How Jason Edwards said Vanderbilt basketball went from last-place pick to putting 'world on notice'

How Jason Edwards said Vanderbilt basketball went from last-place pick to putting ‘world on notice’

Posted by author January 25, 2025 Basketball

Spread the love

Vanderbilt basketball was picked to finish last in the SEC’s preseason media poll for the 2024-25 season.

In the new, 16-team SEC, writers felt that the Commodores, who had a new coach in Mark Byington and an almost entirely new roster, were 16th.

It’s been clear for a while that the projection was off base, but Vanderbilt still remembers − and uses it as motivation.

Now, the Commodores (16-4, 4-3 SEC) have wins over top-10 Tennessee and Kentucky teams before the end of January. The latest came Saturday, as Vanderbilt defeated the Wildcats, 74-69 as fans stormed the court for the second time in the last week at Memorial Gym.

“At the end of the day, people ranked us 16th in the conference, and we knew that that’s not who we are,” said Jason Edwards, who scored a team-high 18 points with four assists against Kentucky. “Games like this is what puts the world on notice.

“We already beat a top 10. We knew that we dropped the Alabama game (Tuesday). … We were expecting to win that game, and it didn’t go our way. But here, we knew we weren’t going to let that game snowball into this game. So I feel like every game in this league is the hardest game of your life.”

Vanderbilt shot 44% from the field and 36% from three, but most importantly the Commodores forced 17 turnovers and turned the ball over just five times. It’s the kind of clean offense they’ve played all season long despite returning one scholarship player from last year. That player, JQ Roberts, has yet to appear in an SEC game.

Edwards began his career at a junior college before spending a year at North Texas. Boston College transfer Devin McGlockton scored 14 points with six rebounds. Virginia Tech transfer Tyler Nickel scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, with four rebounds. Freshman Tyler Tanner, a former Brentwood Academy star, had seven points, two rebounds, four assists and two steals.

“People shouldn’t be surprised, because the type of guys we are, when you look at our roster, me and Tyler were just talking about it, we’re special, and we’re all special for different reasons,” Edwards said. “And I give big credit to (Byington) for bringing in this group of guys, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t want to go into war with anybody else.

“I feel like feel like we all are special. We’re all unique, and we’re all super talented. It’s not like we all come in and think like, oh, this is what we’re going to do individually. Like we think that as long as we all put our best foot forward, we can be a great team.”

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter, @aria_gerson.