Tag: Vanderbilt

3 sleepers the Golden State Warriors could target in the NBA Draft

Could the Warriors find the next Eric Paschall in the 2020 NBA Draft?

While the NFL draft is leading headlines, the Golden State Warriors are dialing in for the NBA edition of draft day. With the worst record in the NBA, Bob Myers and Steve Kerr will have the opportunity to bring in a blue-chip prospect to the Bay Area at the start of the lottery.

Anthony Edwards, Onyeka Okongwu and LaMelo Ball have been popular at the start of many mock drafts projections for the Warriors. Outside of the top three, Deni Avdija, and Isaac Okoro have been trending names across draft boards.

Golden State will likely have their choice at the top of June’s draft, but what if they went off the board? With the championship core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green still in place, the Warriors could go in a bevy of directions with their selection.

The Warriors could trade the pick for a later spot in the lottery, or they could package their two-second rounders for a late first-round pick. Options will be on the table for Myers and Kerr.

The Warriors have been successful with navigating around the back end of the draft to find contributors. After being selected in the second round of the 2019 draft, Eric Paschall has blossomed into one of the Warriors’ key contributors as a rookie.

If the Warriors decide to go off the radar when it’s their time on the clock, here are three sleepers to consider

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Watch: New LA Charger Alohi Gilman College Highlights

LA Chargers draft pick Alohi Gilman is far from a perfect safety but it doesn’t mean he won’t be remembered at Notre Dame as a recent hero.

Alohi Gilman was selected in Saturday’s sixth round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers.  Gilman joins a strong Notre Dame precence in southern California as he’ll play alongside former Fighting Irish stars Drue Tranquill, Jerry Tillery and Isaac Rochell.

Gilman is far from a perfect safety, hence why he was selected in the sixth round.  However, he’s about as opportunistic of player Notre Dame has had in recent years.  I’ll forever associate Gilman with being the safety valve that made the most-needed of plays en route to a 12-0 regular season.

Struggles against Vanderbilt could have led to an embarrassing loss had it not been for Gilman forcing a fumble with Vanderbilt appearing to be about to score.  To close the regular season it was Gilman forcing a turnover while trailing against USC that changed the entire direction of the game.

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I’ll admit that I like the potential of Notre Dame’s safeties entering the 2020 season more than most and think they have the chance to actually be a better unit this season.  However, that doesn’t mean for a second that I won’t miss seeing Gilman in this shade of blue and gold, two very memorable years flew by watching him for Notre Dame.

Titans QB target Riley Neal prepared to take career to the next level

The Titans have met with a host of prospects ahead of the draft, including Neal.

The Tennessee Titans entered the 2020 NFL Draft with a need to fill at backup quarterback, considering that Logan Woodside is the only player at the position on the roster outside of Ryan Tannehill.

The Titans have met with a host of prospects, including Vanderbilt’s Riley Neal, who is ready to find his NFL landing spot in the coming days.

Prospects like Neal have been greatly impacted by the restrictions put in place due to the novel coronavirus.

“I talked with the Titans and I was supposed to go to their local day, and obviously, that never happened,” he told me on Thursday morning.

Neal has met with several teams, but says that in addition to the Titans, the Denver Broncos, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams specifically come to mind.

The Titans obviously present the advantage of staying local for Neal, and a supporting cast with running back Derrick Henry within it is appealing.

“They run the ball really well, and on top of that, I’ve already lived in Nashville, going to Vanderbilt,” Neal said. “It’s a great city to be in.”

Playing the SEC for the Commodores as a graduate transfer from Ball State has helped give Neal the tools he needs to prepare for the next level, and the offensive situation he was placed in there served him well.

Over five years of college football, Neal has completed 59.6% of his passes for 8,978 yards with 55 touchdowns and 30 interceptions.

“I think we did some stuff at Vanderbilt in terms of protections and changing plays and I was given quarterback freedom to get the offense in a situation that’s ideal for them,” he said. “It kind of gave me a leg up in comparison to some other offenses.”

Neal, who is projected to be chosen in the later rounds or be signed as an undrafted free agent, is ready to put his head down and get to work — regardless of where that may be.

“I think I’ve played a decent amount of football, and I have some experience. I’m someone who is going to come in and work every day, fill whatever role they find necessary,” he said. “I’m not too picky, of course I’ll go anywhere that I’m wanted and that’s good for me. I don’t have any specific criteria for that.”

