SEASON OUTLOOK After a 21-win season and an NIT quarterfinal berth with the fourth-youngest team in the nation in 2014-15, Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings’ 17th season in Nashville has the potential to be one of his bests on West End. Stallings will have plenty of options at his disposal, starting with 7’0 junior center Damian Jones, who was a first-team all-SEC and all-defensive team selection a year ago. Jones led the team in scoring and rebounding and looked dominating on several occasions as a sophomore in 2014-15, despite numerous double teams from opponents. In 2015-16, teams will have to choose between Jones and a pethora of outside shooting that the Commodores will return this season. Perimeter The Commodores return three members of their backcourt, all of whom were freshmen a year ago, from last season’s team which featured four players that made at least 40% of its three-point baskets. Two members of the SEC All-Freshman team return in Wade Baldwin IV and Riley LaChance, and the SEC’s leading freshman three-point shot maker in Matthew Fisher-Davis is also back. Vanderbilt also welcomes 6’4 guard Nolan Cressler to the fold, a redshirt junior who sat out last season after transferring from Cornell. Cressler averaged 16.8 points per game for the Big Red before leaving for Nashville at the end of the 2013-14 season. Baldwin was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after finishing the 2014-15 season fifth in the league in assists (4.4) in all games and leading all SEC freshmen in assists. He finished the season 6th in all games in steals (1.5) and 3rd in A/TO ratio (2.2). In league games only, he finished fifth in steals (1.7), fourth in assists (4.5), and 8th in A/TO ratio (2.0). He finished tied for 6th all-time on Vanderbilt’s single-season assist list and is VU’s all-time freshman leader on the single-season assist list with 155 assists. He also recorded 50 steals in 2014-15, the 2nd most in 13 years. LaChance finished the season as the leading freshman scorer in the SEC at 12.3 points per game in all games and also led the conference among freshmen scorers with 12.2 per game. He finished the season second among all SEC freshmen in three’s made per contest at 1.9 per game (behind teammate Matthew Fisher- Davis), which was sixth in the conference overall. LaChance won four SEC Freshman of the Week honors, which set a new program record. He poured in two consecutive 26-point games against Purdue and Western Carolina in 2014-15, and had three 20+ point games. In all, he scored in double figures in 24 contests. Fisher-Davis saved his best for last, making 10 threes in his last two games, including a career-high six three-pointer performance at Stanford. Fisher-Davis led all freshman in threes made per game at 2.1, and finished the season second in three-point field goal percentage in all games at a 40.1% clip. Fisher-Davis averaged 7.3 points per game as a freshman a year ago. Sophomore Jeff Roberson, who started 24 games at the three position, returns this season as a hybrid three and four man in Coach Stallings’ offense. Roberson averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds as a freshman, and converted on 45.5% of his threes. Vanderbilt will also add guard Camron Justice and wing Joe Toye to their repertoire this season. Justice, a 6’3 guard from Hindman, Ky., was Mr. Basketball and the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Kentucky as a senior at Knott County Central after averaging 28.5 points, 6.2 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game and leading his high school team to three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. He was also the third-leading scorer (3,588 points) in Kentucky history and ranked third in three-pointers 7’1 junior Luke Kornet provides the Commodores with an (393). Toye, a 6’7 wing man from Chicago, averaged 18.0 points, 7.0 imposing inside and outside presence. 4 Vanderbilt Basketball 2015-16 SEASON OUTLOOK rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks as a senior at Whitney Young High School, where he was named as a First-Team All-City selection. He was ranked as the sixth- best player in the state of Illinois and a four-star prospect by ESPN. Walk-on Carter Josephs returns, as does senior walk-on wing Nathan Watkins and sophomore walk-on guard Phillip McGloin. Inside With all of the perimeter firepower that Coach Stallings and the Commodores will have at their disposal in 2015-16, it should free up the middle for junior big man Damian Jones, a first-team All-SEC selection a year ago. Jones averaged 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in 2014-15 and scored 20+ points in eight games as a sophomore and finished first in the SEC in field goal percentage, 3rd in blocks (2.0), and 10th in scoring. He posted his 8th 20+-point game of the year at Saint Mary’s in a 2015 NIT First Round game, when he tied a career- high with 10 field goals made and scored 21 points. He also had a career-high 15 rebounds vs. Tennessee. He scored in double figures in 28 games as a sophomore and has scored 10 points or more in 48 career games. Backing up Jones is 7’0 graduate student Josh Henderson, who was granted a sixth-year by the NCAA in the offseason after suffering two devastating knee injuries in his career. Henderson averaged 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in 2014-15. Henderson will have to fend off freshman Djery Baptiste, a 6’10 center who has the physical tools to be an imposing force in the paint in the years to come. Junior Damian Jones was an All-SEC First-Team and Baptiste averaged 10 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks, All-Defensive Team selection in 2014-15. two assists, and one steal in his senior season at Prestonwood Christian in Texas. At the power forward position, junior Luke Kornet will step into the departed James Siakam’s role at the four position. Kornet, at 7’1, has an excellent shooting touch from three which was demonstrated in 2014-15, when he made 50 of 125 threes for a 40% clip on the year. He averaged 8.7 points and 3.4 rebounds and is poised for a breakout season this year. The aforementioned Roberson will also see time with Kornet at the four position. Roberson, at 6’6, was one of the Commodores’ leading defenders and rebounders a year ago and should slide into that spot with no problem. 6’9 freshman Samir Sehic will also compete for time at the power forward position. Sehic, who played at Cy Woods High School in Texas, is a bruising skilled forward who can score inside and out. As a senior, he averaged 20 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal while being named the MVP of his district. Fact Book 5 2015-16 QUICK FACTS Quick Facts Team Information Location .......................................................................Nashville, Tenn. 2014-15 Record ............................................................................21-14 Founded .........................................................................................1873 SEC Record/Finish .....................................................................9-9/7th Conference ............................................................Southeastern (East) Home Record ..................................................................................15-4 Enrollment ....................................................................................6,738 Away Record ....................................................................................5-8 Nickname .........................................................................Commodores Neutral Record .................................................................................1-2 Colors ............................................................................Black and Gold Postseason ............................... NIT Quarterfinals (Lost 78-75 at Stanford) Home Arena ........................................Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Final AP Ranking ..............................................................................NA Chancellor ..................................................................Nicholas Zeppos Starters Returning/Lost................................................................... 4/1 Vice Chancellor .........................................................David Williams II Letterwinners Returning/Lost ....................................................... 10/3 Faculty Rep. .....................................................................Susan Wente Newcomers .........................................................................................5 Basketball Staff Returning Players (2014-15 averages) Head Coach ...................................................................Kevin Stallings Name P Ht Wt CL Pts Rebs A/B/S Record Overall ...................................................................436-269 (22) Damian Jones C 7’0 245 Jr. 14.5 6.5 2.0b Record at Vanderbilt .........................................................322-206 (16) Riley LaChance G 6’2 182 So. 12.3 3.1 2.9a Assistant Coaches........Adam Cohen, Derrick Jones, Tom Richardson Wade Baldwin IV G 6’3 194 So. 9.3 4.1 4.4a Director of Operations...........................................................Dan Cage Luke Kornet F 7’1 240 Jr. 8.7 3.4 1.1b Athletic Trainer ...........................................................Shannon Gordon Matthew Fisher-Davis G 6’5 185 So. 7.2 2.3 1.4a Academic Counselor ............................................................Neal Clark Jeff Roberson F 6’6 220 So. 4.7 3.1 1.1a Administrative Assistant.................................................Debbie Green Josh Henderson