Vanderbilt’s late-season surge nearly garnered it an NCAA Tournament bid this past season. The Commodores went 10-2 straight up and 9-3 against the spread from the start of February through the SEC Tournament, winning five of six games against opponents that did hear their names called on Selection Sunday.
Jerry Stackhouse’s team tacked on home wins over Yale and Michigan before falling to UAB in the NIT quarterfinals. It seemed as if Vandy had tons of momentum heading into the offseason.
However, six players jumped into the transfer portal shortly after the season ended, including Tyrin Lawrence, who scored 49 combined points in the NIT victories over the Bulldogs and Wolverines. He also drained a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift the Commodores to an upset win over Tennessee.
Lawrence entertained offers from Texas Tech, Auburn, Memphis, Texas and Georgia, but he announced earlier today that he’s coming back to Vandy.
This is a massive win for Stackhouse and the ‘Dores, who had to compete with the NBA as well as the other schools to retain the 6-foot-4 wing. Lawrence played well at the G League Elite Camp after testing the NBA waters and exploring his portal options. In the end, though, he opted to come back to Vandy and give it one of the SEC’s top backcourts along with point guard Ezra Manjon.
Lawrence started 34 of 36 games this past year, averaging 13.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game. He 50.2 percent of his field-goal attempts and 36.0 percent of his 3-pointers.
Those stats don’t do him justice, though. Lawrence scored at least 16 points in eight of Vandy’s last 10 games. Manjon averaged 17.6 PPG for the Commodores in their last seven contests.
I went more in-depth on Vandy’s roster makeover (about halfway down) in my Transfer Portal notes that you can check out here.