Game 14: South Carolina Gamecocks at Vanderbilt Commodores — Open Game Thread

Vanderbilt opens 2023 and the SEC schedule with what should — should — be its best shot at a win, hosting the South Carolina Gamecocks.

South Carolina has freshman Gregory “GG” Jackson, a top recruit and probably a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. Their second-leading scorer is... a guy who played at The Citadel last season. Basically their roster is a mix of power conference castoffs, mid-major guys who were just okay, and a couple of freshmen who weren’t highly thought of, all surrounding a lottery pick. It’s the roster that Bryce Drew acted as though he had built around Darius Garland, or at least what he claimed it was when he was looking to justify the team’s awful performance in 2019.

(Spoiler: Bryce Drew actually had three guys who have played minutes in the NBA as well as a five-star recruit who somehow hasn’t.)

Anyway, the team seemed to turn over a new leaf against Southeastern Louisiana by not playing to the competition, so let’s see if they do that again tonight.