Vandy men could start two freshmen
Vanderbilt's freshmen on the men's basketball team don't have a nickname yet.
Ask them if they're thinking of one, and they bashfully decline to comment. But the group that was ranked 25th by Rivals.com and 28th by ESPN.com will have a chance to make their mark this year on the program.
That will especially be the case at guard after coach Kevin Stallings announced Kedren Johnson would not return to the program at the end of his one-year university suspension and that Dai-Jon Parker was no longer with the program. That has opened up the possibility that both starting guards will come from four of the freshmen.
"We get to learn a lot faster, and basically we get thrown into the fire," said Shelton Mitchell, who is 6-3 and was injured for most of his senior season at Oak Hill, Va. "We have to pick up the speed. We'll be all right. We'll handle it fine."
The freshmen say they prepared all summer for the season — taking classes, practicing together and bonding. They also are not shy about some of their goals.
"We want to win the SEC," said Matthew Fisher-Davis, who is 6-5 and averaged 22 points and 13 rebounds last season at Butler High in Charlotte. "People probably doubt us because we're young, but that's our goal. Everybody looks at Kentucky, but we have a pretty good class coming in."
Kentucky has been the gold standard, but there have been instances where lower-rated freshman classes have made an impact.
In 2004, Rivals.com rated Florida's class No. 15 overall. That squad turned into one of the greatest recruiting classes of all time and won back-to-back national championships behind the strength of Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford and Taurean Green.
"I feel like we should shock the SEC," said Wade Baldwin IV, who is 6-2 and led St. Joseph, N.J., to a state title last season, averaging 15 points and 4.1 rebounds. "I think if we do that, and compete with the top three, top two, the rest can fall into place. It's going to be questioned, 'How did they get it done?'"
The Commodores have missed the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons, and during that stretch Vanderbilt has gone 31-33.
"I think the sky is the limit," said Riley LaChance, who is 6-2 and averaged 23 points for Brookfield Central, Wisc. "We're going to have some growing pains with the freshmen. We're going to have to grow up quicker than freshmen do. I think we have prepared really well and we haven't even scratched the surface yet. In the summer, each and every guy put in a tremendous amount of work to see it pays off in SEC play."
Other guards on the roster are two juniors — Carter Josephs, who just got put on scholarship, and walk-on Nathan Watkins.
Reach Josh Cooper at 615-726-8917 or on Twitter @joshuacooper.