staunch defensive unit inside the
3-point line, surrendering only 44.5
percent. The biggest area where
the defense needs to improve upon
is finishing possessions with a
defensive rebound. They allowed
opponents to rebound 33.1 percent
of their own misses, which ranked
270th in the nation, according to
KenPom.
This is indefensible, and mostly
a matter of effort level, given that
they were one of the tallest teams
in the country. Jones is their best
rebounder, but he has had trouble
in the past with his motor and
doesn’t always chase down balls
outside his area to control the
glass like he should. If they can do
a better job of this in 2016, they
could be one of the best defenses
overall.
to go one-on-one against their
opponent.
They play an appealing brand
of basketball, with excellent passers
pinging the ball around the floor
in half-court sets. According to
KenPom, 64.8 percent of their
makes were assisted on last season,
good for fourth in the nation.
While offense is where they
make their mark on the game,
they aren’t a total slouch on the
defensive end. They ended up
about average, allowing one point
per possession, which ranked
114th among KenPom’s numbers.
With rim protectors blocking
14.1 percent of attempts all shot
attempts, the Commodores were a
“They play an
appealing brand of
basketball,
pinging the
ball around
the floor...”
The SEC is there for Vanderbilt
to win, as the conference should
be wide open. Kentucky will be
good, of course, but they lack
similar talent to what they’ve
had in recent seasons and are
vulnerable. LSU and Texas A&M
will be challengers with hyped
freshman classes, but another hot
shooting year combined with a
higher commitment to defense will
put them on the right track to the
NCAA tournament.
Photo: Jim Brown - USA TODAY Sports
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