Juniors Festus Ezeli and Steve Tchiengang will share time at center this year to try to make up for the loss of AJ Ogilvy, who left Vanderbilt at the end of last season to play professional basketball in Turkey. While both big men were capable of playing strong defense, each still has to prove their ability to produce offensively. Perhaps the most important aspect of their game to improve is free throw shooting. While Ogilvy scored the majority of his points from the line, both Ezeli and Tchiengang have struggled from the charity stripe.
There’s no question that Ezeli will be able to anchor a stingy defense. However, if he can find better offense production to take the pressure off of Vanderbilt’s perimeter game, the Commodore offense could be just as hard to deal with.
2009-10 Stats: 12.7 MPG, 3.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 54.4% FG, 37.3% FT
Recorded 7 points, 6 rebounds, and a career-high 4 blocks against Manhattan
Q&A with junior center Festus Ezeli:
Overall, how do you think this year’s team will compare to last year’s team?
“Better. A whole lot better defensively than last year.”
There are a number of freshmen on this year’s team, how much do you think they’ll contribute?
“They’re going to help out a lot. They’ve been looking really good, playing well. Everyone just fits in together. The chemistry is just better this year.”
What do you think you’ll need as a team to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament?
“More heart. We had the talent last year but we didn’t fight hard enough. This year we have chemistry and heart.”
How do you plan to make up for losing A.J. (Ogilvy)?
“Steve and I — and with the addition of Josh Henderson — we’ve been working hard all summer, and we’re going to get better. I feel like our chemistry is better.”
What have you been doing this offseason to get ready for basketball season?
“Working on conditioning a lot. My stamina is a whole lot better. I’ve worked on my offense. My offensive skills have gotten better. I can score in the post a lot better.”
