As Jerry Stackhouse enters his fifth season as Vanderbilt's head coach, it's time. Time for an NCAA Tournament berth. Time to take his program to the next level and to capitalize on the momentum that his team left the 2022-23 season with.

Vanderbilt’s roster looks different than it did when the Commodores walked off of the floor after their loss to UAB, though.

That comes with a scary reminder of what reality could look like next season but also with a glimmer of hope, hope that this could be the offseason that’s looked back upon as Stackhouse’s best as Vanderbilt’s head coach. It will have to be for this to be an NCAA Tournament team next season.

Since early March, five Vanderbilt players have put their names in the transfer portal. That group of Jordan Wright, Myles Stute, Trey Thomas, Malik Dia and Noah Shelby accounted for 31.1 of Vanderbilt’s 72.5 points per game.

Liam Robbins and Emmanuel Ansong also leave significant holes in Vanderbilt's roster.

Each of those losses could come back to bite Vanderbilt, but each of those open scholarships comes with opportunity. Ones that Stackhouse and his staff plan to use in their entirety.

"We'll be as active as anybody in finding the pieces to help us win in the present, we’ll be looking at some grad transfers. Take advantage of the rules while you can but we know that ultimately, our model is to develop,” said the fourth-year coach.

That model of development will clearly still be important as Vanderbilt tries to build around multi-year players like Ezra Manjon, Colin Smith and Tyrin Lawrence. How Vanderbilt’s coaching staff can supplement that talent with other contributors will ultimately decide how far this thing goes next year. Seems simple enough, right?

Well…Not quite…

The biggest remaining domino has shifted from Wright’s decision to Lawrence’s. The Junior guard declared for the NBA draft on Monday morning while holding on to his college eligibility.

If he returns, Lawrence projects to be Vanderbilt’s leading scorer and star in 2023-24. If not, that throws a knot in everything. Stackhouse’s need for supplementary pieces quickly turns into a need for a go-to guy. That rarely works in the transfer portal. Especially at Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt isn’t picking from the same pool as everyone else. It is often confined to rising sophomores and grad students.

Stackhouse and staff have used that pool effectively in the past when landing Manjon along with Robbins. There’s a reason that Stackhouse wants to make development the identity of his program, though.

That doesn’t mean he has any other option than to build through the portal.

After losing Robbins, Vanderbilt already needed a big. Now its needs are greater, Vanderbilt now needs a difference maker. Or two.

Stackhouse and his staff have lived up to their promise, they’ve been as active as anyone in the portal. Vanderbilt has reached out to over 25 reported transfers, has conducted in-home visits with Kamari Lands, B.J. Mack, Evan Taylor as well as more that likely haven’t been reported.

The effort has been there, now it’s time for results.

Can Stackhouse land another scorer or two on the wing? Can he get a big man to replace some of what Robbins gave him? Will Lawrence return?

Those results will determine how Vanderbilt fills out its roster and ultimately how far it will go next season.