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Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 15 Seed – 2018-19 Irish

Notre Dame hasn’t had many lean seasons since Mike Brey took over, but as far as badness, the 2018-19 Irish take the cake.

Notre Dame hasn’t had many lean seasons since Mike Brey took over, but as far as badness, the 2018-19 Irish take the cake. That’s not to say they didn’t have the talent to compete, at least at the start of the season. The team was ravaged by injuries, particularly a torn ACL for Rex Pflueger, and that made it impossible for them to compete in a top-heavy ACC.

As is typical for them, the Irish had a good nonconference showing at 10-3. But with their depth suddenly thin, once conference play began, they never got anything going. Losing streaks of five and seven gave them an ACC record of 3-15, their worst conference showing since going 4-14 in their inaugural Big East campaign in 1995-96. They salvaged a win in the conference tournament over Georgia Tech before Louisville ended their season in the next round and brought their final overall record to 14-19, their worst since going 14-16 in John MacLeod’s last season in 1998-99.

In spite of the team’s troubles, John Mooney averaged a double-double with 14.1 points and 11.2 rebounds a game. T.J. Gibbs averaged 13.4 points a game, and D.J. Harvey had a scoring average of 10.7 in his final season with Notre Dame before transferring to Vanderbilt. In Pflueger’s absence, the Irish went through a revolving door for the fifth player in their starting lineup, which was consistent otherwise.

The Irish committed the fewest fouls in the country (455) and the third-fewest turnovers (306). Opponents realized they were facing a team that wasn’t going to beat itself, but they mostly won anyway.

Notre Dame 15 Years Tournament: No. 13 Seed – 2005-06 Irish

The oldest team in our tournament field, the 2005-06 Irish gave fans something to talk about early by jumping out to a 9-2 record.

The oldest team in our tournament field, the 2005-06 Irish gave fans something to talk about early by jumping out to a 9-2 record with the nonconference schedule. At the beginning of Big East play, Notre Dame nearly took down a then-perfect Pittsburgh team before falling in double overtime. The Irish never recovered from that as they ended up losing eight of their first nine conference games. Amazingly, their record never fell below .500, and despite being one-and-done in the Big East tournament, they earned an NIT spot.

Notre Dame made its mark in the first round of the NIT with a win at home over Vanderbilt. It traveled to Michigan for the second round and lost to the eventual tournament runner-up by three in double overtime. Playing beyond regulation time was not kind to the Irish this season as they dropped all five games that required longer than 40 minutes.

Chris Quinn was the big player on this team as he led the Irish in both scoring (17.7) and assists (6.4). Notre Dame also got double-digit scoring averages from Colin Falls (13.8), Russell Carter (11.5) and Torin Francis (11.6), who also was the team leader in rebounds (9.4). Six players started at least 10 games this season, and seven started at least nine.

Paced by Falls’ 102 field goals from beyond the arc and 70 from Quinn, the Irish were fifth in 3-point field-goal percentage (.403) and sixth in 3-pointers made (288).

Santa Clara Transfer Trey Wertz Has Notre Dame on List

While it improved from an injury-riddled 2018-19 season, it’s unlikely Notre Dame would have made the 2020 NCAA tournament as aN at-large.

While it improved from an injury-riddled 2018-19 season, it’s unlikely Notre Dame would have made the 2020 NCAA tournament as an at-large team had it taken place. The Irish will take help however they can, and if a Monday report from 247Sports is any indication, help might come in a couple of years.

Santa Clara guard Trey Wertz has listed Notre Dame as one of 11 schools on his short list of schools he would like to transfer to. The Irish made the cut from an initial round of over 40 schools. They’ll have to battle it out with ACC rivals Virginia, North Carolina and NC State for Wertz’s services. Rounding out the list of finalists are Ohio State, Butler, Oklahoma, Arizona, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Xavier.

Wertz averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game this past season while shooting 40.0 percent from 3-point range. It was a slight dip from the year before, in which he averaged 12.2 points and 4.7 assists a game and made the WCC All-Freshman Team.

The COVID-19 pandemic will make it difficult for Wertz to make visits, so it’s likely Notre Dame will have to rely on reputation alone to win him over. The inability for recruits to make visits during this crisis has hampered the entire athletic program, though the same could be said for other schools, too. If there’s one thing Notre Dame has going for it in this case, it’s that the university is closer to Wertz’s hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Hey, anything is worth a shot to gain an advantage in this race.

