8. Vanderbilt Commodores
The Commodores did basically nothing under Jerry Stackhouse’s leadership for half a decade, but the emergence of Mark Byington turned things around in an instant. A stellar head coach fresh off success at James Madison, Byington took Vanderbilt dancing in each of his first two seasons and is coming off a 27-win campaign in year two. While they are shedding a significant group of talent from an SEC contender, clearly Byington and his crew have been busy in recent weeks.
Five prominent names construct the Commodores’ transfer class and all five should see notable minutes in the season ahead. From a scoring perspective, none of them compare to Ace Glass, who averaged 16.4 points per game at Washington State as a freshman and should step into a big backcourt role. They saw a lot of T. O. Barrett at Missouri and will gladly have him running the point as he enters his junior year.
The addition of Bangot Dak out of Colorado brings size and rebounding potential into the frontcourt, but it’s all about those other two new faces and what they could bring. Berke Buyuktuncel helped anchor Nebraska’s resurgent season, even knocking the Commodores out of the Big Dance two months ago. Last but far from least is Sebastian Williams-Adams, a highly-regarded forward who had a decent showing as a freshman at Auburn and is expected to take a big step forward in year two.
Sure, none of these names really scream future star but that’s not what the transfer portal is necessarily about. Byington grabbed five players that he knew could compete and help his team win games and that’s exactly what Vanderbilt needed. They’ve filled the holes from last season and have the talent to be an SEC frontrunner again. Who knows, someone like Glass or Williams-Adams could take a massive step forward and be in that starring role like Tyler Tanner last season.
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