Vanderbilt Basketball Guard Named To List For National Award
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One of Vanderbilt men’s basketball’s stars could receive a national award at the end of the season.
Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner was named to the midseason top 10 list for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Monday afternoon. Tanner is one of 10 point guards to make the cut.
Tanner has had an extraordinary jump from his first year to now his second season. Tanner is averaging 17.8 points per game and 5.1 assists per game. During SEC play, those numbers have only improved, as Tanner has put up 20.7 points and 5.6 assists per game since the start of the calendar year.
But Tanner has been more than just a scorer and distributor. He has also flexed his skills on the defensive side of the ball, averaging nearly 2.4 steals per game. This past week, Tanner was an anchor on the defensive end in Vanderbilt’s 80-55 win over Kentucky and its 71-68 win over Ole Miss. Against Kentucky, Tanner took the ball away four times while scoring 19 points. Against Ole Miss, Tanner jumped a passing lane and went down the floor for a dunk on his way to a 24-point performance in the win.
“We knew their point guard was a really good player. I think he’s the MVP of our league if Vandy wins this conference,” Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard said of Tanner after the Commodores beat the Rebels.
Tanner is one of two players in college basketball and the only player on the top 10 list that is averaging at least 17.5 points, five assists and two steals per game. Tanner has scored in double figures in every game and leads the SEC in steals with 52.
Tanner has helped Vanderbilt get to a 19-3 record and a 6-3 record in the SEC. Tanner and Vanderbilt are heading into the midweek bye before taking on Oklahoma at 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
The top 10 list will be narrowed down to the final five by mid-March before the winner of the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award winner is announced ahead of Final Four weekend.
Here is the full top 10 list of players up for the award.
Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award Top 10
Labaron Philon, Alabama
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Darius Acuff, Arkansas
Kingston Flemmings, Houston
Bennet Stirtz, Iowa
Tamen Lipsey, Iowa State
Jeremy Fears, Michigan State
Braden Smith, Purdue
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt Commodores On SI:
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.