Vanderbilt Basketball: Best Wings In The Country?

CBSSports.com ran a pair of stories on the Commodores that are bound to leave Vanderbilt fans grinning from ear to ear.

First, Matt Norlander ranks the Top 30 Wings in College Basketball.

I wanted to take a minute to focus in on the Vanderbilt duo, which cracks the top 15 (center Festus Ezili will be making an appearance in Friday's list of best big men). One of three critical pieces to Vandy's Final Four hopes this season, John Jenkins averaged 19.5 points per game last year, but more importantly had an offensive rating of 123.5. That means he scored 1.24 points per possession. That was among the best in the nation. He and Jeffery Taylor pair so well together, it's hard to believe Vanderbilt won't remain in the top 15 all season.

As for the rankings? CBS lists John Jenkins the second best wing in all of college basketball. Jeffery Taylor comes in at number fifteen overall. Be sure to catch Train Island's preview of the Shooting Guard and Small Forward positions as we edge toward the start of the season.

For those hedging on Vandy's chances this season, be sure to read Gary Parrish's feature story on the Dores:

"We're not private-school white kids who can shoot, which is the stereotype; we've got pros," Stallings told me after a recent practice at Memorial Gym. "Now we do have some guys who can really shoot and some guys who are really smart. But we've also got some guys who are really athletic and pretty beastly. We like our mix. We like the composition of our team."