With two returners, Vanderbilt knows almost exactly what it has in the backcourt. Almost all of its production on the wing will come from different places than it did in 2022-23, though.

That's what happens when you know what you have in three guys and they all walk out the door for one reason or another. Uncertainty.

Vanderbilt had certainty with its previous group of Jordan Wright, Myles Stute and Emmanuel Ansong. Wright and Stute in particular.

Maybe both were a bit limited, but they'd done it before. The pair had started a combined 133 games at Vanderbilt and accounted for a combined 19 points per game in 2022-23.

Now the pair will take on fresh starts within the same league as Vanderbilt. Wright at LSU, his hometown school, and Stute at South Carolina, where he feels he can show more of his skillset in a bigger role than he had at Vanderbilt. Ansong graduated and was unable to return due to his exhausted eligibility.

Those three will move on to their next opportunities and as a result, so will Vanderbilt.

That opportunity comes with questions, but also a group with the potential to surpass what Wright and Stute did in areas last season.

An area that immediately comes to mind is efficiency.

In 2022-23, Wright shot just 39.8% from the field and 31.3% from 3-point range while Stute shot it 34.7% from the field as well as 36.1% from beyond the arc.

Lehigh transfer Evan Taylor, who will likely enter the season off as Vanderbilt's starting small forward, shot it over 40% from the field as well as 43% from deep.

The fifth-year senior's off-the-dribble game may not be as effective in the Southeastern Conference as it was in the Patriot League, but Taylor has supposedly shot it well throughout Vanderbilt's offseason sessions and will be one of the best spot-up shooters on its roster.

Taylor's offensive game looks to be a nice complement to the ability of Vanderbilt's guards to get downhill, particularly when sharing the floor with sophomore forward Colin Smith.

That pairing looks to be Vanderbilt's best fit at the three and four, although Smith will likely downshift to the three at times to allow Vanderbilt to experiment and play matchups with some bigger lineups.

It feels as if Smith will produce significantly more than he did throughout a freshman season in which he averaged just 4.7 points per game. Vanderbilt needs him to, frankly.

The Commodores don't just need Smith's scoring and floor spacing, though. It needs the sophomore to be able to be a capable rebounder and defender at the four in order to have more ideal lineup versatility.

There's been plenty of optimism that Smith can do those little things at a high level after a summer in which he's reportedly put on some significant muscle.

A source of optimism has also been the ability of freshman forward Jason Rivera-Torres to be a capable piece that can score in bunches.

The 6-foot-7 freshman still has room to grow but is probably the best off-the-dribble scorer out of any of Vanderbilt's forwards and has some sneaky playmaking ability. How much those things translate will determine whether Rivera-Torres will be a top-three scorer on Vanderbilt's roster or if that range will be closer to five.

Defensively, Rivera-Torres as well as fellow freshmen JaQualon Roberts and Malik Presley may not be finished products but do signify a theme of increased athleticism and length on the perimeter as opposed to what head coach Jerry Stackhouse had to work with in 2022-23.

Perhaps that along with Ezra Manjon's ability to pressure ballhandlers and Tyrin Lawrence's athleticism could allow Stackhouse to turn to some more aggressive defensive looks than he's had the personnel to utilize in the past.

Although Vanderbilt's small and power forward spots feel more uncertain than they did heading into 2022-23, it does feel as if the versatility that it has is a theme as well as an advantage for Stackhouse.

This group feels like one could even surpass the production of 2022-23's veteran group. That will be up to Taylor's productiveness but also how much Vanderbilt's young players can do to complement him and the Commodores' guards.

Is Rivera-Torres a candidate to eventually outplay Taylor and become a starter? Does Smith have enough off-the-bounce game to take a step forward and to contribute at the three? Is Roberts ready to play? What about Presley?

A group with plenty of questions also signifies hope, hope of a higher ceiling and a potential NCAA Tournament berth.