We have a heck of a core group...

[MemorialMagic]

I remember looking out on the floor during one of the SEC tournament games and seeing Paul Lewis, Colin Smith, and Lee Dort, and I thought, "If we can keep those guys, the future looks really bright."

So far, so good. If we can get Tyrin back, and we have, Ez, Ty, Colin, Paul, Lee, and Q back? That is a great core. Honestly the only transfer that really surprises me is Trey. I never expected Jordan to stay. Myles was very much MIA at least offensively the last third of the season. I would have loved for Malik and Noah to stay, but there really seemed to be something off between Noah and Stack and seemingly the rest of the coaches too not to get ANY time down the stretch. But it was not to be.

[Jason94]

I remember looking out on the floor during one of the SEC tournament games and seeing Paul Lewis, Colin Smith, and Lee Dort, and I thought, "If we can keep those guys, the future looks really bright."

So far, so good. If we can get Tyrin back, and we have, Ez, Ty, Colin, Paul, Lee, and Q back? That is a great core. Honestly the only transfer that really surprises me is Trey. I never expected Jordan to stay. Myles was very much MIA at least offensively the last third of the season. I would have loved for Malik and Noah to stay, but there really seemed to be something off between Noah and Stack and seemingly the rest of the coaches too not to get ANY time down the stretch. But it was not to be.

I do like the core of Manjon, Lawrence and Smith and think they will lead the team next season. I'd like to see more rebounding from Smith next season but expect he will have a pretty big jump as a sophomore and see his production probably double as he gets starter's minutes and sees his shots increase. If he can diversify his game in a way that Stute was unable to, he could be headed to All-SEC by junior season. Lewis has a lot of promise as well, but may be in a backup role with Manjon and Lawrence returning. Will be difficult to find him minutes unless Lawrence doesn't return, which is a different issue.

I have a lot of questions for the post. We will go from having a huge amount of depth to not a whole lot unless we are able to bring in players through the portal. QMB is what he is - a solid role player who needs to have scorers around him to allow him to play his game unburdened by the responsibilities of scoring. Dort is a physical specimen who requires a lot of developing. CJS doesn't trust him yet, which is why he only played 26 minutes in the 6 games from when he returned after Robbins went down. Could he have a breakout season? It is possible, but he really didn't play that much and wasn't really a part of the offense while he was out there. His production came almost exclusively from his physical ability. Very talented and raw.

So at the moment assuming Lawrence returns we are well set at the point, 2 guard and PF or SF depending on where you think Smith will play. We do have two freshmen coming in that could fit in the positions that we have deficits in, but I'm not going to assume that either one is a plug-and-play starter based on how CJS has used his freshmen so far. He really needs to bring in someone who can grab boards. Our defense was pretty bad this year, primarily because we didn't turn anyone over and got killed on the defensive glass, giving up way too many 2nd chance shots. It is one of the worst combinations of things to be bad at - even though we had a historically good shotblocker for most of the season, opponents have very few empty possessions, and were able to rebound a lot of the shots they did miss.

We can be good next season, but probably will need some help in the portal to be a tournament team.

[ymtn64]

The core is most likely very good with Tyrin back! Smith is going to need one of those body developing that Jordan & Tyrin went through to truly develop in my estimation, but the raw talent is really there already. I get them impression that our coach sees much of his own abilities in Smith's potential (I realize that is a huge amount of pressure since our coach was a HOF worthy player). I believe he thought the same of Disu before he moved on to Texas as well. Smith will need to develop a game that gets him the ability to drive to the basket & finish!

Jason I agree with you so much about the development of Freshmen and getting them ready to play faster! Not sure how that changes with our coaching staff, but they have to find a way to develop the whole roster & help the guys all to feel a part to keep from so many entering the portal each season. Obviously this is a different time in college sports, but when the average school has 2-3 in the portal each season, Vandy can't constantly have 4-6. Something needs to change & possibly its as simple as being more selective with how they fit with the team and educationally. I LOVE how well our teams improve as the season goes along, but that has to start happening faster if Vandy is going to be a consistent NCAA Tourney team!

The talent is on the roster regularly & I'm super excited for the future. After the final game, my family were engaged in a conversation with Tyrin Lawrence's family. We had no idea who they were at first, just being friendly. We mentioned how much we enjoy his play & how he seems like a fine young man & easy for us to cheer for him. They thanked us, but my mom sorta jokingly asked "is Tyrin going to stay at Vandy or go in the portal?" His family quickly replied that Tyrin loves being at Vandy & will not be transferring! I wondered if this was wise to share once he decided to test the NBA, but I think its a different conversation. His family was just as nice and kind as him. Talked about him changing shoes early in the game he was slipping so much against UAB, but continued having footing problems throughout the game. We bragged to them about how great his dunks had been, but they laughed about him missing the other dunk. I feel certain there is a nice professional career ahead of Tyrin, but not sure how well he develops for the NBA even though I sure am cheering for him to make it(after next season haha).

[buffy]

I like our chances in the portal this year. We have pretty good optics with the SEC Coach of the Year and solid guard play. A couple of shooters and big men have an attractive landing place.

[Jason94]

I like our chances in the portal this year. We have pretty good optics with the SEC Coach of the Year and solid guard play. A couple of shooters and big men have an attractive landing place.

I agree - we also have a chance to really improve at some positions. The losses of Robbins and Wright is difficult, but Stute and Thomas actually combined for more minutes than Robbins and Wright did, and their production on offense was 100% tied to their ability to shoot the three. The loss of Robbins is mitigated by the fact that he didn't play that much last season between the injuries and rotation carousel.

Getting Lawrence and Manjon at the level they were playing at the end of the season will be key, and we mainly have to supplement them with players who can crash the defensive glass.

[Foreverhopeful]

Did you meet Tyrin's young child? He's adorable. A lot on Ty's shoulders, for sure!

[VUaskew]

Did you meet Tyrin's young child? He's adorable. A lot of Ty's shoulders, for sure!

Makes that Vandy degree all the more important!

[ymtn64]

Did you meet Tyrin's young child? He's adorable. A lot on Ty's shoulders, for sure!

We didn't get to meet his son, but agree he has lots on his shoulders taking care of an adorable kiddo

[geeznotagain]

In light of today's announcement, what's the minimum number of individuals necessary to still be considered a "group"?

[Doreknox]

FIFY