Vanderbilt Basketball Much Too Early Season Report Card

Ne Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball coach Jerry Stackhouse has his team sitting at 6-3 in the early portion of the 2019-20 basketball season, but as the schedule gets tougher, so too will their wins.

With that thought in mind, we felt it was time to give this team their first report card of the young season.

Since I'm not officially a teacher, and there are no set criteria for grading them, let's keep it simple and go with the basics here in year one of an almost total rebuild for Stackhouse.

SCORING- A+

This Commodores team is averaging 79.4 points per game through nine contests. They have surpassed 90 points in four games, winning three and losing only to Richmond 93-92 in overtime on the road. They have also had one game scoring in the '80s, an 83-65 win over Southeast Missouri State.

The Commodores are led by Aaron Nesmith. The sophomore is their leading scorer, averaging 22.3 points per game. Saben Lee (17.2) and Scottie Pippen Jr. (10.2) are the only other players averaging double figures.

Clevon Brown is currently averaging 9.0 points per game with Maxwell Evans adding 7.1 points per game to the effort.

Not bad for a team who entered the season wondering who would help Nesmith carry the offense.

Yes, the schedule will get tougher and points harder to come by, but to this point, this is a good offensive team and deserves a high mark.

SCORING DEFENSE- A

This Commodores team is currently allowing 70.0 points per game. They have allowed one opponent, Richmond to surpass the 90 point mark in a single game, while only three teams have scored 70 or more against them.

Even their losses, excluding the Richmond score, have been solid defensive efforts, allowing just 67 points to Tulsa and 61 to Liberty in their losses to those teams. Both Tulsa and Liberty-who are still undefeated at 12-0- were NCAA tournament teams one year ago and look to be capable of returning this year.

Of course, when the calendar turns to January, the schedule will become much more difficult to keep this average down, but Stackhouse emphasizes defense, and that is one area where every team can be better than the sum of its parts.

COACHING-A

I like what I've seen from Stackhouse on the sidelines. He possesses a strong, controlled demeanor. He's not a screamer-other than the usual necessity cause by the bench configuration of Memorial Gym- and he remains calm even when he engages with officials on questionable calls.

Of course, it's still early and that could change, but I'm guessing what we are seeing is what we will get from a man who has competed at the highest levels of basketball in both college and the NBA.

While the jury is still out on his in-game coaching and adjustments, there's no doubt he knows and understands the game and what he is doing and wants his players to do.

I also think he is getting the absolute most out of this team and is deserving of a high mark.

SUMMARY

So far so good if you are a Commodore fan, but it is clear that this team needs more talent and it will be up to Stackhouse and staff to find that talent in this, their first true recruiting class since arriving in Nashville.

If he and his coaches can take better talent and get from it what they are getting from this team, then things could certainly be looking up for Vanderbilt basketball.

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