Culture

Vince Carter reaches the Hall of Fame, with grace alongside his jaw-dropping verticality

Published

2 hours ago

October 13, 2024

Vince Carter reaches the Hall of Fame, with grace alongside his jaw-dropping verticality

“‘Zo? Yeah, I got him. (Dikembe) Mutombo? Got him twice. Got the big dude in Indiana, (Rik) Smits. Got Dale Davis, too. Haven’t gotten (Patrick) Ewing yet.” Then, he paused and smiled.

“We play them on Tuesday.”
— Vince Carter, “Fresh Vince,” Sports Illustrated, Feb. 28, 2000

Even watching it live, with his own eyes, in person, it took Shareef Abdur-Rahim a minute to comprehend what he’d just witnessed.

“The thing is, you think of any, just, miraculous play, where you’ve never seen someone do that, make a play like that,” Abdur-Rahim said, 24 years later. “(Derek) Jeter diving. It was like one of those plays. I was on the bench, and it was so quick. He just did it, and you were like, ‘Man, did he really do that?’

“And then looking around, and seeing it again. Even when we went to the locker room, you didn’t get replays that fast. There wasn’t cell phones. It took time to see that again. You’ve never seen anyone do that, do that in a game, this quick, that fast, that reactive. You almost weren’t sure what you’d seen.”

This is what Vince Carter did, in a basketball game, where they kept score and called fouls and everything, to a man who played basketball for France named Frédéric Weis.

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And that was the miracle of Vince Carter, through two-plus decades on the stage. His level of explosive greatness was so unapproachable that it made otherwise sane men question what they’d just seen, for what they’d just seen was impossible. It is why, though his teams rarely were serious contenders for championships during his NBA-record 22 seasons, Carter was an easy selection to this year’s incoming class for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and will be inducted in Springfield, Mass., tonight.

Carter, though, often seemed uninterested in the machismo aspect of dunking that was so intoxicating to so many others in the game. (Famously, he liked being in his high school band, where he played saxophone and was a drum major.) The trappings of superstardom didn’t seem to appeal much to him, either. Part of that was just his demeanor; he rarely raised his voice on the court or called attention to himself off it.

“My junior year in high school, I averaged 25, 26 points a game, whatever it was,” Carter said Saturday, when I asked him about his career-long demeanor of not seeking the spotlight, despite his expansive physical gifts.

“We lost in the state finals,” he continued. “My senior year, I make the McDonald’s (All-American) Game, I averaged three to four points less. (People asked), ‘What’s wrong with Vince?’ My scoring went down, but my rebounding went up, my assists when up. My other teammates’ scoring went up. And we won the state championship.

“So I understood at a young age how important your guys you have on your team (are), and how important it is to empower them. As a superstar, and becoming a role player, I understood my role as a superstar: yes, they need me to score. But I need them. I could score 50 points, and we could lose by 30. So what?”

Still, few did big moments like Carter.

Abdur-Rahim, like Carter, was an Olympian in 2000, part of the prohibitively favored U.S. men’s team, which was playing a preliminary game against France in Sydney. Weis, France’s center, stood 7-foot-2. Carter, 6-6, didn’t seem to take that into account when he jumped over Weis, and dunked on his bean.

France went on to win the silver medal, while the U.S. team won gold. No matter. The French media dubbed Carter’s leap over Weis Le Dunk De La Mort — The Dunk of Death.

“I’d seen him since he was 15, 16 years old,” Abdur-Rahim said. “I thought, I’ve seen him do everything. In our McDonald’s All-American dunk contest, he did every single dunk that had been done in an NBA dunk contest — from the free throw line, between the legs. Seventeen years old. He did every single one of them. The part that amazed me was I thought I’d seen him do everything in a game where I’m like, oh, my goodness. It was so fast and it was something you’d never seen before.”

Carter always had those kinds of moves in his bag.

“We were in practice one day,” recalled Sam Mitchell, whose first head-coaching job in the NBA came in 2004, in Toronto.

“We were scrimmaging. Vince gets the rebound and takes off. He gets to half court and throws the ball up ahead. I said, ‘What the hell?’ The ball hits off of the backboard. He catches it and dunks it. I told everybody, go home. It was my second practice. What the f— did I just see? He throws it underhand. Next thing, I see the m—–f—– catch the ball and dunk. I said to everybody, ‘Get the f— out. I gotta go home and have a drink and process this s—.’”

There was, of course, Carter’s bravura performance at the 2000 NBA Dunk Contest, when he overpowered a weekend-long deluge in the Bay Area to electrify the crowd at Oracle Arena with a series of dunks that may have — may have — only been topped by Michael Jordan’s battle in Chicago with Dominique Wilkins in 1987. There was a 50-burger against the 76ers in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. There was, much later in his career, a signature game-winning shot when he played for the Mavericks, in their first-round series against San Antonio in 2014.

“The best moment was when he was with the Suns” the year before, recalled former Mavericks majority governor Mark Cuban.

“We were playing them, I think it might have been our outdoors (preseason) game. He gave me the ‘come get me’ look. That summer I called his agent, and we made it happen. Vince is a legend. I’m proud of him.”

During the 1999 lockout, recalled Jerome Williams, a teammate of Carter’s in Toronto for three-plus seasons, the two played in New York City with future Raptor teammate Mark Jackson in a charity game, the Wheelchair Classic.

“It was crazy,” Williams said. “Seeing VC jump out the gym with power and grace on his dunks was mesmerizing. I truly believed he had Jesus Christ himself touch his legs to generate that much power. I knew he was destined for the Hall of Fame from that moment.”

