Scouting Report: Vanderbilt Commodores

It isn’t the individual disappointments that hurt as much as the totality of them. Losing at home to UNC Wilmington would just be a bad loss if you didn’t also lose at home to Florida. Similarly, losing at home to a top-five Tennessee team wouldn’t sting as much if it wasn’t the second loss at Rupp Arena of the week and third of the season. On a larger scale, losing to Saint Peter’s would be chalked up to tournament randomness if the Wildcats didn’t miss the postseason altogether the previous season. It has been death by 1,000 cuts within Big Blue Nation ever since the NCAA Tournament was canceled in 2020. Too many losses coupled with a lack of postseason success has everyone living on edge in preparation for March.

Luckily, in the short term, the grind of conference play offers a new opportunity to compete every few days. The #17 Kentucky Wildcats (15-6, 5-4) will travel to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores (6-15, 1-7) on Tuesday night. Vanderbilt is coming off beating Missouri, but this is still an ultimate get-right spot for the ‘Cats. Obviously, a loss would border on catastrophic, but that shouldn’t be a worry against this Commodores club that currently checks in at number 186 in KenPom and 226 in the NET Rankings. After a strong showing in 2022-2023, things have come crashing down for Coach Jerry Stackhouse in year five.

As always, we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s next opponent. We will take a deep dive into the Commodores’ personnel, break down their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game for the ‘Cats. Let’s dive in and get to know more about the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Vanderbilt Commodores Personnel

Starters

#5 Ezra Manjon: 6’0″ 170 lbs, Fifth Year Senior Point Guard
14.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.4 apg

Primary ball handler. Most aggressive offensive player. Much better and more aggressive as a right hand driver than he is as a shooter. Just 9-30 from 3 on the season. Right hand driver. NO RIGHT HAND DRIVES!!! You should give him a step or two on the perimeter at all times to stay between him and the basket. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it and then closeout short. Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Everything you do defensively while guarding him should be with the idea of staying between him and the basket and cutting off the right hand drives. He likes to use the shot fake at the end of his drives. Always coming back right to finish. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. No right hand drives. No layups for him.

#10 Jordan Williams: 6’2″ 205 lbs, Sophomore Guard
1.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.7 apg

Strong, stocky guard. Very willing shooter. 24 of 31 shots have been 3’s, but shooting just 20.8%. You need to be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3’s. He is primarily hunting catch-and-shoot 3’s, but not very aggressive overall. If you are there to put a hand up you will take him away. Then, bounce back and guard against the right hand drive. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it and then closeout with high hands and choppy feet. Do not over help when he drives. We are not worried about him finishing contested 2’s. Tighten up to your man as he drives it. No catch-and-shoot 3’s.

#0 Tyrin Lawrence: 6’4″ 200 lbs, Senior Guard
14.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.8 apg

Left-handed. Aggressive, athletic guard. Much better and more aggressive as a left hand driver than he is as a shooter. Left hand driver. NO LEFT HAND DRIVES!!! You should give him a step or two on the perimeter at all times to stay between him and the basket. Help off of him when he doesn’t have it and then closeout short. Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Everything you do defensively while guarding him should be with the idea of staying between him and the basket and cutting off the left hand drives. Stay down on the shot fakes. He uses the shot fake on the perimeter to drive it left. Likes to shoot the pull-up or floater when driving it right. Get your hands up and make him finish over you. 30 assists, 36 turnovers. No left hand drives. No layups for him.

#12 Evan Taylor: 6’6″ 205 lbs, Graduate Student Guard/Forward
8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.3 apg

Left-handed. Plays the role of a face-up, pick-and-pop 4-man. Very willing shooter. 96 of 167 shots have been 3s. Shooting 30.2% from 3. You need to be tight enough to give a hard contest to his catch-and-shoot 3’s. He is primarily hunting catch-and-shoot 3’s. Closeout aggressively on the pick-and-pop. Be very willing to switch to take him away on the pick-and-pop. You can get up and pressure him on the perimeter. He is not super comfortable handling it. 6 assists, 12 turnovers. When he does put it on the floor he is going to look to drive it left. We want to make him finish contested 2s. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Good offensive rebounder. Make contact and be physical when the shot goes up. No pick-and-pop or catch-and-shoot 3’s for him.

