Lehigh transfer Evan Taylor commits

Officially, it’s been a quiet few weeks for Vanderbilt basketball. (Unofficially, is Jerry Stackhouse interviewing with the Pistons?) But next year’s roster is taking a bit more shape with today’s news that Evan Taylor, a 6’6” transfer from Lehigh, will play his final season of college ball for the Commodores.

This is a good pickup. Vanderbilt did pick up Jason Rivera-Torres a few days ago, but that’s probably more of a future play than anything else. Taylor, on the other hand, averaged 14.2 ppg and 6.5 rpg at Lehigh this season, and while the competition in the Patriot League isn’t great, he’s a career 40.8 percent three-point shooter.

That should translate to the SEC. A few weeks ago, I wrote that a few players transferring out wasn’t reason to panic and this is why: Taylor might well be an improvement over Jordan Wright or Myles Stute. I would be very surprised if Taylor doesn’t wind up in Vanderbilt’s starting lineup next season, and a starting fivesome of Ezra Manjon, Tyrin Lawrence, Taylor, Colin Smith, and Lee Dort (with an offseason to get better) could be quite formidable. Now to find a couple of competent rotation players to fill the last couple of spots.