Vanderbilt Basketball: Will Emmanuel Ansong have an impact in 2022-23?

Vanderbilt Basketball got a new pickup in Green Bay transfer Emmanuel Ansong. Can he provide some frontcourt help for the upcoming season?

Even though we’re in August and most rosters have been finalized one way or another, there are still not only teams with a couple of open roster spots available but also some transfers still in the portal without a home for the 2022-23 NCAA Basketball season.

One of them is Emmanuel Ansong, who left Green Bay at the end of last season after finishing 5-25 (4-16) overall. The 6’4 starting forward averaged 11.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg last season in 29 mpg and in 28 starts. Ansong had some big games, including 19 points and eight rebounds versus Indiana State and 18 and 10 against Florida International, his only double-double.

With one more year of eligibility left, Ansong was in the portal for a while, before finally getting picked up by Vanderbilt Basketball.

On first look, it’s an interesting move for Ansong to go to the SEC, arguably the top basketball conference in the country. He was solid in the Horizon League but certainly not a star and at 6’4, he’s very much undersized to be a power at either the 3 or 4-spots. Ansong also doesn’t shoot from deep much either, which would affect his offense even more.

But what the Commodores will want is an “in case of emergency” player in the frontcourt in case guys like Quentin Millora-Brown and Liam Robbins, who have had an injury history, go down once again. Vanderbilt isn’t a team that has had much size, considering that 6’5 guard Jordan Wright led the team with 6.4 rpg last season. So any kind of help the team could add in that department would be a boost.

Ansong is a solid rebounder but again, at 6’4, it’s hard to see how effective he’ll be in that role for the Commodores this upcoming season. But if nothing else, the Green Bay transfer forward is a veteran, a practice body, and a versatile player for guys like Wright to work with and develop going forward.