#2 Ven-Allen Lubin: 6’8″ 230 lbs, Sophomore Forward
10.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 0.5 apg

Undersized 5-man. He will face-up some out on the perimeter. Just throw a hand up to contest if he shoots from beyond the arc, but pretty good out to 15-18 feet. You need to contest the mid-range jump shots. He likes to drive it right when he faces up on the perimeter. No right hand drives!!! You shouldn’t be so far out that you allow him to drive by you. Give him a step in order to stay between him and the basket. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Do your work early and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. 7 assists, 17 turnovers. You can go take it off of him. Very good offensive rebounder. Box out! No right hand drives.

Bench

#23 Jason Rivera-Torres: 6’6″ 180 lbs, Freshman Guard/Forward
7.8 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 0.6 apg

Backup wing. Capable shooter. 31.3% on one make per game. You need to be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3’s. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot 3’s you need to bounce back and guard against the right hand drive. No right hand drives! He is looking to get all of the way to the rim when driving it right or will shoot the pull-up going left. Give a hard contest to the mid-range, pull-up jump shots. You can bring some help when he is driving it right. Not really thinking about passing. 12 assists, 24 turnovers. If you come help you have to do so aggressively with the mindset of either stealing the ball or fouling. Crashes the offensive glass from the perimeter. Make contact and box him out. No uncontested catch-and-shoot 3s. No right hand drives.

#4 Isaiah West: 6’2″ 190 lbs, Freshman Guard
3.8 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.6 apg

Backup guard. Shooter! No 3s! Half of his shots have been 3s. Shooting 40% from 3 on the season. You need to be tight enough to him on the perimeter to take away his catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts. Tighten up to him as the ball is driven towards you. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot 3’s he is going to look to drive it right. We would rather make him score contested 2’s. Get up and pressure him on the perimeter. He is more comfortable catching-and-shooting than driving it. 9 assists, 12 turnovers. You don’t need to over help when he drives, but if you do go you must do so aggressively. Either steal it or foul. No catch-and-shoot 3’s for him!

#3 Paul Lewis: 6’2″ 175 lbs, Sophomore Point Guard
3.6 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 1.7 apg

Backup point guard. Very quick with the ball in his hands. Willing shooter. 48 of 88 shots have been 3’s, but shooting just 20.8% from beyond the arc. We are more concerned about him as a right hand driver and playmaker. No right hand drives! Just be there to throw a hand up if he shoots from the perimeter. You can help off of him and then closeout short to stay between him and the basket. Go UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. Do not over help when he drives it, especially when he drives it left. He is typical driving it to pass. Tighten up to your man as it is driven towards you. More dangerous as a passer than he is as a finisher. Get the ball stopped in transition. No right hand drives. No layups for him.

#24 JaQualon Roberts: 6’8″ 220 lbs, Freshman Forward
1.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.4 apg

Backup forward. Long and athletic. Willing shooter, 16 of his 29 shots have been 3’s, but he has only made 2. Much more dangerous as a right hand driver. No right hand drives!!! You can closeout short to him on the perimeter and guard against the right hand drive. He is better at attacking closeouts than shooting from the perimeter. Stay between him and the basket. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. He is looking to turn the corner and use his quickness to finish around you. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Very good offensive rebounder. Will crash the glass hard. You have to make contact and be physical when the shot goes up. Box out. No right hand drives!

Vanderbilt Commodores Offense

The numbers have been ugly for the Vanderbilt Commodores offensively. They rank 234th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency, 339th in effective field goal percentage (44.9%), and 348th in three-point percentage (28.0%). Despite their struggles to make shots from beyond the arc, the Commodores are not shy about letting them fly. That is how you end up with such an inefficient offense. As always, Coach Stackhouse runs some of the best set plays in the Southeastern Conference. However, he simply doesn’t have the talent to execute this season. For a defense struggling to the extent that Kentucky’s is, playing the Commodores could be just what the doctor ordered. They are scoring just 66.4 points per game and haven’t broken 70 since January 6th. This is truly a get-right spot for the ‘Cats.

