Mark Byington wants toughness, multiple dimensions to define his team

New Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington doesn't hesitate when asked to talk about the staples of his team.

The 47-year old coach certainly didn't do that as he was introduced at Memorial Gymnasium.

“The team is going to play as hard as they possibly can play and they’re gonna compete as hard as they possibly can, we’ll start there," Byington said. "It should jump off about how hard we play, how tough we play and we play together."

Byington wants that toughness to define his team.

Frankly, that's how Vanderbilt has to win nowadays. It has to be tougher and it has to play harder than its opponent in just about every conference game.

Vanderbilt's new coach wants his team to play with a sense of urgency and pace to complement that.

"It is gonna be fun, fast paced, entertaining." Byington said. "They're gonna play their hearts out for you (the fans)."

In Byington's mind that can't happen without intellect.

"Of course I need athleticism to play in the SEC but we’re gonna find players that are tough and we’re gonna find players that have a great intellect and feel for the game and they can know the game and adjust."

Byington seems to think the result of those factors could be a sight to see.

"When we have that they’ll be able to play together and share the ball. It makes beautiful basketball when it works out," the Vanderbilt coach said. "You’re also going to see a team that’s multi dimensional. We want to see positionless players."

The blueprint is there for the Vanderbilt coach. He knows the steps he has to take to work on that, though.

“I’m not good enough to coach bad players so we’ve gotta make sure that we have really good players.”

Byington demonstrated that he's got a real plan on Thursday. Now it's time for him to execute it.