Carter even held everyone’s attention when he wasn’t playing at all, setting off a firestorm when that Raptors-76ers series went to a Game 7. The game was scheduled for late Sunday afternoon. But Carter was determined to attend his graduation from North Carolina in Chapel Hill Sunday morning, when he received the degree in African-American Studies he’d earned the fall before. He got the degree, got on then-owner Larry Tanenbaum’s plane, and got to Wells Fargo Center five hours before tipoff. But Carter only shot 6 of 18 from the floor, missing the potential series-winner at the buzzer, setting off frenzied debate about whether he’d made the right decision.

Carter told me that summer that he’d do it all over again, the exact same way.

“And when I do think about it, I’m proud,” he said. “Proud of the way I was able to fight through it and just handle myself in the manner that some people wouldn’t. It was a special time for me, and I wasn’t gonna let anybody spoil it. And yes, it was spoiled by a missed shot. But you miss shots all the time. There’s gonna be times in your career when you’re gonna miss those shots again and again, and there’s gonna be times when you’re gonna make them, and you’re gonna be a hero. And nobody says nothing but ‘Hey, it was a great day.’”

There are many people who were responsible for basketball succeeding in Toronto after the birth of the expansion Raptors in 1995. There were those directly linked to the team, such as Isiah Thomas, Damon Stoudamire, Chris Bosh — and Carter’s cousin, Tracy McGrady, drafted by Toronto out of high school in 1997.

There were players from Toronto and from the nearby suburbs who helped the game gain traction in a city besotted by its beloved Maple Leafs, players such as Jamaal Magloire and Rick Fox and Leo Rautins. Steve Nash, who grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, had enormous influence nationwide, too, as he won back-to-back league MVP awards.

But Carter’s six-plus seasons in Toronto, after a draft-night trade with Golden State in 1998, made the Raptors appointment viewing. There would be quarters, sometimes halves, where Carter did more to fit in, to be a good teammate, than put his eye-popping skills on display. And then …Vinsanity would happen.

When the Grizzlies left Vancouver for Memphis in 2001, Carter and the Raptors had Canada all to themselves.

“When Charles Oakley joined the team (in 1998), there was one game,” recalled Walker Russell, an assistant coach for the Raptors early in Carter’s career. “He (Carter) was shooting jumpers, wasn’t hitting them, Finally, they called timeout. Oak said, ‘Man, ‘Take one more m—-f—– jump shot. One more. You take one more m—–f—— jump shot!’ Vince walked to the bench, didn’t know what to do.

“After the timeout, he went back in, they went back to playing. He went to the hole, dunked on two dudes. Came back, got another one. Boom. Dunk. Then, came back, got fouled, tried to do this other dunk. Turned the whole game around. The other team called timeout. Oak grabbed him and said, ‘See? Can’t nobody can guard your m—–f—— ass if you go to the hole!’ That’s when ‘Half Man, Half Amazing’ came into effect, that day.”

During his time with the Raptors, Carter won Rookie of the Year in 1999, made six of his eight All-Star teams, averaging 23.4 points and 5.2 rebounds.

“He had a six- or seven-year run in Toronto where, ultimately, Kobe became the guy” in the league, Abdur-Rahim said. “But he was right there as far as the best perimeter player in the league.”

But Carter wanted to make the game easier for others as much as he sought the spotlight.

Part of it was playing for Dean Smith at North Carolina. But, Michael Jordan played at Chapel Hill, and for Smith, too. Both had sick hops; both were grounded in Smith’s fundamentals. But where Jordan embraced the Alpha Male aspect of dominating through verticality, Carter seemed more reluctant to stand out, buying fully into the Carolina Way.

“It was one way,” Carter said on the “Knuckleheads” podcast in 2022 with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles.

“We’re playing for the regular-season championship, ACC championship, deep in the (NCAA) tournament,” Carter said. “That’s just what it was. It was bigger than you, the individual, (was) what you had to understand. They always talk about the Carolina system, but you learn how to play the game. That’s what kept me around for 20-some years, honestly, learning how to play the game.”

With an assist from Tracy McGrady on one attempt, Carter put on one of the greatest dunk contest performances in the event’s history at the 2000 All-Star Game. (Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images)

That would help explain why Carter does not dominate the NBA’s all-time leaders’ lists. Some of his highest marks in the stats reflect … attendance.

He’s third all-time in games played, at 1,541, trailing only Robert Parish (1,611) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560). He’s 15th all-time in minutes played (46,367). But he’s just 21st all-time in points scored, at 25,728. He only had five career triple-doubles, though he was a willing and quite good passer.

He was a very good shooter from deep during his career, but his best days as an offensive force were well before the NBA’s 3-point revolution, so he was far from a volume shooter; he took more than five per game in only three of his 22 seasons. His career PER of 18.63, according to basketball-reference.com, is only 136th-best in NBA history.

But, here’s the rub. Carter’s 18.63 is the same as Scottie Pippen’s. And no one would question Pippen’s place in the Hall.

Why? Because Pippen has six rings.

“A lot of people think he didn’t work because he was so gifted,” Russell said. “What they don’t know is that every night during the season, we’d be in the gym about 11:30 at night until about 1, 1:15. Every night. And he worked on everything: post ups, running hooks, right hand, left hand. That’s why he could do everything. I think the last part of his career, the last six years, he depended strictly on the fundamentals. Because he had all of that. Didn’t nobody know that. He’d be at the gym. And he liked to come at night, him and his little security guard, Peanut.”

Sean Marks, now the Brooklyn Nets’ general manager, had played against Carter in college, at Cal-Berkeley, in 1998. Taken in the second round of the ’98 draft by the Knicks, Marks went to Toronto along with Oakley in the trade with Toronto for Marcus Camby.

