The Commodores do have some talent and some experience.  They started last year well in the out of conference schedule winning 6 of 9 and hopes were high in Music City.   The SEC proved to be more difficult especially the Wildcats of Kentucky who blew them out in the second conference game of the year and dashed their hopes.  They hung in though and won a few tight games.  Their rematch with the hated Wildcats proved to be a classic which the Commodores could have won if not for a Kevin Grevey prayer to beat them.  Once again the Wildcats swept the Commodores and probably cost them a shot at the Post Season.  A late win over Florida got the teams hopes up but a loss to intrastate rival Tennessee in the last game of the year and to South Carolina in the first round of the conference tourney ended their season.  At 15 and 14 there were hopes of a call from the NIT but it did not come and the boys and Coach Skinner have to prepare for next year and upgrade at a couple of key positions.   

One player who Skinner will not have to upgrade is the aforementioned senior big man Clyde Lee.  Lee is your basic back to the basket type who gets the job done with his size and strength. At 6’10 and listed at 205 (he is at least 220) Lee is a gifted rebounder who knows how to play the game. Lee can handle both center and power forward positions and does each with his usual style.  Which is pounding the other team relentless with his skill and toughness.  He has become better offensively with a variety of little moves but still relies on brut strength inside.  His low-post defense is terrific but he is not a great rim protector so he is better suited for the four and Skinner would like to find someone to play next to him at the center.  That will be easier said than done as though there are some kids coming in with size and a couple big boys coming up from the JV, none are even near the physical beast Lee is down low.  Lee is the only world class player on the roster and Skinner knows he will not be able to replace him but he has brought in some big guys to at least complement him the last couple of years.  

The only other player on the team who should not be in jeopardy of being replaced this year is junior forward Jan van Breda Kolff.  Van Breda Kolff is one of the most well-rounded players in the conference.  VBK actually led the Commodores in assists from a forward position.  A great passer who is the son of a coach, Van Breda Kolff brings that sixth sense about him that he knows what is going on at all times.  He is not an athletic specimen at 6’7 195 and this sometimes gets in his way of being a dominant player but he makes up for it with an incredible basketball I. Q. and wonderful skills.  He played less than 26 minutes a game and that will not change much but a guy that can do all the things van Breda Kolff can will always have a role on a good team.  VBK showed he can light it up when needed when he scored 22 against Mississippi but for the most part likes to be the guy getting his teammates involved.  He also showed that he can bang when he grabbed 15 boards in the one game all year that Lee missed and he had to play center.  He is not Magic Johnson but he is as well rounded as they get and he like the kid from Michigan will do whatever it takes to help his team win. 

The Commodores have a group of forwards chomping at the bit to get some minutes besides VBK.  Seniors Billy Joe Adcock, Bob Grace, Perry Wallace, Dan Finch and the Bobbys, Thym and Warren are all trying to get on the court.  And that does not even include junior Jeff Fosnes and Sophomores Charles Davis and Jeff Turner.  They can all play and all have different strengths and weaknesses.  Time is not on Thym’s side and neither is height as this 6’2 athlete can jump and run with the best of them but like the same sized Adcock has faded to the bench.  Finch is 6’4 but plays a power game and is way down the pine but the other Bobby has a shot as wing even though he is actually bigger then his senior teammates at 6’5.  Famous for his reverse lay-ups, Warren can defend on the wing and will get some minutes at the both the two and three.  Grace has some size at 6’7 and is tough as a bull.  ‘Snake’ is arguably the most popular player on the team and has taken much pressure off Lee with his physical play under the basket.  Not afraid to rough it up a bit, Grace will get minutes but if Skinner has his way he will be coming off the bench behind Lee and a true center.  Fosnes plays the same position as VBK and is a much better scorer and pushed for more PT as the year progressed last year.  An injury midway through the year derailed him for about a month but he did come back strong.  He, like many athletes that come here, is looking to life after basketball and his scholarship was a means to an end as he wants to be a doctor.  His offense is needed and he will play but how much depends on the sophomores development and his health.  Davis is a terrific defender and is really solid on the boards for his size at 6’7.  He can guard wings and power forwards and is a better scorer than given credit for.  He was superb on the JV and got called up when Fosnes went down and did ok.  He fell into the doghouse for a minute but ironically got out just in time to slow Dominique Wilkins of Georgia and earn some PT back.  Turner is a great defender and makes his money on that end and being smart.  He has some range on his jumper but gets his PT due to his size (6’9 230) and his ability to guard bigger athletic forwards which dominate the SEC.  None of these are complete players and that is the problem with Vandy.  No real studs they can hang their hats on getting 15 a night.  The closest player to that in Commodore folklore is Senior Billy Joe Adcock and he found that the going was much tougher last year in the SEC.  Adcock is the father of modern Commodore basketball as the first scholarship basketball player and he earned his engineering degree.  He was once the main man in Nashville and his name sure fit this town but at six three he was a bit overmatched by the forwards of the SEC and gladly concentrated on studies from the bench most of the second half of the year.  But at least up front there were some good choices for Skinner to go to every night. 

