Vandy freshmen 'are all one' in NIT

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A popular image on Vanderbilt's Memorial Gym videoboard is a promotional photo of five freshman players posing for a selfie.

It's fitting that it's a group shot.

"They are naturally and inherently unselfish," said Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, whose freshman-laden squad is one win away from the Commodores' first trip to Madison Square Garden in 21 years in the NIT.

"(The five freshmen) haven't worried about themselves. That's been the most shocking, surprising, pleasant thing for me. It's a group that's truly wrapped up in the team, not themselves."

Vanderbilt (21-13) plays at Stanford (21-13) in the NIT quarterfinal at 8 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN). The winner advances to New York for the tournament's round of four, where the Commodores last finished as an NIT runner-up in 1994.




This year's team is among the youngest in the country, playing five freshmen in the eight-man rotation. But the Commodores will play on the latest date (March 24) for a Vanderbilt team since an NCAA Sweet 16 run in 2004.

The freshmen said their close-knit bond away from the game has bolstered their on-court chemistry.

All five freshmen are in the same physics class, and they spend most of their free time together. Guards Matthew Fisher-Davis and Wade Baldwin are almost inseparable.

"Matt and I calculated it, and we are only apart three hours total during the day in a whole week," Baldwin said. "And with all the freshmen, anytime there is off-the-court stuff, we travel in packs."

Added Fisher-Davis: "You never see one freshman without another. We have unity off the court, and we carry it over to practice and games."

But if the Commodores didn't perform well on the court, their friendship would be of little value to the team. Instead, their on-court chemistry has become an extension of their relationships.

Baldwin (154), Shelton Mitchell (99) and Riley LaChance (96) are on the verge of becoming only the third trio in program history to reach 100 assists in the same season. Only one freshman had reached the mark before this season.

"We are all unselfish. We all understand each other," Mitchell said. "We can be a goofy group, but we are all one."



Success is widespread across the freshman class. LaChance leads all SEC freshmen in scoring, and his 423 points rank third all-time among Vanderbilt freshmen. Fisher-Davis leads all SEC freshmen in 3-pointers made per game.

Baldwin has broken Vanderbilt's freshman assists record by a wide margin, and Mitchell is about to move into second on that list.

The five freshmen have combined to make 193 3-pointers, but defensive specialist Jeff Roberson actually ranks 11th on Vanderbilt's single-season list in 3-point percentage.

They have helped the Commodores win 10 of their last 13 games heading into the NIT quarterfinal. Stallings said unselfish play has been the source of staying power for this squad.

"Not one guy has pouted about playing time all season long," Stallings said. "They have been completely supportive of their teammates. All they care about is how the team is doing."


Stallings brought in the five freshmen, in part, to replace six players who left the program early over the previous year and a half. He said this class touts more complete players.

"We tried to make an effort to recruit good basketball players (in this class), guys who could pass, dribble and shoot and had a feel for the game," Stallings said. "We had gotten away from that a little bit. We had tried to recruit better athletes (with previous players). We tried to recruit better basketball players with this group, and we got them."

 

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On Friday, Vanderbilt had the displeasure of a two-day turnaround before hosting an NIT game. Now, Stanford will have to do the same when they face the Commodores on Tuesday night.

Stanford earned a spot in the NIT's final eight when they beat Rhode Island on Sunday, leveling up for a date with the 'Dores tomorrow evening. The Cardinal overcame a performance where they made fewer than 35 percent of their shots from the field thanks in part to a monstrous 49 free throws. Their starting backcourt of Chasson Randle and Anthony Brown made 29 trips to the charity stripe alone. It's possible that URI's lineup was just five guys doing Ric Flair chops all night, but it's much more likely that Vandy fans are going to be frustrated by a combination of a contact-heavy gameplan and a few home-cooked whistles when these two teams meet in Palo Alto.

Seven of the eight Rams that played more than five minutes on Sunday ended up with at least four fouls. While that may be a worst-case scenario, it highlights how dangerous - and effective - the Cardinal's gameplan can be. Randle, in particular, will try to exploit that advantage again on Tuesday. The senior guard has 10 games this season in which he's earned eight or more free throws. He's not afraid to throw himself into the lane, and that means that Riley LaChance and Wade Baldwin IV need to be ready to dive into the paint without creating too much contact.

Randle is the engine that drives this team and the second leading scorer in the Pac-12 thanks to his 19.2 points per game. He's not an efficient shooter, but that ability to get to the line and then capitalize (88% free point shooting) makes him effective. He'll team with Brown and 6'11" Stefan Nastic to give the Cardinal a three-headed monster that matches up well with Vandy's Baldwin/LaChance/Damian Jones triumvirate. Will their scoring be enough to lead Stanford to an NIT final four date in New York City? Let's take a closer look.

The Opponent: Stanford University (23-13, 9-9 Pac-12)

KenPom Rankings: Stanford is 41st. Vanderbilt is 35th.

Key Stat: 43%. That's what Anthony Brown is shooting from long range. The senior guard provides a competent compliment for Randle's dive-and-dash driving game by finding holes in the perimeter and launching open threes. If the Commodores collapse to chase down Randle, they'll have to have a contingency plan for snapping back to Brown thanks to his three-point shooting.

Matchup to Watch: Stefan Nastic vs. Damian Jones. Nastic is scoring 13.4 points per game, but he's not especially efficient for a big man who mostly roams the paint. The senior is shooting just 47% from the field despite rarely stepping out more than 15 feet from the hoop. For comparison, Jones is making more than 56 percent of his shots despite being similarly tied to the paint.

Nastic's big advantage comes at the free throw line. The 6'11" center gets to the stripe about five times per game and has made nearly 76 percent of those shots. That makes him doubly dangerous. He can provide consistent, efficient scoring while putting Vandy's most effective offensive player in foul trouble if he can draw contact around the rim. Jones has been a beast in his last three games, and Vanderbilt can't afford to tie him to the bench for long. The Commodore center will have to show off a gentle touch against the foul-inducing Cardinal offense.

--Anchor Of Gold