Vanderbilt lands James Madison transfer Jaylen Carey
Newly introduced Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington has the first roster addition of his tenure.
Vanderbilt landed James Madison transfer Jaylen Carey on Friday afternoon.
Carey is a 6-foot-8, 245 pound forward with three years of eligibility remaining.
“He works. He comes and gets better,” Byington said in a press conference while at James Madison. “He’s been a major contributor to a team and that’s hard to do as a freshman. Usually freshman contribute on bad teams. It’s hard for freshman to contribute on good teams and he’s done that.”
The Davie, Florida, native averaged 7.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while shooting 66.9% from the field in his freshman season.
"His first couple practices you could tell he was gonna help the team this year," Byington added. "He's growing and growing and getting better."
Carey had one of his best games of the season in a 13-point SunBelt championship outing in which he went 6-for-7 from the field. The freshman big man was largely bottled up during the NCAA Tournament as he scored seven total points in 29 minutes.
The James Madison transfer is the brother of Vernon Carey Jr., who was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets after a one-and-done season at Duke. Carey is also the son of Vernon Carey, who played for the Miami Dolphins.
Byington hinted at a potential addition as he was asked about potential James Madison transfers.
"I wouldn't be surprised if there are (potential additions)"
Just one day after his introductory press conference, Byington picked one up.
Breaking down Carey's game
Carey's physicality just jumps off the page. Mix that with some athleticism and it isn't difficult to see why his freshman year went the way it did. '
The Vanderbilt forward was once 315 pounds before dropping down to 245 which makes his physicality make sense.
Carey has a nice post game predicated largely on spin and half spin moves as well as his advanced understanding of angles for his age. The 6-foot-8 forward has also proven to be a nice diver on the pick and roll as well as an explosive athlete around the rim.
That explosiveness and Carey's physicality parlayed themselves into plenty of trips to the free throw line this season, although Carey shot just 51.4% from the stripe.
At 6-foot-8, the same height as Ven-Allen Lubin, Carey may be better suited to play the four in the SEC despite largely playing the five in his freshman season. Perhaps his jumper and mobility could open up a downshift for him.
Carey shot 6-for-20, or 30%, on the season from 3-point range but has nice mechanics for someone his size. The James Madison transfer also seems to have some feel in the midrange.
The 6-foot-8 forward is a tremendous rebounder that averages 4.3 a night as well as 1.5 per night on the offensive glass. While he's not proven to be a high-level shotblocker at the division one level there is some defensive capability in his game from the looks of it.
“He’s good now but I think you wait and see what it’ll look like a year from now, two years from now,” Byington said. “It’s going to be something special.”
Carey is a player worth taking a shot with, especially since he's familiar with Byington's system.
Where Carey fits
It's almost impossible to know what Vanderbilt's roster will look like two weeks from now. Predicting it in November feels dang near impossible.
Carey is toolsy and seems to personify the toughness and physicality that Byington wants his teams to play with, but he'd probably be behind Ven-Allen Lubin on the depth chart and would probably come off the bench if the season were to start today.
It does feel as if there's a place for the 6-foot-8 forward somewhere in Byington's rotation, though. The skillset gives you too much, particularly as a depth piece, to rule out being a factor.
How much of a factor he is will be determined by how his physicality translates to the SEC and what the rest of Vanderbilt's roster looks like.