“He did stuff in practice that would be incredible,” Marks said. “It wasn’t just the dunks. It was how fluid he moved, how easily the game came to him. I mean, he worked at it. But the God-given talent. To this day, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it. The stuff we were privy to in practice, games would stop, because it was so awe-inspiring.

“One practice, he and Tracy gave us a little demonstration of what they were going to do in the dunk contest. And we’d seen some things. And then, when these two (started), they were like kids in a candy store. What were they, 20 years old? You’d finish a two-hour practice, and these guys would put on a dunk show for the next 45 minutes. … It was like me playing on a Nerf hoop at home with my 5-year-old.”

Carter seemed to like the challenge of testing his limits, to see what was physically possible, as much as the games themselves.

“One time we were playing and I drew up a play for him at the end of a game,” Mitchell said. “And Vince did some crazy, stepback fadeaway shot, instead of just a 1-2, pullup jumper, go straight up. And afterward, I said, ‘Vince, what the hell? Why’d you take that shot?’ He said, ‘Coach, the 1-2 was too easy.’ The game was too easy for him.

“I think he got bored sometimes. I think by the time he got to his sixth year in the league, he knew that.”

Said Marks: “He genuinely loved being a showman. I think sometimes he enjoyed surprising himself. He was that good. He told us (before a game), ‘Today, I’m going to catch Dikembe.’ And he did it, it wasn’t in an arrogant sort of way. It was like, I want to see if I can do this. Like, let’s go to the park and see if I can pull off this move. But he was doing it in front of 20,000 people.”

“What ifs” followed Carter throughout his Toronto tenure. What if McGrady had stayed with his cousin, rather than going to Orlando to team with Grant Hill in 2000? What if Carter hadn’t become disillusioned with the Raptors’ ownership and front office by the time Toronto took Bosh in the ’03 draft? Who knows what could have been? Infamously, of course, Carter forced his way out of town in 2004 via a trade to the Nets that led to a decade of recriminations and hurt feelings, with Carter getting lustily booed every time he returned to Air Canada Centre.

“That was my first year being a head coach, being a young coach,” Mitchell recalled. “The team flew me down to Florida to see him. He said, ‘Coach, I hate this is happening to you. I have no issue with you. I’ll give you the opportunity. But my unhappiness is with the organization, and they know what it is.’

“He hated that I was getting caught in the middle of it. He said, ‘I will never ask you to compromise your beliefs for me.’ And he didn’t. He wasn’t a distraction. He didn’t disrespect me. He didn’t do anything. I hated it was like that, because one of the things that you loved about the job was you were getting to coach Vince Carter.”

Carter had occasional big moments in Jersey, and in Dallas. As ever, given his personal equilibrium, he willingly became a sixth man for the Mavericks and Grizzlies later in his career. He kept feeling good, so he kept playing, year after year, for Orlando and Phoenix and Sacramento and Atlanta. He only retired after the 2019-20 season because COVID-19 shut down the league’s non-playoff teams for nine months, including Carter’s Hawks, something from which a 43-year-old couldn’t bounce back.

But the body of work, and the work of Carter’s body, had already made his Springfield case open and shut. The bad times in Toronto have been overcome; the Raptors announced last month that they’ll be retiring Carter’s number 15 on Nov. 2.

“I loved playing the game,” Carter said Saturday. “It wasn’t about the numbers. I read all the time, ‘If he had just …’ I can’t imagine not playing 22 years, and looking at Year 17, and how miserable I probably would have been (not playing). Because I still had the love for the game. And it wasn’t about numbers. If they called me to come play for a team and sit for a championship, I’d chase one now. But it wasn’t about that. Because I still felt that I was going to put the work in at 42, 43 years old to go play. And it felt good to go on the court, and a 19- 21-, 25-year-old comes in there. And they’re like, ‘he’s old.’

“And I’d be like, let’s line it up. Let’s see if I still have it.”

(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; Photos: Carmen Mandato / Getty; Sam Forencich / NBAE; Ned Dishman / NBAE via Getty Images)

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Culture

2025 NBA mock draft: Cooper Flagg leads strong group of prospects. But is it a ‘superclass’?

Published

9 hours ago

October 13, 2024

Press Room

2025 NBA mock draft: Cooper Flagg leads strong group of prospects. But is it a ‘superclass’?

The 2025 NBA Draft cycle is officially here. International teams have tipped off their regular seasons, and college teams have started preseason practices. NBA scouts and executives are out and about, seeing teams practice and traveling worldwide to find players.

Much has been written about excitement regarding the 2025 draft. It does look drastically better at the top of the class than the 2024 iteration. There is plenty of room for excitement for tanking teams looking to replenish their youth.

But I will preach a bit of caution. I wouldn’t get hyperbolic and say this is a superclass. I would say it looks like a fairly average draft class. The depth remains a significant question for teams. Beyond that, there are some differing opinions about how good the top five of this class projects to be. Some love it and see multiple all-stars. Others believe there are real questions about players such as Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper and V.J. Edgecombe. Can Edgecombe be a primary option? Can Flagg create enough for himself to be a worthy No. 1 pick? Can Bailey make anything easy for himself?

All these players have tremendous potential, but I tend to agree with the scouts who don’t see this group as a generational crop of talent right now. Coming into the season, I think it would be difficult to rate the top end of this class ahead of the 2023 group, which had Victor Wembanyama, Scoot Henderson and Amen Thompson entering the year as potential franchise players, with Brandon Miller joining them in that projection. As great as Flagg looks, it would be hard to rate him within the same tier of player as Wembanyama, and I have yet to hear from a single evaluator within league circles who believes that.

