Our series of roster previews continues with a look at Vanderbilt basketball guard Aaron Nesmith.

Nesmith was a highly-coveted prep star at South Carolina powerhouse Porter Gaud, where he was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year. He committed to VU on Sept. 19, 2017.

Nesmith came to Vanderbilt a distant third of the three recruits in VU's 2017 signing class, but, thanks to Darius Garland's injury, had far and away the best season of the three. He started slowly as he adjusted to the college game, tallying double-figures just three times in the Commodores' first 13 games, with a high of 20 against Savannah State. Nesmith pulled 13 boards in that game as well.

The freshman was outstanding in two of VU's better efforts at getting a conference win. He scored 23 points and had four rebounds (with no turnovers) in a January loss to South Carolina, and followed that with 24 points and six rebounds in 42 minutes against top-ranked Tennessee.

A month later came another flurry of stat-sheet-stuffing games: 26 points, nine rebounds, three steals and two assists in 37 minutes at Florida, and 24 points and 14 rebounds in 37 minutes against eventual Final Four participant Auburn, though it took 21 shots to get there.

About that time, Nesmith--who was also expending solid effort on defense--perhaps started to wear down. Starting with a Jan. 12 game against Kentucky, he played at least 35 minutes in six of seven games, and played at least 31 minutes in 13 of the next 14. He failed to hit at least 50 percent from the field in his last dozen games, and his rebounding--at one point, Nesmith was threatening to average double-figure rebounds per 70 possessions--tailed off a bit as well.

Nesmith enters this season as far and away the best player on the team. His efficiency numbers lacked a bit in terms of shooting and assists to turnovers. But it was also in the midst of a disastrous season when Nesmith, expected to have room to develop as a supporting player as a freshman, instead became the guy other teams were most concerned about.

In all, Nesmith showed skills across the board--and pulled rebounds an a high rate for a guard--and the end-of-year struggles were entirely explainable. It's a reason why his name started popping up as a potential NBA first-round pick when he decides to come out.

Nesmith is an intelligent, thoughtful player who can do a bit of everything. He should see his efficiency numbers improve this year, and should lead the team in scoring and minutes.