Tyrin Lawrence, Ven-Allen Lubin and Lee Dort set to return to action

Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse has his alpha scorer and two best big men back.

How can the fifth-year head coach not be thankful about that?

Tyrin Lawrence, Ven-Allen Lubin and Lee Dort will all be available for the Commodores' matchup with NC State, a spokesman said. Lawrence was selected as an all-SEC second teamer in the preseason by the league's coaches while Lubin and Dort were both four-star prospects that showed flashes of excellence in their freshman years.

All three players missed Vanderbilt's first four games in which it went 3-1 but struggled with some teams that it felt as if it could've taken care of.

Abnormal role allocation and general shorthandedness made those games difficult to evaluate. Everything had to have the "maybe it would've been different if Vanderbilt had its three injured guys."

After all, it was without what will likely be its go-to guy late in games and its leading scorer. That's not to mention its two best low-post threats and the two players with the best combination of athleticism and size in the Commodore frontcourt.

Opposing bigs and long Vanderbilt scoring droughts should be limited significantly as opposed to what happened throughout the first two weeks of the season.

Now we get to see what this team can really be. No more gaping holes in its roster or drastic role changes. That also means no more excuses.

The season won't be defined by what happens in Las Vegas, but now that Stackhouse has his full roster we may get a peek into what it can be defined by although that may be hampered by Ezra Manjon's status as well as Lawrence, Lubin and Dort not being fully up to speed. Manjon is a game time decision with an ankle injury.

Here. We. Go.