So while there is every reason for enthusiasm about this group — and indeed, I am excited to watch these players as the season gets underway — I would pause before pinning your team’s entire hopes on this class the way many did two years ago when Wembanyama came through.

A few quick notes on the structure and format of this mock draft:

The draft order here is based on the Vegas win total over/under projections. We used BetMGM’s lines. This felt like the fairest projection of standings before anyone has played a competitive game.
Team needs are not taken into account. There’s not much reason to do that at this stage given that trades will likely occur throughout the year and rosters will look different than they do now.
If you don’t see a freshman you think should be here, it’s likely because I’m a bit skeptical as to whether they’ll be able to go one-and-done in 2025. For instance, Duke’s Isaiah Evans has a difficult runway toward playing time given the Blue Devils’ depth. Alabama’s Derrion Reid also is playing on a loaded squad with two returning forwards from a Final Four team in Jarin Stevenson and Grant Nelson, an incoming center in Cliff Omoruyi, plus a couple of older wings and guards in Houston Mallette and Chris Youngblood. I’d like to know a little more about how the Crimson Tide’s rotation will shake out. Maryland’s Derik Queen has some defensive questions he’ll need to answer early. There are certainly others.
Player ages are as of the projected draft day in 2025 (June 25).

Cooper Flagg | 6-8 forward | 18 years old | Duke

Since he reclassified into this recruiting class following his sophomore campaign, Flagg has been seen as the almost surefire player to go No. 1. I wouldn’t quite go as far as to say he’s a certainty, but he has the most qualities attractive to NBA teams as he enters his freshman season at Duke at just 17 (he turns 18 in December).

First and foremost, Flagg is among the best defensive prospects I’ve ever evaluated. He’s competitive beyond all belief, with a motor and tenacity that never ceases for a second on the court. He imposes his will upon the game on and off the ball defensively. He’s tremendous as a help defender, blocking a ridiculous number of shots and covering the opposite side of the floor, with serious skill for finding steals. On offense, his game has shown drastic improvement over the last couple of years. His handle has improved over his time in high school, and he’s capable of creating makeable pull-up jumpers, particularly from the midrange area. He is an awesome cutter and offensive rebounder. Just by being an elite transition player, cutting, and getting offensive rebounds, Flagg should average double figures.

GO DEEPER

Cooper Flagg’s Duke debut just the beginning in season full of highly anticipated steps

Whether he goes No. 1 will come down, in part, to how well-developed his ability to create for himself looks by the end of the year. NBA teams constantly look for players who can create advantages for their team. Flagg is not the best player in the class at doing that at this stage of his development, but it is important to remember how young he is. He’s quite early in his career, even more so than anyone else in this class because of his age. Still, evaluators would like to see a continuation of the growth he showed during his final season at Montverde (Fla.) Academy in attacking and creating shots off the bounce.

Ace Bailey | 6-9 wing/forward | 18 years old | Rutgers

Bailey is the name that comes up most often when you ask scouts, “Who could challenge Flagg at No. 1?” From a tools perspective, it’s easy to see why. The 6-9 wing looks and feels more like an NBA star than anyone in this class. He’s enormous for a pull-up shot creator and pairs that with some serious athletic explosiveness. He looks every bit like that Paul George-style wing whom teams scour the globe to try to find. Beyond that, his footwork and pick-ups as a pull-up shooter are well-developed for someone this young. In the last decade, I can count the number of players on one hand who are this big and can get into pull-up midrange and 3-point jumpers with as much flow, balance and efficiency as Bailey can.

So what are the issues? They’re two-fold. First, Bailey seems to tend to fall in love with the hard shots. He doesn’t seem to create as many easy shots as you’d like. His handle is creative and crafty; it’s just loose right now and can be a bit high, which results in him not getting the most out of his drives. He also plays upright, which means he doesn’t always access his athleticism. Defensively, he can be a bit hit or miss with taking full advantage of his tools, with some moments of high-flying blocks and others where he looks to disengage.

Every tool is there for Bailey to mount a serious challenge for the top pick. But he needs to prove he can be efficient at the college level with the style he plays first.

Dylan Harper | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Rutgers

Harper is the more polished of the two top-three Rutgers prospects. His footwork is pristine, and his handle is creative, with the ability to craft multiple counters together off drives depending on how defenders play him. He’s often been deployed as a scorer early in his career, and he has that ability. His pull-up game has been quite good, but more than that, his ability to create crafty advantages out of ball screens has scouts excited. He’s an excellent passer and playmaker, something scouts have noticed since his performance at the Under-19 World Cup back in 2023 when he was often asked to run the show while playing up multiple years in terms of age group. He only averaged three assists but had a ridiculous seven-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio.

What are the worries? Mostly, it involves his athleticism, as he is not a wildly explosive player. He doesn’t have a ton of vertical pop, and his first step is not that impressive, meaning he needs to get by with that level of craft all the time. His footwork and polish are good enough to get consistent separation, but the finishing craft can sometimes let him down. Scouts also want to see what his level is as a shooter. There have been marked improvements in his pull-up game over the last 18 months, but scouts want him to confirm that ability.

V.J. Edgecombe | 6-3 guard | 19 years old | Baylor

Edgecombe is one of the most exciting prospects in this class, a highlight waiting to happen. There are few more explosive leapers within the greater basketball community worldwide; he’s a powerful athlete who will throw down thunderous dunks or rotate across the court for massive blocks at least once or twice per game. He’s also proven to be an excellent shooter off the catch to this point in his career, and his game off the bounce is developing. He plays well with his right hand in ball-screen situations now. Defensively, Edgecombe is terrific across the board in the backcourt. Similarly to someone like Cason Wallace, Edgecombe is skinny but has the power through his chest to hold up against multiple different player types and the quickness to defend the fastest players in the world.

