Vanderbilt Commodores

2023-24 Result: 9-23 (4-14 SEC)

Key Additions

AJ Hoggard (Michigan State)

Jason Edwards (North Texas)

Chris Manon (Cornell)

Devin McGlockton (Boston College)

Grant Huffman (Davidson)

Tyler Nickel (Virginia Tech)

MJ Collins Jr. (Virginia Tech)

Kijani Wright (USC)

This should be the best Vanderbilt basketball has been in several years. With the additions of A.J. Hoggard, Jason Edwards, Devin McGlockton and Grant Huffman, along with other key role players, the Commodores will look much different. They will have a backcourt scoring punch in Hoggard and Edwards, transfers from Michigan State and North Texas, respectively. After firing Jerry Stackhouse, a new era has started in Nashville with Mark Byington coming over from James Madison, who he led to a fantastic season and a first round upset of Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament, before falling to Duke in the Round of 32. Byington clearly knows how to build a program, and he brought in the pieces to make this a much improved roster in 2024.

Defensively, they are going to have to rely on Kijani Wright for rim protection. They picked him up in the transfer portal from USC, where he only played 12 minutes a game last season. His role is going to dramatically increase from what he had there. Getting McGlockton will also help, but he is an undersized 4-man at just 6’7. What he doesn’t have in height, he makes up for in physicality. The backcourt will really compete on the defensive end. Huffman, while not a great shooter, will be a force on the defensive end. While the SEC is not the A-10, defense travels. Huffman is a former All-Defensive Team player in the A-10. Also, Hoggard was never afraid to get dirty playing for Tom Izzo. Granted, if he wanted to get minutes that’s what you have to do at Michigan State. Nickel will be a nice piece defensively too, but he needs to utilize his size and length to create more problems and get on the boards, as he averaged just 2 rebounds a game at Virginia Tech last season. Their defensive backbone will lie on their backcourt containing the dribble and Wright making a huge leap into a rim protector role for the Commodores. 

Offensively, the Commodores are going to rely heavily on their guards, particularly in Edwards and Hoggard. They will go as they go. Edwards averaged over 19 points last season at North Texas, while Hoggard averaged just under 11. Hoggard is a bit underrated though, as he played in a slow-paced conference in the Big 10, with several other guards vying for shots in their offense too. Going to Vanderbilt will allow him, along with Edwards, to take the keys to the offense. They also brought in other key role players that should contribute to the offense, such as Tyler Nickel, formerly of UNC and Virginia Tech, MJ Collins, and Grant Huffman. Nickel will be a key piece for this team if they want to really compete, as he needs to take the leap to the next level. McGlockton and Collins will be steady pieces for Byington’s squad. It will be interesting to see how Huffman fits in, as he has never been a very good shooter and will be off the ball quite a bit with Hoggard and Edwards, which will likely leave his defender in heavy help a lot of the time. Vanderbilt’s offense won’t be something to be afraid of, but it will keep them in some games and likely help them win some games that they shouldn’t, especially at home. 

The Commodores won’t be great if you look at their record, but they will compete and cause issues for some teams. They aren’t in contention for an SEC title or an NCAA tournament berth, but Byington did a great job in the portal to give them a chance to win 15 or 16 games and put a scare into several SEC programs this season.