Vanderbilt hoops hype takes on fresh faces with Darius Garland, Simi Shittu, Aaron Nesmith
Vanderbilt's Darius Garland, perhaps the best freshman point guard in college basketball, was ready to step to the mic Wednesday to address the overwhelming hype around the Commodores.
Chin up. Game face on.
Then Garland's mom, Felicia, pulled him aside to fix his hair, smooth out his eyebrows and offer a few words of motherly advice.
This is showtime for Vanderbilt basketball, only with a young, fresh face.
"The energy around here is great," said Garland, a five-star signee from Brentwood Academy. "All the fans, the city, social media, even campus. Everybody is ready for basketball season."
How can that be? After all, the Commodores tipped off their first practice Wednesday afternoon, still 41 days from the season-opening game against Winthrop on Nov. 6.
It has everything to do with the arrival of the best recruiting class in program history, including Garland, five-star power forward Simi Shittu and four-star small forward Aaron Nesmith.
Bryce Drew is giddy to coach five-star players
Coach Bryce Drew knows why there's a buzz around his program entering his third season. And even if had not said it, his kid-on-Christmas-morning grin couldn't hide it.
"I've never coached a five-star (prospect)," said Drew, bouncing on his toes while standing on the corner of the Memorial Gym practice court. "This is my first time, so we'll see."
Drew did his duty for a preseason practice, offering a few words to temper the high expectations around his team. After all, the Commodores graduated three 1,000-point scorers from a team that had a disappointing 12-20 record last season.
But Drew knows what he has in this young but ultra-talented lineup.
"You always like it when you have expectations with guys who have played and shown they can do it, but we have some special freshmen," Drew said. "We feel like there will be a learning curve throughout the season, but hopefully with their AAU (experience) and all-star games, they'll progress."
Can this team make an NCAA tournament run?
How good can this team be? Players said they are aiming for an NCAA tournament appearance that stretches beyond the first round.
Vanderbilt has been to the NCAA tournament 15 times, but it hasn't won a game in the Big Dance since 2012. The Commodores last won multiple games in a 2007 run to the Sweet 16.
"We want to win the SEC and make a run in the (NCAA) tournament," senior forward Joe Toye said.
Garland added: "Make it as far as we can. A tournament run, Final Four, hopefully make it to the championship."
Pumping the brakes just a bit, Drew said coaches and players will be "transparent" about their team goals this season. But for now, he knows there is a high potential, but little proof of concept with his revamped roster.
"We don't want to just get (to the NCAA tournament), but win games there," Drew said. "But it's a lofty goal, considering we have a new team. But only time will tell how quickly we can jell together."
Saben Lee, transfers and more
Vanderbilt likely won't make a deep run in March based only on the play of three talented freshmen, so the season could hinge on the contributions of the rest of the roster.
If Garland, Shittu and Nesmith had not joined the team, the talk would be about the rise of sophomore guard Saben Lee, a former four-star signee who averaged 10.6 points and 3.1 assists last season.
"Focusing on little details, that's one thing I had to change (as a freshman last season). So they'll have to do that from high school to college," Lee said. "The attention around this team is good, but we need to focus on improving."
Along with Lee, Vanderbilt returns Toye, sophomore guard Maxwell Evans, 6-foot-8 post Clevon Brown and raw 6-11 sophomore center Ejike Obinna.
Two transfers also join the lineup in 6-8 forward Matt Ryan, a former Notre Dame 3-point shooter, and 6-10 center Yanni Wetzell, a former standout at Division II school St. Mary's. Both will vie for major minutes and perhaps starting roles.
Shittu healing, Garland leading
Shittu, the No. 3-rated power forward in the 2018 signing class, has made a "fantastic" recovery from ACL surgery he underwent in January, according to Drew.
Shittu took part in practice Wednesday, but Drew said he won't be medically cleared for full contact in scrimmages for a couple more weeks.
Until then, Garland will take a little more of the spotlight. Fortunately, the charismatic point guard seems perfectly comfortable in it.
"This isn't just about me and Simi. This is about this entire team," Garland said. "(Fans) should feel really confident. With the talent that we have, we could do a lot with this team this year."
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Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.