SEC Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season
By Matt Melton
12. Vanderbilt Commodores
Coming off one of their best single seasons in recent memory, Vanderbilt enters year four of the Jerry Stackhouse era ranked as the No. 12 team in our 2022-23 SEC Basketball power rankings.
Looking back at last season, Vanderbilt finished with a 19-17 overall record, as well as a 7-11 mark in SEC play. In what was year three under Stackhouse, the Commodores 2021-22-win total in both overall and conference play was the highest since the 2016-17 season, one in which Vanderbilt went 19-16 overall and 10-8 in the SEC.
Looking ahead now, Vanderbilt will be tasked with replacing one of the conference’s top scorers from a year ago in Scotty Pippen Jr, with the guard having led the Commodores in scoring each of the past two seasons. Vanderbilt does however also return a few notable names as well, with arguably none bigger than the duo of Jordan Wright and Myles Stute.
The Commodores have also added a few players that should play key roles, with arguably no two names bigger than that of transfer guard Ezra Manjon and freshman forward Lee Dort. On the topic of returning names as well, Vanderbilt also has a few others who are back this season to play significant roles such as Liam Robbins, Tyrin Lawrence, Quintin Millora-Brown, and Trey Thomas.
Even despite losing their top scorer, Vanderbilt still has everything needed to have a season similar to a year ago. No, they are likely not expected to be an NCAA Tournament team by most entering the year, but the Commodores could still be a surprise team in the SEC this season.