Vanderbilt signs high-upside 2023 class
After signing a highly ranked 2022 class, Jerry Stackhouse followed it up with another high-upside group in 2023.
Today all three of Vanderbilt’s commits made their pledges to Jerry Stackhouse and staff official.
The Commodores officially added 6-foot- 3 combo guard Isaiah West, 6-foot-7 forward JaQualon Roberts, and 6-foot-9 big man Carter Lang to their program.
As of today, the class is ranked 54th in the nation by Rivals.
West is a welcome addition to Vanderbilt’s backcourt and a candidate to play early minutes alongside Vanderbilt’s young guards like current freshmen like Noah Shelby and Paul Lewis.
Lang and Roberts are welcome additions to an already-exciting group of young forwards and centers that already consists of Colin Smith, Lee Dort and Malik Dia.
What makes the ceiling for this so high is that all three players are so different. More on each, below.
Isaiah West won’t have to go far to play his college basketball.
The Madison, Tenn. resident goes to high school at Goodpasture Christian school, which is just eleven miles from Memorial Gymnasium.
The 6-foot-3 guard chose the Commodores over offers from Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia Tech, and a few other schools that made his final list cut.
While West isn’t a physically imposing type of guard, he has an intriguing skillset because of his twitch and quickness that allow him to create his own shot. That twitchiness and quickness also make West into an effective on ball defender.
The combo guard is a threat from all three levels offensively because of that ability to get by defenders and to create separation along with his ability to hit shots at an efficient clip.
The Vanderbilt signee is also steady enough to play both guard spots at an effective level.
That offensive skillset allowed West to average 13.8 points per game in his junior season at Goodpasture before his ACL injury.
West’s ACL injury caused him to miss the final part of his junior season and all of his final AAU season, the Vanderbilt signee is expected to return to action during his senior season at Goodpasture, though.
The future Vanderbilt guard has a skillset translatable enough to compete for minutes early on in his college career, but West has already made an impact for the Commodores on the recruiting trail. West often seen on Twitter recruiting players in his class to join him with the Commodores.
The do-it-all guard has already helped the Commodores to build their 2023 class and he will have a chance to help provide depth to their talented backcourt as soon as next season.
Vanderbilt has recently loaded up on forwards and bigs that wow with their athleticism and frames. Carter Lang isn’t quite that, but it is clear why many think he can be just as effective at the next level.
The 6-foot-9 center isn’t quite as imposing as other bigs but makes up for it with a unique offensive skill set for a big man that could allow him to have a bigger offensive role than any of Vanderbilt’s current bigs have.
Lang is a versatile big man that thrives out of screening situations because of his ability to step out and shoot, finish around the rim after a drop down, and read the floor as a passer.
The St. Anne’s-Belfield center is a valuable scoring piece because of his ability to stretch the floor with his shotmaking ability, finish around the rim off of one or two bounces, work mismatches in the post, and his midrange game.
What makes Lang unique though is his passing ability and feel for the game. Those skills aren’t often found in the arsenal of high school big men.
That feel also helps Lang to effectively position himself defensively and on the glass.
The Virginia native won’t make many emphatic blocks like Dort did in his debut against Memphis, but Lang can position his 220-pound frame well on the interior and isn’t a complete liability when defending on the perimeter.
Lang may not have the physical profile of some of Vanderbilt’s other bigs like Dort or Liam Robbins and he also isn’t a finish product. But, the skillset that he possesses gives him plenty of long term upside if he develops the way Stackhouse and staff would like him to.
Roberts just oozes potential.
The Bloomington, Ind. native is far and away the best athlete in Vanderbilt’s 2023 class and has an argument as the best athlete on Vanderbilt’s entire roster next season. That athleticism is practical too.
Roberts’ athleticism allows him to make highlight plays around the rim, but it opens up much more than that. The fluidity, burst, length, and agility that the 6-foot-7 forward possesses make him versatile enough to guard most positions on the floor at a high level.
The length and athleticism that Roberts possesses make him a great fit in Vanderbilt’s aggressive defense in particular.
Once the Bloomington North forward is able to adjust to Stackhouse’s defensive system, he could be exactly what the Commodores need. A versatile, high energy, agile, high motor defensive piece who can block shots and force turnovers.
Offensively Roberts is currently most valuable when he is going rolling downhill to the rim or crashing the offensive glass.
Roberts may still have some developing to do on the offensive end until he is an SEC-level offensive contributor. The athletic forward may be able to get on the floor early because of all the other ways he can help the Commodores, though.
If Roberts has a role early on it will be as a sparkplug off the bench who can bring defend, rebound, and bring energy--similar to what Emmanuel Ansong brings to this year’s Vanderbilt team.
Roberts has a chance to be much more than that if he can develop his off the dribble and catch and shoot ability, though.
Much like Lang, Roberts has tremendous upside if he can develop the way that the Vanderbilt staff hopes he can.
The class from a broad perspective:
Vanderbilt’s 2023 class isn’t quite as highly ranked as their 2022 class, but it is still a step in the right direction for a program that needs to consistently bring in solid classes to stay competitive in the SEC.
This class has tremendous upside because of how unique each player is and the ceilings that each of them possess. The 2023 group has the potential to be a great complementary group to the 2022 class because of that.
As it is currently constructed, Stackhouse has put together a solid group that isn’t at the level of the top teams classes yet, but can be a group that develops over the years into real contributors for the Commodores.