Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse delivered some bad, but not unexpected, news at SEC media.
Sophomore center Lee Dort will be out three to four more weeks after missing much of the offseason with a foot injury.
Even after Dort's return, Stackhouse will be cautious with how much he lets his young center exert himself.
We're hoping that he's ready to go by opening day. We're not going to force it. I think it's more important for us to be smart, not have any setbacks," Stackhouse said. "Really if we could have him at full throttle by SEC play, I think that would be more of a realistic goal."
"If he's ahead of schedule, able to participate in some of the early season games, non-conference games, then so be it," Stackhouse said.
That doesn't sound incredibly optimistic on Stackhouse's end, where the fifth-year head coach did seem to have some of that was in Dort's physical condition.
"Lee Dort, he's on the mend. He's coming a long way. His body looks great for somebody who missed as much time as he has this off-season," Stackhouse said. "He's doing a great job of doing everything he can to keep his weight down."
Stackhouse also seemed to have some optimism in terms of how Vanderbilt can replace Dort.
"I think we have the depth and the ability to play some versatile styles that we can do without him (Dort) for right now," the fifth-year coach said.
Vanderbilt will likely get some of its minutes eaten up at the five by Notre Dame transfer Ven-Allen Lubin, although Lubin played just under 18 minutes per game as a freshman at Notre Dame and doesn’t have the height that some of Vanderbilt’s previous centers did.
Perhaps in an ideal world Lubin charts closer to 25 minutes per game this season and gives Stackhouse a real post presence that does the little things well. That still leaves 15 minutes per night open.
Some of those would likely be filled by South Dakota transfer Tasos Kamateros, although the 6-foot-8 forward may be a little undersized to consistently play the five in the SEC and could struggle to defend the position.
Stackhouse could also turn to 6-foot-9 freshman Carter Lang to eat some minutes, the freshman likely isn't fully ready to take on a significant role but has a nice frame and has had some good days of practice at points in the offseason.
Vanderbilt likely can't just rely on those three bigs, though. Stackhouse will likely have to toy with some smaller lineups that include JaQualon Roberts and Colin Smith out of position at the five. Those lineups will be inherently undersized and will likely give some things up inside, but it's not like Vanderbilt has a Liam Robbins-like presence in there anyway.
It's conceivable that those lineups with an opened up floor could work at times for a Vanderbilt team with some real capability off of the dribble drive.
That's far from an ideal predicament in league play, though. In Stackhouse's mind, Dort would be healthy in that type of situation. The fifth-year coach seems to have optimism that something like that isn't impossible, either.
"He's (Dort) definitely a big body that we need just from a rim protection standpoint, just his overall presence. He's a good player, and I know he's anxious to show that."
Whether Dort can prove that and whether Vanderbilt can adjust on the fly if he can't will determine this group's margin for error and how feasible an NCAA Tournament berth reallt is.