But maybe the biggest swing skill in this class will be the development of his left hand. In high school, if you could force Edgecombe toward his left, it was a serious issue. His handle was drastically looser, as was his ability to control the ball through any sort of contact. He also struggled finishing around the basket with his left hand. That skill right now is the one that holds him back from being a primary lead option as opposed to more of a secondary playmaker, shooter, athlete and defender. Right now, he’s a bit more in the Wallace or Gary Harris mold (just with more explosiveness). That could all change, and Edgecombe is on an upward trajectory. He gets better and better every time scouts see him. But without the left hand, it’s hard to see Edgecombe challenging in any way for that top slot.

Nolan Traoré | 6-3 guard | 19 years old | Saint-Quentin

Traoré has had an up-and-down run since his terrific spring, when he impressed several scouts at Nike Hoop Summit, then went on to play well at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament and late in the 2023-24 season for Saint-Quentin. He was a bit uneven at the European Under-18 Championships, leading the competition in assists but struggling some with his efficiency as a scorer and his turnovers while being surrounded by a French roster with no shooting skill. Then in the early stages of his 2024-25 season for Saint-Quentin, he’s had a couple of monster games (a 20-point, 10-assist showing against Nancy and a 27-point outburst against Kolossos), and a couple of poor games (going 3-of-15 with nine turnovers in his first two games).

What scouts will be looking for more from Traoré is how his ability to score efficiently from all areas of the court develops. Can he become a dynamic, three-level scorer? He’s comfortable taking those shots, but can he consistently make them? He has not always been a consistent shooter, and his finishing leaves something to be desired at times with how far he’ll try to score away from the rim. Traoré doesn’t have a monster first step or a ton of vertical explosiveness, so he will need to be dialed in with the details of his game.

Jakucionis comes in at No. 6 because he is the player I’ve received the most positive feedback on outside of that top group from sources connected to both college basketball and the NBA. The 6-5 guard is expected to run the show for Illinois this season following a terrific Under-18 campaign with Lithuania this summer. The idea here is a big, multi-skilled guard who can play with or without the ball in his hands. He is a maestro in ball screens and a tremendous passer. He shoots it well both off pull-ups and off the catch. The concerns here are that he’s not overly athletic, but he knows how to use his frame in ways that allow him to maintain advantages when necessary out of those screening actions.

NBA teams see him as a great bet to have a tremendous season because of the intersection between his skill and feel for the game. Given the way the NBA is going, where those two things continue to prove themselves as being valuable, it’s easy to see the excitement building around him already. Expect a big season.

Georgia Freshman “Asa Newell” beating #2 Overall Pick in the 2024 NBA Draft “Alexander Sarr” off the dribble off of the closeout. pic.twitter.com/W198fAY2Ci
— Aidan Dawson (@aidandawson25) August 27, 2024

Asa Newell | 6-9 forward/big | 19 years old | Georgia

Newell is a terrific big man who played with Flagg at Montverde. He’ll get to step out of that shadow and potentially emerge as one of the primary options at Georgia, a team I think is quite underrated heading into the 2024-25 season. There are a lot of comparisons to be made here to a guy like Taylor Hendricks, who was taken in the top 10 a couple of years ago. Newell is a terrific athlete and shot-blocker at 6-9 and makes winning plays with his positioning and motor on that end of the court. On offense, he has a terrific, burgeoning perimeter game where he can knock down shots from the perimeter and straight-line drive to finish inside.

Ben Saraf | 6-6 wing | 19 years old | Ratiopharm Ulm

Of this cycle, Saraf is already one of the more complicated evaluations. He had an enormous Under-18 European Championships while playing for Israel, winning MVP of the event. He had multiple 40-point games and averaged 28 points, five rebounds and five assists. There aren’t many players quite like him on the world stage right now, a lefty with serious creation ability in large part because of his elite deceleration levels. His ability to use a slow step on his drives and gathers going toward the rim allows him to be impactful as a scorer. He’s also an excellent passer who makes plays for his teammates all over the place.

Yet it’s been a bit more up-and-down for Saraf so far this year with Ulm in Germany. He’s getting a significant number of reps as the team’s primary option at lead guard, and the inefficiency is showing. The jumper isn’t quite there yet; he needs to iron out the mechanics and make them just a bit smoother. That also leads to questions about what his role will be if it turns out he’s not quite good enough to be an on-ball creator in the NBA.

Saraf’s stock is polarizing. Most see him as a first-rounder at this stage, but I’ve gotten a blend from top 10 all the way down to the end of the first round.

Kon Knueppel might be Duke’s best offensive player this season — yes, even better than Cooper Flagg. (Grant Halverson / Getty Images)

Kon Knueppel | 6-5 guard | 19 years old | Duke

Knueppel is another player whom scouts continue to rave about after seeing Duke. He’s often noted as being the team’s second-best player behind Flagg, and some have even said he’s the team’s best offensive player right now. A tremendous scorer at the EYBL and high school levels, Knueppel, with a thicker frame, doesn’t necessarily look the part of a high-level draft pick, and he doesn’t look overly long. However, he knocks down shots at a high level. It wouldn’t be a stunner to see him shoot 40 percent from 3 this year. He can also drive and attack off the threat of that shot at a high level. Given the way shooting is valued in today’s NBA, it’s easy to see him being considered a lottery pick if he has a strong season.

