Lee Visibly Shaken by Tragedy in Nashville

Vanderbilt's Saben Lee had just torched Alabama for 38 points in Tuscaloosa, but he was visibly upset when talking about the tragedy that struck Nashville just hours before.

Tuscaloosa, Al. - It was a Super Tuesday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for Vanderbilt's Saben Lee. The sophomore scored a career-high 38 points in leading his team to an 87-79 upset of the Crimson Tide as he and his team won just their second conference game of the season and their first on the road since 2018. 

However, when Lee and head coach Jerry Stackhouse stepped onto the postgame stage at the media table below Coleman Coliseum, it was evident that when the question was asked about the tragedy that had hit his city, Lee was shaken by the events.     

In his opening statement, Stackhouse spoke of the events that had taken place just hours earlier, an event he and his team had only seen pictures of, or read about as they had traveled to Tuscaloosa on Monday afternoon before the devastating night unfolded.

"If there was ever a game to get a big win for our city, this was it," said Stackhouse. "We still don't know what we are going home to yet, so it was bittersweet, but I am proud of a super effort from our kids."

Throughout Stackhouse's comments, Lee sat head down as he listened to his coach speak, and while it's impossible to read one's mind, the expression on his face was easily recognizable.   

When it became his turn to speak on the events of the day, Lee was still visibly subdued despite his on-court performance just minutes earlier.     

"I mean, waking up just not knowing what was going on back home, so it as definitely a shocker and a sad surprise just waking up and kinda seeing reality and it's different than basketball and it gives you a different perspective," said Lee.    

What should have been a moment of jubilation and rightful celebration for the Commodores was that and so much more. 

The events of the day, through which this Commodores team slept through some 250 miles away were at the forefront of the minds of the traveling party as more than one member asked for details on what was going on back home.      

Surreal to fly home from a great @VandyMBB win over a landscape that appears so serene; drive home with no signs of calamity; but knowing so many of our own are hurting so much. We will pitch in; we always do. Special prayers for positive results for those missing in Putnam Co.

— Joe Fisher (@iamjoefisher) March 4, 2020

It was a great win for a team and a program in desperate need of one, and it will be one these players and coaches remember for a long time to come, but not for all the most joyous of reasons. 

I would also be remiss in not mentioning the response from the University of Alabama staff, who went through a similar situation themselves in 2011 when a tornado ripped apart their city. Several members of their staff made a point of asking about Nashville and offering their thoughts and prayer for the community in general and those directly impacted. It was something they know all too well themselves. 

When Crimson Tide public address announcer Tony Giles called for a moment of silence during the opening ceremonies for the victims in Nashville, a lady seated just beside the media section began crying. She would say later that hearing of what had happened to Nashville brought what she had endured just years earlier to mind. 

At least for a couple of hours, the Commodores were able to put the tragedy that awaited their return behind and give their fans and the city of Nashville a win.     

Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or on Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven