Just past the halfway point of SEC play for both teams, these two players have stood out in particular for Vanderbilt men's and women's basketball in the 08-09 campaign.
Jermaine Beal
As the heartbeat of this team, Jermaine "Dolla" Beal has been the unquestioned leader and MVP of the Commodore men through the first half of the season. Beal first made himself known in the fifth game of his career at Vanderbilt when he drove the lane to sink the game-winning shot with four seconds left in overtime against Toledo.
Originally a pass-first point guard, Beal has taken it upon himself to lift this team offensively as they struggled mightily to start the season. As the team's best perimeter threat, he has shouldered the load of taking more 3-point shots, a cornerstone of Coach Kevin Stallings's offense, and has started to make them with more and more consistency.
As Beal goes, so goes this team. On a team absolutely racked with injuries this year, he has been the one shining bit of consistency that has righted the ship and gotten this team going in the right direction. A 6-foot-3-inch junior from DeSoto, Texas, he is averaging 12.6 points per game, up from 7.6 as a sophomore and 3.8 as a freshman. He is averaging a team-high 3.4 assists per game while also leading the team in steals and minutes per game.
But if nothing else, Beal has been a stabilizing force and a leader on a team that has needed those qualities more than anything else. The roster is dripping with potential and athletic ability, but Beal has been the one to get the Commodores to break their slump and start moving in the right direction.
The sky is the limit for this young team, and with Beal running the point, anything is possible.
Christina Wirth
In her fourth year on the squad, Christina Wirth has been a solid contributor since the day she stepped foot on campus. In her freshman season, she was one of only four players to play in every single game of the season and played four different positions that year in order to maximize her effectiveness.
A 6-foot-1-inch senior from Mesa, Ariz., Wirth was a McDonald's All-American as a senior in high school and has consistently lived up to her billing. She has steadily increased her scoring output each year while also improving significantly on the defensive end. One of the most versatile Commodores, she has the size to play inside coupled with the range to shoot from the perimeter.
Wirth was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference pick last season and is poised to repeat that honor in her final year with the Black & Gold. She is averaging 14.6 points per game while also at or among the team leaders in minutes, field goal percentage, 3-point shooting percentage, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
A veritable Jill-of-all trades, Wirth contributes to every facet of the game for Coach Melanie Balcomb. She also has yet to miss a single game in her career and has started 93 consecutive contests. The Commodores look poised to have a potentially special season, and Wirth continues to lead the charge for one of Vanderbilt's most underrated teams.
In a year when the men's team has struggled to produce a consistent effort from game-to-game, Wirth's performances alone are worth the price of admission.
