Inside Tyler Tanner’s Record-Breaking Defensive Performance

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tyler Tanner snuck behind Florida center Alex Condon and swiped the ball away. As the ball rolled down toward the halfcourt line, Tanner picked the ball up with a clear path to the basket and put it in with a reverse layup to put his team up 43-29 in the closing minutes of the first half en route to a 91-74 win over No. 1 seed Florida at the SEC Tournament semifinals.

But it was not just any steal, it was a record-breaking one. One that will live in Vanderbilt men’s basketball history for a while.

The steal set a new program record for the most steals by a Vanderbilt player in a single season, passing James Strong’s 1998-1999 season where he came away with 77 takeaways. Now, Tanner is the new recordholder. And with multiple more games to go, Tanner can set the record at a number that may not be touched for a long time.

It was a full circle in a moment for Tanner. When Tanner was in his college recruiting process, Strong – who was the assistant coach on Vanderbilt’s staff two seasons ago – was the one that recruited Tanner to come to Vanderbilt in the first place.

“That’s awesome,” Tanner said with a smile on his face as he heard that he broke the record. “Strong actually recruited me to come here with the old staff, so I’ll make sure to send him a text and tell him I beat his record. That’s super special. I’m just very thankful for it.”

Everybody that has watched Vanderbilt or knows about the Commodores’ season knows what Tanner brings to Vanderbilt’s offense. The electricity, passion and scoring he brings to the offense is something that few players in college basketball are able to produce.

But the part of his game that fans may underappreciate is his defense. A steal record may not be something that goes as noticed as other statistical categories, but it is just as meaningful. Tanner has been a player that has always taken pride in his defensive prowess.

His quickness of his hands and his instinctual anticipation of passes is a staple to his defensive game. As a result, he put those skills to good use all season and earned himself All-SEC Defensive Team.

"I think this year especially I’ve locked in a lot on defense, guarding the best perimeter players most games and trying to jump passing lanes for steals. A lot of people focus on the steals part, but I think I’ve gotten better at on-ball and off-ball for defense,” Tanner said after Wednesday’s media availability.

The pride Tanner takes in his defensive skillset is all in his activity he uses with his hands. Whether it be getting deflections or steals, the way in which Tanner plays defensively is ultimately about helping his team turn defense into offense.

In terms of who Tanner would compare himself to, he offered up a comparison to a former SEC player of a few years ago.

“I would say Cason Wallace from OKC [Oklahoma City Thunder]. I watched a lot of his film defensively, and so he’s probably the most I model my game after,” Tanner said on the former 2023 Kentucky guard.

Tanner’s contributions to Vanderbilt’s offense and defense this season are something that his teammates, coaches nor fans will ever forget. In fact, Tanner could go down as one of the best players in the program’s history when it is all said and done. Tanner’s contagious energy on and off the court pours into the rest of the team and has led to the success the Commodores have had.

“His energy never wavers. His activity never wavers. Every game we know exactly what we’re going to get and he just disrupts so much,” Vanderbilt’s Tyler Nickel said of Tanner postgame. “He’s got quick hands, he’s overly fast. So it’s hard for other guards to get comfortable with him.”

In the game of basketball, there is a saying that says, “defense travels.” The meaning of the phrase is meant to indicate that good, quality defense will always show up in a player regardless of the matchup as opposed to an aspect of basketball such as shotmaking, which is prone to streakiness and inconsistency.

Tanner is the type of player that resembles that phrase. Tanner’s defensive intensity along with the passion and tenacity that he plays with have always been with him. Since he was a kid, Tanner feels that he has always had traits of being a good defender. Ever since he can remember, he was a player that had a knack for taking the ball away.

“Since I was a kid, I’ve always been in the passing lanes and I’ve had good hands and good feet. So even since I was playing youth basketball, deflections and steals were kind of my thing. It’s just carried over into my basketball now,” Tanner said.

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