NASHVILLE — It was one of his first highlights of the career of Vanderbilt basketball freshman Ant Brown. Brown took a loose ball from the defensive end of the floor and went the distance for an up-and-under finish for his first points of the game
It was the start of what was an amazing night for Brown, who finished with 10 points and 10 assists in the 97-65 exhibition win over UAB. Brown hit two of his five three-pointer attempts and had two rebounds to his credit.
It felt like Brown was all over both ends of the floor. Whether it was grabbing loose balls on defense that turned into his offense or his ability to run the Vanderbilt offense, there was plenty to like about what he did in his first game at Memorial Gymnasium.
The type of night he had Monday has been in the works since he first got to campus. The practice he has put in resulted in a big night.
“I feel like the coaches are pushing me to my limits on both sides of the basketball, especially defense. I feel like when my defense is top notch or I’m going to the ball as well, my offense just follows right behind,” Brown said of his performance Monday night.
Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington has seen Brown’s progression each day since he arrived in Nashville. The role that Byington sees for Brown seems to be quite a meaningful one throughout this season.
Brown made a few big plays against UAB with his passing ability and his scoring ability. It does not take much tape to watch on Brown to know that he is an aggressive player that is going to give it all he’s got on every play.
Maybe his aggressiveness could lead him to looking to make the highlight-eqsue play at times, but Byington enjoys seeing the passion Brown plays with.
“He makes other guys better. He is extremely aggressive and I don’t want to take that out of him,” Byington said. “There’s a couple times where he tries to hit home runs, but maybe it could be a single or double. And he wants to get better. I need him to get more experience and play.”
What was perhaps the most encouraging thing to see out of Brown’s performance was when he was on the court at the same time as Tyler Tanner. Brown played with Tanner well, even handling the point guard duties on some trips down the floor.
Byington was pleased with that. He admitted that he wore Tanner down at times last season having him run the offense as much as he did. Byington knows he needs Tanner to have a partner in crime either on the floor with him or in the game by himself to give Tanner a breather when he needs it.
Vanderbilt feels like having Brown and Tanner on the floor together adds an extra element to the offense while also feeling good about Brown keeping the offense functioning well whenever Tanner needs rest.
Certainly, that is something Byington and Tanner are both happy about.
“Having somebody where he [Tanner] can go on and off the ball and make plays is important to him and his longevity,” Byington said of Brown’s ability to play the point guard position and let Tanner go off-ball when need be.
Brown seems to like what his role is right now and feels like he is a piece that is fitting in nicely to Byington’s system thus far. Monday’s exhibition was a good glimpse into the playmaker and scorer he could be for Vanderbilt this season.
How Brown will continue to progress will be seen very soon. But for now, Brown is looking like he could be a very impactful freshman for the Commodores. And he has the full support of Tanner.
“Ant Brown’s the goat. He’s the one,” Tanner told Vandy On SI about his thoughts on Brown. “He’s my dawg. He's gonna surprise a lot of people this year.”
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