Sophomore centers Will Perdue and Brett Burrow split time on the JV and they bring different things to the table.  Perdue has the size at 7’0 240 and made great strides in his first year but this project from Florida has a long ways to go.  Not a great scorer, Perdue gets by with his size and his workmanlike attitude.  He will do whatever it takes to get the job done in the paint including mixing it up with the other team’s best big men.  He can block a shot but is not athletic but Skinner wants him in the paint.  Burrow who has connections to Kentucky was much better last year as he is the new breed of ‘stretch’ players who can hit the long-range shot.  He can defend as well but at 6’10 is not as big or physical as Perdue. One of these two’s ability to play center can take a burden off Lee as he is better suited but Skinner is not going to just give them the job especially with the Snake still around.  

The backcourt for the Commodores still is a bunch of shooters who rely too much on the three.   Two seniors started out last season getting the majority of minutes early but Tom Hagan and Al Rochelle gave up some time when Skinner started rotating everybody and their kitchen sink in to try and find the right lineup and some more athleticism.  Rochelle is like a whirl and the best ball handler on the team who loves to get to the hoop but is not as good of a passer as he could be.  Hagan is a gifted scorer who is best suited at the two but had to play way too much point to get on to the court.  Tommy Gun can flat shoot and is big enough (6’3) but like everyone else on this roster is not a great athlete.  You have to be a little bit smart to go to Vandy and some of the terrific athletes in Tennessee and the South just don’t want to go the Grand Ole Opry. Hagan will start again and it helps having VBK on the roster as a quasi-point because this team needs this kid to open up the lane with his great shooting and trips to the hoop.  Fellow seniors Jim Henry and Keith Thomas are also gifted shooters (this team has a slew of guys who can hit the three) and will get some minutes.  Thomas has a better chance as he has some size at 6’3 but Henry at only 6’0 can play the point as well.  Junior Terry Compton will be in for a challenge after a stellar JV season where he led the team in scoring.  Compton at 6’5 is a gifted offensive player who has led every team he has been on in scoring since he was put on varsity in the 8th grade in Horse Cave Kentucky.  Yes, I said Horse Cave with their population of 2212 produced this stud.  That streak might end but Compton will play and who knows as the two-guard spot is wide open especially if Hagan goes to point full time. Sophomore Phil Cox played next to Compton on the JV and proved he is ready as well.  Only 5’11 Cox can really get to the hoop and will score.  He is not a true pg either but Skinner has made it clear if he wants to play on the big team it will be at the point.  The two Barry’s, Goheen and Booker, are also second year kids who can flat shoot and have some size on the wing.  These two dubbed themselves (and fellow sophomore Mike Rhodes who might be better than both Barry’s from behind the arc) the ’Bomb Squad’ off the bench for the JV and fit their nickname to the B.  Skinner wants more athleticism and size in the back court has recruited accordingly. 

The player that has had the biggest impact on not only this team but the entire SEC will also be retuning.  Senior Perry Wallace walked on campus four years ago as the first African-American to be recruited, get a scholarship and to play in the SEC.  Wallace had to put up with racist nonsense throughout this time at Vandy but handled it with class and dignity and has had a productive career for the Commodores.  A great board guy Wallace handled it in stride when he lost playing time last season.  He knows that basketball was a means to an end for him and so many more.  He will be pursuing his degree in law at Columbia after he graduates from Vandy as he was the Valedictorian at his high school in Nashville.  Skinner made it a point to bring this kid in and he has been above expectations on and off the court.  He is truly an inspiration for student athletes and what sports are all about and his courage should be a template for others. 

This season showed once again that The Vanderbilt Commodores still have a long way to go before they are battling for SEC conference titles.  This prestigious University is not able to recruit the same level of talent as it’s competition in the SEC and makes do with a style of play that works around that.  The Commies rely on the three-point shot and when they are on can play with just about anybody.  But because of a lack of athleticism and perimeter quickness they have a hard time stopping other teams.  This will continue and Coach Skinner will keep bringing in players to try and upgrade the talent.  That will help but Skinner plans to keep coaching them up so they can compete in this rugged conference and hopefully they get a few more breaks than they did last year.  After all they had 7 games decided by 3 or less points and lost 6 of them. The only winner was when Barry Goheen came from deep off the bench in a triple overtime win over Florida in late February to hit a three for victory.  If they could have won a few more they would have been in the post season.  The fans in the music capital of the world want a winner but they also understand the limits of this University and their strict enrollment requirements.  And besides many of these country folk love Kentucky anyway so there is some work to be done.