As Vanderbilt enters year one of Mark Byington's Vanderbilt tenure, it does so with a significant sense of hope. A refreshing hope in a sense.

Here are three quick takes, two questions and a prediction about the state of Vanderbilt men's basketball.

Three quick takes:

It feels as if there's a chance for some consistent success in basketball at Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt is serious about this not being a rebuild year and it's showing.

Mark Byington has completely flipped Vanderbilt's roster for the better. He's been honest with guys who don't fit and has replaced them with guys that can help him, now. His staff has busted their tails on the recruiting trail and have gotten results.

Vanderbilt seems to be batting in a different league recruiting wise than it did last summer and while the on-court results have yet to be determined it feels as if the path to Vanderbilt consistently becoming what it wants to be as a program is significantly easier to see than it has been anytime in recent memory.

A year ago the summer 3-2-1 included questions about whether this program had a culture problem. A year later it feels as if this is a program that guys are bought into and are going out of their way to be a part of.

It's not just the transfer class that's made this feel different. It's also the way the program is being marketed. It's the connection with the former players and the community. Not only the Nashville community, but the connections that are very obviously there with Vanderbilt's staff in the coaching community.

Making any declarations this early is dangerous but it feels as if there's some indicators that this is a well run program that is built to experience some consistent success.

Particularly when accounting for the NIL that Vanderbilt has seemed to unlock as well as the practice facility that's set to open in September.

That isn’t just encouraging on the men’s side, that also gives some sense of the potential on the women’s side.

Vanderbilt's guys being new to each other is worth noting, but so is their experience as a whole

Although Vanderbilt's guys have next to no experience playing together, perhaps they’re helped by their overall experience at the college level.

The Commodores will bring in a sixth-year senior, three fifth-year seniors including walk-on Hollman Smith, a senior walk-on and seven juniors.

That roster would've been third in the 2023-24 SEC in minutes played if it had been in the league that season.

That experience comes in valuable places, too. Two of Vanderbilt's point guards are fifth-year seniors, all of its projected starters are rising upperclassmen depending on what happens the position battle at center and all of its options on the wing are upperclassmen.

Experience doesn't guarantee success, particularly when a roster is filled with so many transfers, but the way to win is old guys nowadays. Vanderbilt seems to have picked up on that.

Joe Lunardi's first four out projection feels fair

Lunardi's way-too early June bracketology slates the Commodores as the fourth team out of the NCAA Tournament and while it's too early to tell, that does seem like a fair expectation for Byington's first season.

It isn't NCAA Tournament or bust by any means, but Vanderbilt's talent level is significantly raised from last season and should give it a chance at playing meaningful basketball as the calendar flips to 2025.

That expectation being fulfilled would be a significant step forward for Vanderbilt as a program, an NCAA Tournament berth would be a fantastic step as Byington goes into the season with a completely revamped roster.

Two questions:

How does it come together?

With a team made up fully of transfers it's likely to take awhile, in some cases teams full of transfers never maximize their rosters.

Vanderbilt's staff has seemed to vet out the guys on its roster, but in any case it's difficult to project what a team full of transfers will ultimately look like and operate like.

What makes it particularly difficult to project is all the position battles and competition that consume the roster. Particularly on the wing and in the frontcourt.

Can a team full of transfers properly operate a free-flowing offense full of movement? Do the pieces fit well enough to space the floor like Vanderbilt needs?

The talent level has been raised significantly, but it has to come together for this team to have a chance.

Does Vanderbilt have enough in the frontcourt?

Independently, Jaylen Carey and Kijani Wright both project to be capable bigs that Vanderbilt can build around.

Both are physical, good rebounders, coordinated and athletic. Both have flashed offensive potential and traits that can translate into high-level defense. The worry isn't about either big independently, but more about whether their skillsets cumulatively give enough.

With Wright standing at 6-foot-9 and Carey at 6-foot-8, the potential absence of height as opposed to the Cliff Omoruyi's and Brandon Garrison's of the league could be worrisome. SEC teams have made dew without that type of big in the past, though.

Perhaps Byington's up-tempo, spread out scheme could allow Carey and Wright to utilize their strengths without needing them to be workhorse low-post guys or shotblockers.

Vanderbilt will need something from its frontcourt, particularly because of the strengths of backcourts around the league. But it doesn't neccessarily need Carey, Wright, Devin McGlockton or JaQualon Roberts to be superstars.

It just needs enough out of them.

One prediction

Tyler Tanner finishes the summer with a case for some sort of a role

The early murmurs have been encouraging on the freshman guard and although there's some veteran guards that will account for some minutes, it feels as if Tanner's got a chance to find his way onto the floor.

"Tyler Tanner being a freshman, I think he’s not gonna be your typical freshman," Byington told Vandysports. "I think he’s gonna be well beyond his years because of his quickness and burst but also his IQ."

There seems to be a level of trust in Tanner from Vanderbilt's veteran guards and with Byington's mentality of wanting multiple point guards on the floor, there's reason to believe that Tanner can crack the lineup.

The Brentwood Academy product's natural scoring and passing ability seems to be an asset that Vanderbilt can use.