Commodore guard Saben Lee makes the VandySports 100 at No. 78.
Honors and awards: 2019-20 second-team All-Southeastern Conference
SEC Player of the Week (Dec. 9, 2019)
SEC Player of the Week (Mar. 11, 2020)
In the VU record book: Single-season scoring: 10th (594, 2019-20)
Single-season free-throw attempts: 10th (206, 2019-20)
30-point games in a season: tied-second (four, 2019-20)
Career scoring: 23rd (1,338)
Career free throws made: 10th (371)
Career free throws attempted: eighth (517)
Before VU: Was a first-team all-state pick as a junior and as a senior at Corona Del Sol High School in Tempe, Ariz. Averaged 22 points, five rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals as a senior.
Freshman (2017-18): Played all 32 games and made 29 starts. Averaged 10.6 points and 26.8 minutes. Led team in steals (39) and assists (99). Scored in double-figures 17 times, including a career-high 24 vs. Arizona State (also had four steals that game). SEC high was 21 points vs. Tennessee. Nearly had a triple-double (19 points, nine rebounds, nine assists) vs. Texas A&M. Ranked 10th in the league in conference games with 1.2 steals per game.
Sophomore (2018-19): Started all 32 games and led the team in scoring average at 12.7 points. Was one of three SEC players, and seven major-conference players, to amass 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists. Scored in double-figures 22 times. In league games, finished eighth in the conference in assists per game (3.9), fourth in free throw attempts (194) and fifth in free throws made (131). Had season highs of 24 points (Alabama) and nine rebounds (Tennessee).
Junior (2019-20): Played in all 32 games, starting 17 times. Averaged 18.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals, ranking fourth in the league in scoring and sixth in assists. In SEC regular-season play, averaged 34.7 minutes, 19.9 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals, shooting 46.6 percent from the field with 23 3-pointers. Scored 30 or more points four times, including a career-high 38 in a win at Alabama in the regular-season finale. Was 14-of-20 from the field in that Alabama game. Scored 20 or more on 12 occasions. Scored 33 points in home win over a ranked LSU squad. Had a season-high nine assists in a win over Austin Peay. Had 10 games with at least five assists.
Post-VU: Lee announced he is declaring for the 2020 NBA Draft.
Final thoughts, and why I ranked him where I did: Lee persevered through some of the toughest three years in the history of VU basketball. He came in at a time when the Bryce Drew staff was trying to clear the roster for its recruits, which resulted in a 13th-place SEC finish and the first 20-loss season in school history.
The next season, VU lost McDonald's All-American Darius Garland in the fifth game. Lee's role on that team was to play mostly off the ball, with Garland playing almost all the point-guard minutes that season. Lee then took over at the point at a season that quickly unraveled. Vanderbilt endured its first winless campaign in school history and a school-record 23 losses.
Last year, after a coaching change, Lee started on the bench despite being the team's second-best player. The season-ending injury to Aaron Nesmith in early January changed things, vaulting Lee into the starting lineup, but with a lot less room to operate on an offensively-challenged team once Nesmith was gone.After Lee scored four points against Texas A&M in the first game without Nesmith, he proceeded to register double figures in VU's remaining 17. Starting with his 33 vs. LSU, Lee scored 19 or more in VU's last 11 games, including all four 30-point games. Without him, the Commodores probably would have gone winless in the league again.
And one more thing: Lee routinely played 35-plus minutes a night his last two seasons in SEC play, as injuries and the ineffectiveness of teammates made it darn-near impossible for the Commodores to have a prayer of winning with him on the bench.
Lee has likely played his last game at VU. A return for 2020-21 would have give him a shot at becoming the school's all-time leading scorer. A season like last would land him fourth on the school's all-time scoring chart. Another season like last would have put him No. 2 on VU's all-time assists chart, with an outside shot to break that mark, too. Seven more steals, and Lee would also crack the top 10 on the school's career chart.
It's hard to rank Lee much higher because Vanderbilt went 32-64 (9-45 SEC) in his three years. It's easy to say that Lee should rank higher, and yes, he was truly outstanding at his peak, but--through no fault of his own--he wasn't playing with much at stake. To elevate him means demoting a lot of players who played postseason ball and many who won championships. This is where I found a happy medium in all that.
What no one will debate is that Lee played hard, finished his VU career (if it is, indeed, done) playing at a remarkable level under adverse circumstances. He'll be remembered generating about as many jaw-dropping moments as any player in Commodore history in throwing down one dunk after another, and often posterizing opponents in the process.
