Gold have become a question mark. The Hustler took a look at some of the nagging questions plaguing Byington’s squad.
What are your expectations for head coach Mark Byington’s team in his first year?
Aiden Rutman, Sports Editor: Assessing this team before it steps onto the court is hard. Bringing in 10 transfers is a relatively uncommon practice, even in today’s day and age. That said — and we’ll talk more about all of the transfers throughout this article — there’s a lot to like about this team. The SEC Media Poll might’ve picked the Commodores to finish dead last in the conference, but I think they’re better than that. Starting with a (mostly) easy nonconference schedule will help Byington’s squad get an in-game feel for each other early on. They’ll build chemistry as the year goes on, and I expect them to be a pleasant surprise, certainly better than last year’s iteration of the Black and Gold. I have them at 16-15 (7-11 SEC) and earning a berth to the NIT.
David Hernandez, Lead Sports Analyst: Going off Byington’s track record, this first season won’t be glamorous. Byington went 15-19 in year one at Georgia Southern and 15-14 in his first full season at James Madison. I expect the Commodores to have a good season but fall short of the NCAA Tournament. I think this year’s team has a ceiling of 22 wins, but that might be wishful thinking. Realistically, Vanderbilt will hang around .500. I have them finishing the season at 15-16 (6-12 SEC), which wouldn’t be enough to reach the NIT, either.
Which transfer will end up making the biggest impact for Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball this season?
Hernandez: The clear answer here is Jason Edwards. The 6’1” guard was a prolific scorer at North Texas, ranking third in the AAC with 19.1 points per game and ending up as a first-team All-AAC player. I think it’s fair to say that Edwards will shine within Byington’s pacey system, as he’ll have the ball in his hands a lot throughout the season. The guard’s performance in the AAC has set high expectations for how he can perform in the SEC, but Edwards will be up for the challenge. With the departure of scorers like Tyrin Lawrence and Ezra Manjon from Vanderbilt this offseason, Edwards has arrived as a clear No. 1 option for the offensive end.
Henry Oelhafen, Deputy Sports Editor: AJ Hoggard will be the biggest X-factor on this Vanderbilt squad. A former Michigan State star, he possesses considerable Power-Four experience and knows how to score on every level. He played in all 35 games for the Spartans last season and averaged 10.7 points and 5.2 assists per game. His playmaking abilities will also complement Edwards’ scoring ability nicely. While he shot 35% from 3-point range and 40% from the field last season, his ability to coordinate and lead an offense should prove invaluable to Byington. As one of the most significant commitments for Byington in the transfer portal, expectations of Hoggard are high.
What’s Vanderbilt’s biggest weakness?
Hernandez: Just like last season, the Achilles heel of this team will be size. Losing Kijani Wright indefinitely due to an undisclosed, non-basketball medical issue leaves the Commodores without a true center. Jaylen Carey is the only remaining player who could fit the build of a traditional center thanks to his weight (265 pounds); however, he lacks experience at the position. At 6’8,” he will likely struggle to match up with true centers in the SEC. The Commodores will have to play consistent team defense and establish a great offense to compensate for this missing size — and it is going to diminish how much Vanderbilt hangs with other conference teams come January.
Oelhafen: Size. Plain and Simple. When Byington took over as head coach this past offseason, he had a vision to completely recreate Vanderbilt’s roster. This meant an overhaul of the system with almost every existing player departing as Byington relied heavily on the transfer portal. Byington got several big-name commits but failed to get a true center to anchor the frontcourt. The lack of Wright, as David mentioned, leaves Vanderbilt with Carey and another 6’8” player JQ Roberts — they are simply not big enough to compete with SEC centers. Byington might be in for a rude awakening at the size and physicality of the SEC frontcourts.
What role will the lack of continuity from last year’s team play for Vanderbilt this season?
Vincent Xu, Sports Copy Editor: Bringing in new transfers was absolutely necessary to keep this program alive. Finding 10 new players in today’s transfer portal is no easy task, and I applaud Byington for his efforts. That said, I am concerned with players’ commitment levels. Byington mentioned how his staff had to force chemistry and bonding over the summer, and while he noted that players are more comfortable now, a team composed of 12 new faces isn’t going to be as tight-knit as one that’s played together for years. Chemistry and dedication are just as important as talent when it comes to winning — just look at Vanderbilt Football. I worry that this year’s team won’t have enough motivation to properly buy into Byington’s mission. These players all entered the portal looking for their next step: Who’s to say this is their final destination?
Rutman: I’ll take a more optimistic angle here. The lack of experience that Vanderbilt’s players have with each other is certainly cause for concern, but we’ve seen teams made up heavily of transfers work it out in the past. Byington said that his group’s chemistry improved throughout the offseason, and there’s no reason to believe — particularly with how light the team’s first few games are — that they can’t figure it out. It’s worth noting, too, that MJ Collins and Tyler Nickel played together at Virginia Tech, and Jordan Williams and Roberts played together (albeit under Stackhouse) last season. It’ll be up to the rest of the Commodores to fill in the gaps, but I like the pieces they have.
Grace Hall, Deputy Sports Editor: I’d argue that the issue goes deeper than the lack of continuity and instead poses the question: Does this team have a unified purpose? Many teams lack retention year-to-year but still experience success because their group has a unified purpose, especially in the transfer portal era. This team needs to become closer off the court. It’s like Vincent said: Are these current Commodores bought into Byington’s mission? If the players fail to gel off the court, they won’t make the connections on the court that are necessary to win. It might take some time for the team to get its legs under it and start to work together in line with Byington’s mission, and I’m doubtful that they’ll rise to the occasion together when the road gets tough.
