Stallings thinks his fourth season may be charm for Commodores

Posted 6:40AM on Tuesday 5th November 2002 ( 22 years ago )

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings thinks his rebuilding project finally is over. Now he's ready to see just what his Commodores can do. Stallings is heading into his fourth season here, and he recruited every player on the roster. He knows only too well that Vanderbilt is just two games over .500 for the past two seasons combined, and he is ready for much more. ``That's not the kind of program we want to be,'' Stallings said. ``We knew that when we took the job we knew the first year we'd be able to survive. We knew the second and third year would be tough. Now it's time to reverse those fortunes and get it back to where it needs to be.'' Junior forward Matt Freije, who led the team with 15.1 points last season, agrees. ``Everybody on the team now is completely bonded to Coach Stallings and what he does. Everybody believes in each other. We've been together all summer and gotten the mentality that we're going to work hard and we're going to achieve something this year,'' Freije said. The Commodores all know what they want - the program's first NCAA tournament appearance since 1997. That might seem too much for a team that went 17-15 last season and lost its second game in the NIT. They lost three of their top four scorers, and the only senior is a walk-on. But Stallings finally has talent and depth with his Commodores for the first time since he came here from Illinois State, and his biggest asset is healthy point guard Russell Lakey. The 6-foot junior missed 13 games last season due to a broken bone in his right foot. ``Last year was a tough experience for me being on the bench, not being able to help my teammates,'' Lakey said. ``Right now I'm just trying to stay healthy and do what I can to help this team.'' Lakey has been the best player in preseason practices, and Stallings said it always will be a shame that such growth didn't happen last year. Lakey allows Stallings more options on defense and lets the Commodores play more transition on offense. Freije said Lakey always has known just what every player should do on the floor and nobody could fill his spot last season. ``We have a floor general now, and he's able to pick up their point guard and pressure them full-court, which gives us more time to get in the passing lanes and get our defense set. He just brings a whole different aspect to our game.'' Vanderbilt lost Chuck Moore, Sam Howard and center Darius Coulibaly to graduation and guard Brendan Plavich, the Southeastern Conference's most accurate 3-point shooter last season, transferred to Charlotte. Mario Moore, one of five freshmen, might be the reason why. The Nashville, Tenn., native will give Lakey some rest coming off the bench, and Stallings said the Commodores shouldn't notice much of a difference. Stallings has his most depth yet in the middle with plenty of size led by 6-8 forward Brian Thornton, who was an All-SEC freshman, 6-11 center David Przybyszewski, 6-10 forward/center Martin Schnedlitz and freshmen 6-9 Julian Terrell and 6-11 Ted Skuchas. ``That's something that gives you a chance to be a more consistent team,'' Stallings said. ``You live by the jump shot, you're going to die by it. We're hoping some things will be a little different.'' The Commodores took 763 of their 1,779 shots from 3-point range last year. Stallings feels confident enough that he scheduled a visit from Connecticut on Dec. 1 with visits to Indiana, Michigan and Notre Dame in December before starting the Southeastern Conference schedule in January. Predictions are for this team to finish last in the SEC Eastern Division, and Freije said they have something to prove. ``The expectations have never been that high for us here, and we feel this year it should be a little bit different,'' Freije said.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/11/188044