Does Vanderbilt Basketball Freshman Gabe Nesmith Know Cousin Aaron Nesmith, Understand Name's Weight?

NASHVILLE—Gabe Nesmith has heard all the noise about his family connection to Vanderbilt in the days following his commitment to Mark Byington and company, but he didn’t find out that former Vanderbilt star Aaron Nesmith was his cousin until a little over a year ago.

Around the time of his commitment, though, he heard from his cousin–who averaged 13.8 points per game for the Indiana Pacers this season. It was the first time the two had talked, but the older Nesmith appears to be taking some pride in his cousin choosing his Alma mater.

“He was just congratulating me and just told me that it was a good spot and that he felt like it was a good choice,” Nesmith told Vandy on SI. “He was just telling me, anything you need while you’re down there, anything you want to talk about, I got you. He said ‘if you need anything, just let me know.’”

VAnderbilt basketball — Vanderbilt could have another star Nesmith on its hands. | Nesmith

In reality, Nesmith’s commitment to Vanderbilt didn’t have anything to do with his cousin other than the fact that he knew he went there and starred. As he’s seen more of the Vanderbilt fanbase, though, he’s started to see the weight his last name carries around Nashville.

Nesmith’s older cousin is one of five active NBA players from Vanderbilt and was drafted No. 14 overall by the Boston Celtics in 2020. He never made the NCAA Tournament, but he’s one of the most recognizable Vanderbilt players to date.

Nesmith—who is Vanderbilt’s first five-star commit since the 2018 cycle—hopes that he can add to the last name’s legacy at Vanderbilt.

“I just want to make a name for myself, but I would say, I have no issue with making a bigger name for my last name,” Nesmith said, “Because I know what all the people that were ahead of me did for me. So, I have no issue with that.”

Perhaps the relation is more distant than the on the surface label indicates, but it appears as if this Nesmith can take his career to similar places that the older one has been.

247 Sports has Nesmith as the No. 22 player in the 2027 class. Rivals has him as the No. 29 player. ESPN has him as the No. 19 player. Rivals and ESPN have him ranked as one of the top four-star recruits in the class while 247’s composite ranking has him as a five star.

Part of Nesmith’s decision related to what he believes is the potential for the program to equip him to fulfill his NBA dream. Nesmith believes he’s a fit within Vanderbilt’s up-tempo scheme that will allow him to play in ball screens often.

Perhaps there will be some shades of his cousin as he does that. At least, he now knows that the fanbase will be watching him more closely because of his name.

“I didn't understand that it was that serious,” Nesmith said in regard to the weight of the name. “It’s cool. Hopefully I can keep it going.”

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