10. San Antonio Spurs

Liam McNeeley | 6-6 wing | 19 years old | Connecticut

McNeeley is entering the perfect situation at Connecticut. The Huskies have won back-to-back national championships and proven they know how to use players with the skill set McNeeley possesses. He’s an elite shooter for a teenager, and the third player from last season’s Montverde team to be projected here in the top 10. McNeeley can hit shots off movement, but more than that, he has a terrific feel for the game. He’s not the most athletic player in the world, but he’s big and makes the right decisions every time he gets the ball or is on the defensive end of the court. UConn is quite deep on the wing this year, but I would expect McNeeley to end up playing significant minutes as the Huskies go for a three-peat.

Collin Murray-Boyles | 6-7 wing/forward | 20 years old | South Carolina

Murray-Boyles is a perfect encapsulation of this draft class in a lot of ways. Most of the scouts I speak with bring up Murray-Boyles as a player whom they see as a first-round pick. But few have him as a lottery grade and instead say that they’d love to select him in the back half of the first round. Why? As of right now, they see a guy who will likely play in the NBA for a while, but not a guy with a ton of star power. He’s 6-7 with long arms and has a massive physical frame that allows him to bully opponents even at 19 years old.

And yet, he hasn’t proven he can shoot from distance yet, and most of his offense tends to come on the block or in mid-post face-ups. Those aren’t actions NBA teams run all that much. However, the real reason they’re excited about Murray-Boyles comes on defense, where he’s outstanding both in one-on-one as well as in team settings. Still, the worry is that there isn’t a ton of upside here. He’s a good bet to be a first-rounder if he showcases any improvement with the jumper, but it might end up a bit lower than this after other players emerge.

Freeman was a riser later in his high school career, a late bloomer physically who was skinny (and still is, to some extent) before adding a bit of weight and a lot of twitchy explosiveness. The idea here is a big wing/forward hybrid who already has shown real ability to knock down midrange jumpers and is seeming to add the ability to knock down 3s. On top of that, he’s wiry and has a ton of bounce. He will put up some fun highlights throughout the season. Freeman does have a bit of a way to go, though. The handle is going to have to improve, as is his overall defensive awareness. But if you’re looking for an upside swing in this class, Freeman is one of the names scouts get most excited about before anyone has played this year.

Drake Powell | 6-6 wing | 19 years old | North Carolina

Powell is an athletic wing with long arms who looks to have a solid spot at North Carolina. It’s a perfect fit for him, as the team needs a strong two-way wing to play with R.J. Davis, Elliot Cadeau and Ian Jackson. Powell, at 6-6, has always profiled as a terrific two-way wing who is conscientious on defense (with upside to be a serious impact player on that end) in addition to being a shot-maker with some ability to drive off the bounce. I am a bit skeptical that we’re going to see that ability to drive and score all that much outside of transition this year in Chapel Hill, and Powell does need to prove he can consistently hit open catch-and-shoot 3s. But he profiles perfectly in-between the two guards in their starting lineup as well as Cade Tyson as a floor-spacing bigger wing in the frontcourt. Scouts who have been through to North Carolina have noted that he looks to fill the combination for the team of filling a need and of readiness to play.

Miami freshman Jalil Bethea won the 2024 McDonald’s All-American Game slam dunk contest. (Maria Lysaker / USA Today)

Jalil Bethea | 6-3 guard | 19 years old | Miami (Fla.)

One of the best scorers in the 2024 recruiting class, Bethea can put the ball in the bucket. He’s a terrific pull-up shot-maker with range already out to the NBA 3-point line. If you get him some space, he has a ton of shiftiness to be able to get to his spots. The key for Bethea is how it all looks in half-court settings when he has to try to get paint touches this year. He’s still quite skinny. He’s explosive when he has a chance to load up, but I haven’t yet seen that ability to play through contact at a high enough level. If that comes along — as well as the passing and decision-making — Bethea could end up as an upside swing in the top 10 for someone looking for serious scoring punch. But there’s a bit more risk here until we see what he looks like on a college court playing against significant athletes every single night.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder (via MIA)

Dink Pate | 6-6 guard | 19 years old | Mexico City Capitanes

Pate is truly one of the swing guys in this draft. His upside is immense if he can figure out how to efficiently score in the G League this season — the dissolution of the G League Ignite program has resulted in him playing with the Mexico City Capitanes. Pate has serious on-ball skill and is a real playmaker in ball screens. He can pass and make plays for his teammates in addition to getting real paint touches. But the key for Pate is the jumper. It’s never looked clean, and that showed up last year. He posted just a 43.1 true shooting percentage last season, in large part because the half-court finishing also hasn’t quite translated. If he can figure out to put the ball in the hole with consistency and efficiency, he’ll be a high draft pick. If he doesn’t, then it’ll be interesting to see where he ends up.

Hugo González | 6-6 wing/forward | 19 years old | Real Madrid

González is coming off a solid Under-18 European Championships in which he showcased much of what has made him such a highly sought-after prospect but also some of the flaws teams are concerned about heading into his pre-draft season. González is known as a tremendous defender who plays with immense tenacity and a high motor. All of that played up in those games on the wing, where he showed the ability to guard multiple positions and make high-level plays on that end. He averaged a ridiculous 2.7 steals and two blocks per game. González’s anticipation on defense is absurd, as he seems to see things a split second before they happen. Having said that, the jumper remains the question. González doesn’t project as a particularly high-level creator in the NBA, so he’ll need to knock down 3s. He made just 20.8 percent from distance taking seven attempts per at the Under-18s. The volume and his willingness to take them, however, drastically exceeded anything he’d shown previously. But that will be his swing skill as an overall prospect. González has to make 3s to showcase he has a role on offense in the NBA.

