Myles Stute tells why Vanderbilt is the place he needs to be

This past Sunday morning, Myles Stute became the first commitment of Vanderbilt's 2020 Class. The Top 150 forward out of Washington D.C. chose the Commodores over an impressive list of schools.

VandySports.com spoke with Stute in early August, shortly after his unofficial visits at Vandy's Elite Camp. He was generous with his praise of the program at that time, and put us on notice he was a prospect that we needed to keep our eyes on. Sure enough, that came to fruition. We got with him again on Monday night, but his this time he spoke to us as a future member of the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Q: What was the tipping point on the visit that convinced you that Vanderbilt is the place you need to be?

Stute: "Really, I feel like when my family and I met with Coach Stackhouse in his office and he broke down his vision for me, and his game plan, that's what he called it, where he sees me fitting into program and the university itself on and off the court, where he sees me making an impact. The he broke all of that down it was immediately in my mind that this is the place I need to be."

Q: What was Jerry Stackhouse's game plan for you?

Stute: "Like I said, really coming in and making an impact from the jump. They really want me to come in my freshman year and have a seamless transition, and be able to do everything that has gotten me to this point, just at a better level."

Q: We have gone back and followed your progression through high school. Corey Evans has watched you as much as anyone. You have worked on transitioning your game from a power forward to a small forward, and he believes that is where you will be at with Vanderbilt. Do you see it that way?

Stute: "Yeah, one-hundred percent. I definitely feel like I can play multiple positions at the college level. Truthfully, I really want to step out to the perimeter position because that is where I hope to be at at the next level if I can get to the NBA. Really, they've been telling me you are going to be on the wing one-hundred percent. If it's a mismatch that certain night or something we want to do with the offense we will utilize your post skills since I can do that. I can bang down low but really they're telling me that I'm a shooter. I'm a play maker with the ball in my hand on the perimeter. They want me ripping through and getting to the rim and play with the ball out on the perimeter. It's moreso out on the wing. That's how I envision my role."

Q: When we spoke after the your unofficial visit you were very complimentary of Vanderbilt. I felt then like you were a guy they might be able to get. Did you have the feeling after the Elite Camp that Vanderbilt was a place that stuck out?

Stute: "Oh yeah, after the unofficial when I got to see the campus a little bit and he just briefly just broke some things down that definitely stuck out. So coming into the official I had a pretty good idea in my mind that it was the place for me. But going through the official visit, and everything I saw, just getting a better understanding of the coaching staff, it was one-hundred percent the best place for me in my mind."

Q: From when we spoke during the first week of August until now, did your relationship with the coaching staff grow, and if so, how?

Stute: "Oh yeah, Coach David Grace has been texting me every other day, calling me. just checking in trying to keep that relationship growing. The same with Coach (Faragi) Phillips. Those guys, excuse my French, recruited the hell out of me. I felt really, really good. Coach Stackhouse didn't necessarily go out of his way too much to recruit me. He reached out a couple of times, but it was moreso like genuinely building that relationship, a personal level relationship. At the same time they're going through a transition to put a whole new system into a brand new team with a bunch of new faces. I definitely saw their perspective and it just made sense to me."

Q: Jerry Stackhouse is a great player and a former G-League coach. He has a different resume. How did he still out from other college coaches that you've been around?

Stute: "He's been where I want to go. He played eighteen years in the League. He played with Hall of Famers. He didn't get a championship, but he played at that level, a really, really high level for a long time. That is what I want to do. So for him to have done that and then him telling me I can show you how to do that, that's really all you can ask for.

In terms of offense schemes and stuff like that it was really appealing to me because he broke down what he did with the Raptors G-League team, and he was just showing me their spacing. I had a chance to watch practice and play with the guys a little bit. So seeing the spacing and everything they're doing it's all directional stuff. They are always moving, setting screens on the screener and stuff like that. It's really, really appealing because that's my style of basketball, and the way I like to play the game. So for him to implement a lot of pro things at the college level that probably makes my transition to the next level if I can get there even smoother."

Q: On your official visit, I'm sure you got to tour the campus, learn more about the campus, and see Nashville. Tell us how that went.

Stute: "Oh it went great. They took me to a couple of different spots to eat around the city. They just tried to show me how much the city is growing even off the campus. I can't remember the street names exactly. I wish I could. Just going through the city, there were five or six cranes up. There was so much construction and you could see the city growing. While you look at it, it's kind of crazy. On campus, they're doing crazy things with the dorms. You could tell everything is growing and they have a vision that they're trying to accomplish."

Q: How would you compare Nashville to Washington D.C.?

Stute: "I'm not sure really. Washington D.C. is really upbeat. There's really a lot more people here in a smaller area. But Nashville is beautiful. I really love it. It's really kind of a fresher air. It really gave me that home feeling. Everyone's nice. When we were walking on the streets and saw strangers, everybody said hello. Everyone wanted to wish Coach Stackhouse good luck or all of the other coaching staff good luck. Just seeing that and seeing how ready the city is to cheer them on it just made my decision even easier."

Q: Was the campus different than what you expected after you go to see all of it?

Stute: "First off, campus is beautiful. I definitely feel like I made the right choice in that aspect. Like I said, campus is beautiful. There are trees everywhere. The weather was pretty nice on my visit. It was sunny everyday. I could picture myself walking around going from class to class with no problem and enjoying myself. That made it really easy as well."

Q: How about the players? Who did you click with?

Stute: "D.J. Harvey, just because I knew him before. That's like my guy. So that was pretty cool for him to get to be my host and taking me through a lot of the stuff. Scotty Pippen was great. Talked to him a little bit, just picked his brain a little bit. Kind of asked him what made him want to come to Vanderbilt. So with those nuggets, it definitely helped me make my decision. Talked to Saben Lee a little bit. He was great. He puts the ball in the hole. Playing pickup with him he was getting busy. Aaron Nesmith, he's dope. He's a bucket really. I'm excited to see those guys play this year, and hopefully catch as many games as I can. When I get to campus, get in the groove and play with them."

Q: From watching them practice and then playing with them, what do you think about that roster for next year?

Stute: "They are really, really versatile. They don't look young at all from practice. They're putting stuff in, but there really minimal mistakes. Everybody is starting to get comfortable with each other and understanding where guys are without even having to look there. You can tell they are starting to mesh and it's a beautiful thing to see, especially so early in the season. I loved the offensive schemes that Coach Stackhouse was putting in that day and everything that he showed me. I'm really, really, excited to be a part of it."

Q: Last question; anything you want to say to the Vanderbilt fans?

Stute: "I'm really, really excited to get started. Anchor Down.