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At this point, expectations are very low defensively. We are looking for the most basic levels of recognition and execution. Hopefully, we can eventually build upon that baseline, but we first establish that baseline. The single most influential change to our defensive issues would be to become less obsessed with the basketball. You do not need to stare at the ball. Also, if you are in “help” you need to be accomplishing something. Simply standing in no man’s land accomplishes nothing. #10 Williams, who makes the baseline drive in this clip, is shooting 29.0% from the field, 20.8% from three, and 50.0% from the free throw line. That is not somebody who needs triple-teamed on the drive and the attention of all 10 eyes. Both #4 West and #12 Taylor are more dangerous without the ball than Williams is with the ball. Don’t give up uncontested 3’s for no reason.

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Missouri blows up Vanderbilt’s attempt at running some floppy action here, but the reason for showing the clip is what happens at the end of the possession. Again, we cannot be this obsessed with the basketball. When #3 Lewis drives it, especially when he drives it left, he is primarily driving to pass. He is shooting 30.7% from the field. There is no reason to over help and stare at the ball. Tighten up to #0 Lawrence who is one of the Commodores’ two most dangerous offensive players. Then, if you tighten up as the ball is driven, you don’t have as long of a closeout. That should keep you from biting on the shot fake of a 25.4% three-point shooter. We want to stay between him and the basket.

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This Iverson cut from a staggered double has been a Vanderbilt Commodores staple under Coach Stackhouse. When nothing comes of it they look to flare in for #12 Taylor. Missouri did a good job of covering all of that up. Eventually, #5 Manjon looks to make a play himself. When he is driving it left you have to be thinking about him coming back right to finish. This isn’t bad defense, and probably an offensive foul, but you have to try and keep Manjon from coming back right to finish. If we can make it hard on Manjon and Lawrence it’ll be hard for Vanderbilt to score enough to win.

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Staying between #0 Lawrence and the basket will be a major key to having success in Nashville on Tuesday night. This is a guy who scored 21 points in Vanderbilt’s win at Rupp Arena last season and then backed it up with 18 points in their win in the SEC Tournament. He was 12-18 from two in those games combined. We can’t let him split a simple Horns ballscreen. Go UNDER the handoff to stay between him and the basket. There is no reason to be this aggressive at the point of the screen. Lawrence is shooting 25.4% from three-point range.

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#5 Manjon is not a bigger guard, but that doesn’t stop the Vanderbilt Commodores from posting him up some. He is very quick and comfortable making moves with his back to the basket. You don’t need to be bodied up against him when he posts up like this. Give him space and back up to stay between him and the basket. We would much rather give him the turnaround jump shot than allow him to turn the corner and lay it up.

Vanderbilt Commodores Defense

A lot of the Vanderbilt Commodores’ defensive deficiencies should play right into our hands. Due to a relative lack of resistance, Vanderbilt’s defensive possessions are the 19th fastest in college basketball at an average of 16.4 seconds. That means we should see a fast pace and a lot of possessions on Tuesday night at Memorial Gymnasium. Furthermore, the Commodores are one of the worst in the country at defending the three-point line. Opponents shoot 36.7% from deep. Playing on the road always makes an off-shooting night more likely, but the numbers would indicate that we should be able to shoot it in from beyond the arc in this one. If we can score 92 against Tennessee we should have the mindset of putting up 100+ against Vanderbilt.

In terms of scheme, Coach Stackhouse primarily deploys a man-to-man defense. The Commodores are very undersized so they will switch a lot defensively and look to be aggressive at times by hard hedging the ballscreens. You can expect them to mix in some possessions of 2-3 zone, but it’ll just be used as a change of pace from their man-to-man. Regardless of what they are in, we should be scoring on them consistently. Vanderbilt allows 0.937 points per possession which is 280th nationally, per Synergy.

Keys to the Game

• Contain #5 Manjon and #0 Lawrence off of the dribble. These two played major roles in the Commodores winning two of three matchups last season. We must stay between them and the basket and hold them below their respective averages.
• Win the three-point battle. Three-point shot is the great equalizer between those with more and less talent. The Vanderbilt Commodores are one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country and also one of the worst at guarding the three. We need to make at least three more three-point shots than them.
• Control the glass. We should be able to dominate the glass against these guys. 77% or better on the defensive end. 30% or better on the offensive end.
• Shoot 75% or better at the free throw line.