63. Vanderbilt
Shan Foster led the Vanderbilt Commodores to a sensational ’07-’08 season, claiming the consensus award for SEC player of the year as well as all-America honors in nearly every publication. Foster notched a career high 42 points against Mississippi State in his final game in Nashville as the Commodores finished up with 26 wins, and third in the SEC. Foster’s career and the Commodore season did not end up quite as well as expected; a 21-point drubbing at the hands of Siena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa Bay. Vandy started out the year on a 16-game winning streak, but then struggled mightily on the road, going 2-6 in the league. They went undefeated at home and climbed up to a top-10 ranking for the first time ever after they beat then-number one Tennessee at home.
The Commodores will certainly struggle to fill the gap that Foster will leave, but they do already have a go-to-guy in place. 6’11 sophomore A.J. Ogilvy had a sensational freshman year, averaging 17 points and seven rebounds per contest while establishing himself as a top tier post presence in the SEC. The only other returning starter is junior point guard Jermaine Beale who will see his role as a scorer increase drastically. Beale only averaged 7.6 points per game, but led the squad in assists and also held a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio which will be necessary again to lead this young squad on the road. Andre Walker, a 6’8 forward should start this season and should help compliment Ogilvy on the inside.
Vanderbilt will face some serious rebuilding time and will not resemble at all of the squad that climbed to the top-10 last year. Gone are four of the top six scorers, including one of the nation’s best in Foster. I think that Ogilvy should be able to help these young bigs grow quickly and with Beale in the backcourt there is significant leadership still around. The ‘Dores should start out the seasons facing cupcakes at home but will quickly get some tests in a Cancun tournament against Drake and either New Mexico or VCU and then also against Massachusetts and Georgia Tech. Vandy must learn how to win on the road in conference and if it continues its home court dominance a fourth NCAA appearance in six years is a decent possibility.
62. Southern Miss
The youngest team in C-USA last season, head coach Larry Eustachy is trying to finally instill his systems and ideals in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles finally showed some signs of life last season, going 19-14 and a 9-7 conference mark, their second straight season over .500 under Eustachy. Southern Miss achieved moderate success, but really faced a weak schedule and their record was certainly a product of the cupcakes early and then road games late. Defeated by 28 at Houston, 36 at Memphis, 20 at Mississippi, and 15 at Tulsa, Eustachy noticed his team was still entirely too young to compete with the big dogs in C-USA. Southern Miss has found their building block, junior guard Jeremy Wise, who averaged 18 points per last season.
Along with Wise, the Golden Eagles return their top six scorers, five of which are guards. Sophomore R.L. Horton and senior Courtney Beasley look to aid Wise in the scoring and will continue their uptempo, high pressure defense which looks to be improving with every year Eustachy has been at the helm. The issue will be determining an inside force for this season, as 7’0 center Gijo Bain and forward Demar Dotson have graduated; they combined for nine boards per game and were the strong forces inside. The Golden Eagles frequently started four guards last season, and there is no reason why that will not happen again, as Wise, Horton, Beasley and junior Sai’Quon Stone can all lock up on defense and can penetrate in the lane to score.
This Southern Miss team looks to be very similar to a Memphis team of last season, though massively less talented. The Golden Eagles will feature an exciting punch of guards, all of which penetrate and kick similar to the Memphis offense last season of Rose, CDR and Antonio Anderson. The problem lies in that Memphis had an inside force and Southern Miss does not; plus Southern Miss is incredibly undersized. Look for the Golden Eagles to ramp up the pressure and trap at every opportunity. They will wear down a lot of teams in C-USA and should get a 20 win season and maybe sneak up on one of the C-USA giants, UAB and Memphis. Do not hold too much hope for an NCAA appearance, but a return to the postseason should happen and a probable third place finish in the league is certainly no disappointment.
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