Motiejus Krivas | 7-2 big | 20 years old | Arizona

Another super giant, Krivas looks like an awesome breakout bet based on how he played as a backup behind Oumar Ballo last season. Big men aren’t supposed to move the way he does. He has great coordination and footwork and showcases outstanding touch. He’s also willing to initiate contact and play through it. He seals his man when he can on the block and also moves well in ball screens when rolling to the rim. He also makes his free throws and has soft hands that seem to catch everything in his area. He rebounds well on both ends of the court. In this Arizona scheme that accentuates big men, Krivas has a chance to be the best one who has come through in Tommy Lloyd’s tenure.

One of two players on whom I had a first-round grade last season who did not declare for the draft, Sallis is a former five-star recruit who had a breakout third collegiate season at Wake Forest, following a transfer from Gonzaga. He averaged 18 points, four rebounds and 2.5 assists, but more importantly, he saw an enormous leap with his 3-point jumper. He hit 40.5 percent of his 3s last season after two years below 26 percent at Gonzaga. NBA teams want to see him consolidate that 3-point number, as well as get back to being the high-energy defender he was at Gonzaga early in his career when he came off the bench. It also wouldn’t hurt if he started to showcase better passing vision. But overall, there’s a lot of reason for Sallis optimism entering the year.

Alex Karaban | 6-8 wing | 22 years old | Connecticut

Karaban is the other player who had a first-round grade on my personal board last season but returned to school. I had him in the late 20s, and it’s easy to see what his role will be in the NBA. He’s a terrific shooter, having made 39 percent of his 3s over his two years at Connecticut. But more importantly, he’s a consummate winner. He does all of the little things you can ask a player to do on the court. He’s a terrific team defender who is cutting off angles and passes on the weak side. He cuts well off the ball on offense. He is in motion within that Connecticut offense. On top of that, his experience is tremendous, as he started 77 of his 78 games for the back-to-back national champions. It’s easy to say, but he looks like a guy who will slot into an NBA rotation for a while. UConn will be counting on him to be more than that this year, as he’ll step into the spotlight following the departure of most of his teammates. Any growth that he could show with the ball in his hands would be a real positive for him with scouts.

Khaman Maluach | 7-1 big | 18 years old | Duke

I’m not quite as high on Maluach as many seem to be in the preseason after having seen him at Nike Hoop Summit earlier this year. I just have some concerns about his readiness for the college game. He struggled to catch and finish on the move at the higher speed of the game he faced against better competition all week in practice. On defense, it’s clear Maluach is still learning the intricacies of drop coverage and in ball screens. He doesn’t quite have a great feel yet for managing the space between the roller and the ballhandler.

Here’s the thing, though: Maluach is enormous. It’s hard to overstate how big he looks out there. Many NBA scouts were also impressed with his play for the South Sudanese national team this past Olympic cycle during the actual event as well as in warm-up games. They mentioned his ability to slide his feet and move along the perimeter at his size. I’m a bit lower on him than this, but I don’t think it would quite be an accurate representation of where the NBA scouting community is currently to have him outside of the top 20. They’re interested in him and will be at Duke early and often to check him out.

Motiejus Krivas looks primed for a breakout season at Arizona. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)

Tre Johnson | 6-5 wing | 19 years old | Texas

Johnson is a serious shot-maker. Few players in this recruiting class can get buckets at the level he can. He’s aggressive, constantly probing and attacking defenses to see if a crease is available. If not, he’s comfortable pulling up in the midrange area and has started knocking down shots from distance. The concern here, though, is that Johnson isn’t a great athlete compared to other shot-creators in this mold. He has long arms and is willing to use his frame to play through and even initiate contact. But he’s not all that explosive. And the defense has left something to be desired. The good news is that he’s an aggressive rebounder for a guard, but he needs to showcase this year that his game without the ball in his hands can keep up at the NBA level, given that no NBA team is going to roll out the ball for him early in his career.

22. Utah Jazz (via CLE)

Rocco Zikarsky | 7-3 big | 18 years old | Brisbane Bullets

Zikarsky is one of the most intriguing big prospects in the world right now, a legitimate 7-3 giant of a human who also moves well and has excellent hands. In his second season for the Brisbane Bullets in the NBL, Zikarsky hasn’t quite found his footing yet. He dealt with a few minor ankle injuries early in the season that didn’t allow him to get quite as many reps in practice as you would have hoped, and you can see just how raw he is in games. He needs to get more experience to keep improving upon the intricacies of being a big man, like his screening, positioning in drop coverage against ball screens, and his closeouts. More than anything, though, I think he’s just a bit of a project. I believe in him being an NBA player at some point, but it might take some time for him to reach that potential. He’ll be 18 on draft day this year, so he’s one of the youngest players in the class. It’s worth being patient and checking back later this year to see how he’s developed. I broke all of that down in a video with tape from his recent game against Sydney here.

Egor Demin | 6-8 guard | 19 years old | BYU

This is higher than where I would have Demin. But much like with Maluach above, it wouldn’t quite be an accurate description of where scouts are at this stage if I didn’t rank him in the top 30. There is significant interest in Demin’s ability to be a 6-8 point guard and playmaker at BYU this season. Where I’m worried is that I’m not totally sure how he scores the basketball yet. At any level, he’s never proven the ability to finish consistently on the interior or knock down shots. He’s willing to take them, but there hasn’t been much efficiency. I believe in the passing and vision in a big way, and that’s why he shows up here. The novelty of a potential point guard at this size makes him one of the players I’m most interested in watching this season. But there are some real questions scouts are looking for him to answer, even with their interest levels.