Alabama basketball loses heartbreaker at home to Vanderbilt, 87-79

On Tuesday evening, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the Vanderbilt Commodores in Tuscaloosa, 87-79.

On Tuesday evening, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the Vanderbilt Commodores in Tuscaloosa, 87-79.

The Crimson Tide attempted a total of 63 shots and made 26 of them for a field goal percentage of 41.3 percent. Alabama also made 15/21 free throws for 71.4 percent percentage.

Alabama was led by Kira Lewis Jr. who had 30 points and 4 rebounds, and 8 assists. James Bolden also had 24 points, while Jaden Shackelford recorded 18.

Vanderbilt went 30/54 for 55.6 percent and also made 12/16 free throws for 75.0 percent.

Alabama drops to 16-14 (8-9 in the SEC) while Vanderbilt improves to 10-20 (2-15 in the SEC).

Lady Vols top Vanderbilt to end losing streak

Tennessee defeats Vanderbilt.

KNOXVILLE — The nightmare for the Lady Vols basketball team is over — at least temporarily.

Tennessee snapped a five-game losing streak and picked up its first win in the month of February as it outlasted in-state rival Vanderbilt, 67-63, Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Tennessee (18-9 overall, 8-6 in the Southeastern Conference) opened a 32-18 lead in the second quarter, but let the Commodores back into the game and Vanderbilt (13-14, 3-11) took a 56-55 lead in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee, which last won over the Commodores in Nashville on Jan. 30, had enough to come back and reverse its recent bad fortune.

Freshman Jordan Horston has had a roller coaster ride of a rookie season on Rocky Top. She has shown flashes of brilliance at times, but struggled at others.

But on Sunday, she came off the bench and put up one of her most solid performances of the season.

She scored 16 points, including a layup to give Tennessee a 66-63 lead with 46 seconds left in the contest to put the Lady Vols up for good. Jazmine Massengill added a free throw shortly after to provide the final margin of victory.

Horston also had five assists and four rebounds.

Rennia Davis led the Lady Vols with 18 points and 10 rebounds while Rae Burrell added 12 for the Lady Vols, who host Ole Miss in their home finale Thursday night.

Chelsie Hall led the Commodores with a game-high 20 points.

Lady Vols fall again on the hardwood

Lady Vols fall again on the hardwood.

FAYETTEVILLE — The Lady Vols saw their hardwood skid continue with another loss to another ranked team Thursday night.

Tennessee dropped its fifth consecutive game when it came up on the short end of an 83-75 decision against Arkansas at Bud Walton Arena.

Rae Burrell led the Lady Vols with 21 points while Rennia Davis added 18 for Tennessee, which has now lost six of its last seven games.

Burrell had nine rebounds and three assists while Davis grabbed eight boards and dished out three assists for the Lady Vols, who last won in Nashville, against Vanderbilt on Jan. 30.

Tennessee (17-9 overall, 7-6 in the Southeastern Conference) struggled to pull that contest out, but left Music City with a 78-69 win. The Commodores (13-13, 3-10) will make a return trip to Knoxville and Thompson-Boling Arena Sunday. Tipoff is slated for noon.

Vanderbilt has lost four of its last five games and lost to Missouri, 78-66, on Thursday night in Nashville.

Also on Thursday, Arkansas guard Amber Ramirez led the No. 22 Razorbacks with 29 points.

Vols slip past Vanderbilt, 65-61

Tennessee defeats Vanderbilt.

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s men’s basketball team got a win it had to have Tuesday night.

But it didn’t come easily and it won’t win any style points.

The Volunteers overcame a sluggish offensive start and were able to manufacture enough points to slip past Vanderbilt, 65-61, at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The Vols, who are likely on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble were locked in a 28-28 tie with the last-place Commodores.

Tennessee (15-11 overall, 7-6 in the Southeastern Conference) had three players post double figures in the scoring column.

John Fulkerson and Jordan Bowden led the way for the Big Orange with 17 points each. Santiago Vescovi added 14 as he continues to acclimate himself to the rigors of the SEC. He also dished out seven assists and pulled down four rebounds.

Fulkerson continued his solid play in the post as he grabbed seven rebounds. Bowden had five rebounds and four assists.

Jordan Wright led Vanderbilt (9-17, 1-12) with a game-high 23 points.