The Vanderbilt basketball program recently learned it will have one more talented shooter this coming fall when Memphis University School (Tenn.) sharpshooter Elliott Cole informed the coaches of his decision to enroll and walk-on at Vanderbilt. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound guard had a all-state senior season for the Owls that culminated with the program's first TSSAA Division II state championship.

After shooting nearly 41 percent from behind the arc and 18 points and five rebounds per game during the regular season, the Owls guard turned it on in the state tournament by scoring 65 points in three games and shooting a blistering 61 percent.

Matched up against the heavily favored St.George's program led by junior sensation Elliot Williams and fellow talented junior Laurence Bowers in the championship final in Nashville, Cole shot 5-of-8 from three-point range while scoring 31 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 70-50 upset.

Cole, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, told VandySports.com recently that it was there at the state tournament where a local coach got impressed and things moved on from there.

"Well I never AAU so I never got like the big time interest that a lot of other guys got but what really happened was Kevin Stallings saw me play in the state tournament and recommended me to the Belmont coach," said Cole.

"And so I went up to Belmont and met with their coach [Rick Byrd] and played with their team and it was a good experience. The thing was, the level of play was good but the reason why I didn't end up going there was that the school wasn't really what I was looking for school wise.

"And so I couldn't really find a situation where like the level of basketball.. like you can play at a smaller school and it's a good school but the level of basketball is not as good. But then like at a Belmont where the basketball is better but the school is not as good. I couldn't really find a good mix or one that I was really happy with.

"So I ended up going to Vanderbilt just based on how good of a school it was. I knew Kevin Stallings had seen me play and I knew he must have liked me with him recommending me to another school. So I sent him an email to see how walking on would be, as far as that goes. He called me back a couple of days later and said he was really interested and was glad I decided to go to Vanderbilt. Everythings just kinda worked out real well."

Cole says besides Belmont, he also looked at a few other programs in both D1 and others.

"Lipscomb had interest in me but it's like a church of christ school or something so I just heard that I probably wouldn't like it very much, but anyway they were interested in me," said Cole. "And one of the Tennessee coaches called me about walking on. Nothing like serious but it was already after I had talked to Vanderbilt. But I saw the missed call from them but I didn't even return it.

"I looked at Williams College in Massachussets. It's a Division III school and I think they won a national championship a few years ago [2003], and we had another player go there. So I went up there and it's a great school but it just really didn't fit with me.

"I wanted to find a school where I could really get a good education but play some real good basketball and I didn't find that mix. I'm really glad it worked out at Vanderbilt because I think it's going to be awesome. I think it really just kinda fell into place.

"Vanderbilt's a pretty popular school where I go to school. The weird thing is I've been a big Tennessee fan up until now, so it's pretty ironic that I'm going to be playing for Vanderbilt. I'm pretty excited, but I've got to throw away a lot of my stuff," Cole laughed.

Cole made his decision a few weeks ago and while things were still setting in, he said he received some solid reaction from the Vanderbilt staff at a recent Commodore event in Memphis.

"My mom went to this Vanderbilt caravan thing that comes around, it was Memphis the other day," said Cole. "She thought he [Coach Stallings] wouldn't know who I was but she talked to him and later in the night he introduced her to the crowd as mother of Elliott Cole and kinda went off on how he had first seen me and from what I heard he was excited and said we're lucky to get a talent like this for free when he could've gone somewhere else maybe.

"I mean he sounded excited when he was talking to me, he sounded excited when he talked to the group of people and that makes me excited and it makes me feel like he really wants me to play and I really want to be there."

While Cole is known for his shooting ability, he maybe underrated for his overall ability. He averaged five rebounds and close to three steals a game and is a competitor that will also drive to the basket and create contact when needed.

"Perimeter shooting for sure, that's probably the best part of my game," said Cole. "But going to the goal would be number two. It's a big part of my game, I can get to the line a lot, get in there and get fouled. I'm not tall but I play taller than I am.

"And I used to be really fat so I kinda have big kid mentality." Cole laughed. "So I'm not really afraid to go there."

Before winning the state championship this March, the MUS Owls had also reached the state tournament in 2005 and 2006 but both times the team had the misfortune of playing against Brentwood Academy and then Eagles sensation Brandan Wright.

Cole, who's teammate and co-captain is Vanderbilt football signee John Stokes, says that finally winning the state championship was exciting and doing it for legendary MUS head coach Jerry Peters made it even more rewarding.

"It was amazing cause the football team had won a few the past few years so they were doing that but the basketball team, we had never won one," said Cole. "It was almost like, what's that baseball that never won, the Red Sox or something? It felt that, like we were never going to win one. And especially under the circumstances that it was under..with coach not being there was just extra motivation to get it for him."

Coach Peters was not able to make the trip to the state tournament in Nashville due suffering a minor stroke just prior to the Division II postseason.

"It's kinda crazy that he had been there for 43 years and couldn't even get to be there when it happened. But it was a lot of motivation for winning one, getting him one, and coach really deserved it though. To get to do that for him was pretty amazing."

Vanderbilt, like most schools around the country, is also hot after one of the players Cole helped defeat on his way to the championship, Elliot Williams. The Rivals.com 2008 Rivals150 prospect is currently rated as the 20th best player in the nation and the Commodore staff has been involved with the athletic guard since last summer. Cole says from a competitors stand point, that Williams deserves all the press he gets.

"He's really good, just everything he does," said Cole. "He's long and he can jump and can shoot. I mean, he's got it all, he really does."

Memphis University School is considered one of the top academic schools in the state of Tennessee and Cole says that he already has an idea of what course of study he's looking to take at Vanderbilt.

"I'm thinking pre-med. I haven't seen the kind of programs Vanderbilt has but my dad's a doctor and that's kinda something I've been interested in for a while."

For now though, Cole is getting set to graduate from MUS while he is looks forward to his future in Memorial Gym.

"I'm just excited to be a part of it," said Cole. "Watching the team on TV last year and the Sweet 16 and then getting to come in and be on the team and try to help the program get better, it's really exciting."

Cole was named 2007 All-State by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association in April while also being selected to the Best of the Preps private school team by the Commercial Appeal.

During the Owls state championship run, I was able to attend the teams semi-final matchup against the McCallie School. In the game, Cole showed not only solid range from behind the three-point line but he also showed good ability to handle the ball and penetrate when needed. At key times during the Owls 65-54 victory, Cole not only hit the big shot but also came up with offensive boards and was almost automatic from the line in breaking any run that McCallie had. While sometimes being referred to as "Redick" by people in the crowd, Cole's stroke from long range looks natural and effortless. As this writer watched Cole drop over 20 points in that game, I came away wondering where he'd end up college wise. It is of my opinion that he is definitely a mid-major talent but could also be a contributing player at Vanderbilt because he is a competitive player, can shoot and has legit range in his game.

Should Vanderbilt football signee and Metro basketball player of the year, Jamie Graham also walk on to the team as well this fall, Cole and Graham could possibly give the 'Dores the best group of non-basketball scholarship players the program has ever had as both are definite D1 college basketball prospects.