Vanderbilt Basketball Mail Bag #6

You had questions about Vanderbilt basketball. I have something resembling answers. To the Mailbag!

Question from shoogymgshoogs:

Why should we tear down Memorial and play all of our games at Bridgestone?

First off, how dare you. Second of all, clearly, if the SEC Tournament is any indication, the benches at Bridgestone would be in the wrong place. And it’s a hockey arena. This makes as much sense as moving the football team to the Nashville SC stadium.

Question from ComestippleSacksoun:

over/under 1.5 more wins in SEC play this year.

I would take the over. There are five remaining games on the schedule, and three of those are home games against Georgia, Missouri, and South Carolina. And if we’re counting the SEC Tournament, that Wednesday night game is another opportunity. So I’d say there are decent odds Vanderbilt wins two.

Question from VandyImport:

Based on the year so far, assuming CJS is a replacement level recruiter compared to the Stallings era, how far are we from having a basketball team that doesn’t make me want to mix antifreeze with my absinthe? We’re down to a 2014 body count on the court and unless Coach has some eligibility left, the talent doesn’t appear to be where it was in the Magnificent Seven era. How long do we have before what was once our flagship sport is broadly watchable again with the prospect of actually winning games?

Question from HawkeyeVandyguy:

I am optimistic for next year. CJS is doing a solid job with an undermanned team bitten by the injury bug. Baby adores Scotty, Disu and Eji are showing flashes and growth. 3smith is gone pro, but Saben and Cleavon may be back. A frosh phenom or two and we may be a .500 team with a base to build on.What say you Drew?

I kind of answered this already on Tuesday, but there’s at least reason to think that next season will be at least mildly better. Not a NCAA Tournament team or anything like that, but at least a “6-7 SEC wins and no embarrassing out of conference losses” level team. Then again, the wrong player transferring or declaring for the NBA Draft kills that.

Question from Jared H.:

My question is: How has recruiting been affected by Stackhouse’s efforts this season? After the LSU win, the team dumped a ton of water on the coach, telling me they have a good relationship with him.

They gave up on Bryce Drew in 2018-19.

Jeff Green traveled.

It’s hard to tell. Recruiting is just such a lagging indicator, because most of this year’s seniors have already made up their minds and any positive effects wouldn’t be felt until really next year’s class. Also, recruiting is less tied to actual results on the court than commonly thought. How else do you explain the career of Mark Gottfried?