Birmingham, AL--Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington is bringing a different look.

Byington's up-tempo, free-flowing offensive scheme and its effectiveness as well as potential challenges was a talking point of SEC Media Day.

That's something that gives Byington and his players confidence.

"When you play as dynamic and as fast as we play, everybody can get money," Vanderbilt wing Tyler Nickel said. "We play a really aggressive brand of basketball so offensively it’s a lot of opportunities for a lot of guys."

Byington's offense is relatively unfamiliar in a league like the SEC, where Florida and Alabama run comparable schemes but are in the minority.

Where Vanderbilt stands out is its positionless nature. Byington has built his scheme and principles around that philosophy.

"I think it’s a fun way to play when we play positionless basketball," Byington said. Multiple guys can handle the ball, multiple guys can make plays."

In Byington's experience that style of play resonates.

"I can’t tell you how many times where we were in the spring in recruiting and a player would watch how we play and say ‘that’s how I want to play,’" Byington said.

Among those players is fifth-year guard AJ Hoggard, who will run the show for Byington.

Hoggard has experienced life in power-five college basketball like few others. He's experienced media coverage day in and day out. He's experienced big crowds.

He's rarely experienced something like Byington's offense, though. He views that as a competitive edge for Byington's group, which was projected to finish 16th in the SEC.

"You’re not gonna see a lot of that at this level," Hoggard said. "I think a lot of people haven’t adjusted to it yet, it’s new, so it’s definitely an advantage for us right now."

That advantage has seeped on to the practice court, where Hoggard has struggled at times to pick up what he's seeing.

"It’s tough even guarding it when you know it at practice so it’s definitely tough," Hoggard said. "Coach got a lot of tricks up his sleeve on that side of the ball so you gotta know what’s going on."

Nickel feels as if the offense suits him best as he looks to find a home on West End after transferring two times in two seasons.

The near-40% shooter from beyond the arc knows that he'll have an opportunity to get his in the scheme, but he won't be the only one.

“It’s a lot of freedom. A lot of space," Nickel said. "We play a really aggressive brand of basketball so offensively it’s a lot of opportunities for a lot of guys. If you’ve got guys that can go, especially with the amount of threats we have, it’s really really fun to play that way."