24. Brooklyn Nets (via MIL)

Alex Toohey | 6-8 wing | 21 years old | Sydney Kings

Toohey has been one of the early-season breakout players on the international scene, playing well for the Sydney Kings. Throughout the summer, he was the player who I got the most positive feedback on from sources among the younger players who went through the Australian Olympic camp, and that includes recent Indiana Pacers draft pick Johnny Furphy. Starting for a team considered the favorite in the NBL this year, Toohey has averaged 16 points per game while shooting 54 percent from 3-point range. The shooting won’t quite hold at that number, but Toohey does look to be a serious shooter after having added significant strength throughout both his upper and lower halves this offseason. He’s also turned into a good defender in a team construct who is rarely out of position and whose length (at 6-8, he posted a 9-foot standing reach at Hoop Summit in 2023) covers a lot of ground.

25. Orlando Magic (via DEN)

Kwame Evans Jr. | 6-8 wing/forward | 20 years old | Oregon

Evans is a player whom scouts were enthused about at different points last season because of his length and willingness to play with effort and energy on the defensive end. He was a defensive playmaker at the four position last year, averaging a steal and a block in just 21 minutes per game. On top of that, he rebounded the ball well on both ends while playing next to a terrific big man in N’Faly Dante. The key for Evans will be the development of the jumper. Believers within NBA circles will point to his 79.5 percent mark from the foul line as signs of his serious touch, whereas those more concerned will point to his 26.7 percent mark from the 3-point line. Showcasing the ability to fire from distance will be the swing skill that either pushes Evans into the first round, or sees him return to college again.

26. Oklahoma City Thunder (via PHI)

Lowe played next to first-round pick Bub Carrington last season and was quite good in his own right as a freshman guard. He came into his own as the season progressed, averaging 12 points and 3.7 assists versus 1.6 turnovers during ACC play last year while hitting over 40 percent from 3. He’s a steady presence out on the court with real speed who can make excellent decisions. He’ll get a chance to run the show for Pitt this season without Carrington around. I’d expect a serious jump in production, with 15 points and five assists per game not in any way out of the question. The key number will be his 2-point percentage and percentage at the basket. Scouts want to see him consistently finish on the interior given that his size is a real question mark heading into the year.

27. Utah Jazz (via MIN)

Noa Essengue | 6-9 forward | 18 years old | Ratiopharm Ulm

Essengue has already shown to be one of the more productive European prospects this season. Similar in age to Flagg, Essengue won’t turn 18 until December. And yet he’s averaging 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds for Ulm. There is excitement about the 6-9 athlete’s blend of production and coordination, and he was also quite good at the Under-18 European Championships for France next to Traoré. The concern here is what his best position is. With a 6-11 wingspan according to the Basketball Without Borders camp this past all-star break, Essengue isn’t quite big enough to be a five. However, he’s also not really a four, as his jumper needs a ton of work and his ballhandling leaves some real questions. Defensively, scouts do see some real switchability on defense that brings excitement, though. Essengue is a player whom scouts are just interested in tracking his progress more than anything throughout the season. At such a young age, he has a ton of time. If he shows he’s answered some of these concerns by the time June rolls around, he’ll have a real shot to go in Round 1.

28. Brooklyn Nets (via NYK)

Michael Ruzic | 6-10 forward | 18 years old | Joventut

Ruzic is one of the more experienced rising draft prospects, having already seen close to 700 minutes in the ACB and Eurocup competitions for Joventut in Spain. A Croatian big man, the idea behind Ruzic is pretty simple: he’s a skilled big man who can step away and shoot as well as play with the ball in his hands a bit for a bigger player. He averaged about five points and three rebounds in 17 minutes per game last year in Spanish league competition and has the kind of skilled, fluid athleticism NBA teams covet from potential developmental bigs. He also seems to have long arms, which should allow him to find more success defensively given that he moves well and has solid instincts in team concepts.

29. Brooklyn Nets (via OKC)

Ian Jackson | 6-4 guard | 20 years old | North Carolina

Jackson is one of the more interesting top-10 recruits in the class, heading to North Carolina this year to add to what is already a loaded backcourt with R.J. Davis and Elliot Cadeau. Jackson is about as aggressive a guard as you’ll find, constantly looking to attack and pressure the basket. He just always seems like he’s trying to get downhill and trying get paint touches, either in transition or in half-court settings as a driver. The good news is that he also brings that high-level intensity to the defensive end, as well. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to the shot. Jackson makes shots in bursts but doesn’t always have the kind of consistency that you’d hope for. My guess is that this ends up leading to him being a superb sixth man for the Tar Heels this year, with his ability to change the tempo of the game by entering off the bench. That seems like the tailor-made role for him on this team.

Kam Jones should put up big numbers at Marquette this season. (Tim Heitman / USA Today)

Jones is a polished scorer who enters the college season as a real candidate to make an All-America team. He has superb touch from all three levels, and he made 67 percent of his shots at the rim and 39 percent from 3 last season. He also showed some real potential at lead guard during Tyler Kolek’s late-season absence, averaging 4.5 assists per game during that six-game stretch. NBA scouts would love to see him be more consistent as a playmaker as well as a better defensive presence. That’s the big question. Who does Jones guard? Can he prove he can guard ones? Is he big enough to guard wings? Showcasing real improvement there will be the key to solidifying his stock. But he seems like a good candidate to be drafted this season.

SECOND ROUND

31. Brooklyn Nets: K.J. Lewis | 6-3 guard | Arizona

32. Washington Wizards: Mackenzie Mgbako | 6-7 wing | Indiana

33. Sacramento Kings (via POR): Boogie Fland | 6-1 guard | Arkansas

34. Detroit Pistons: JT Toppin | 6-9 guard | Texas Tech

35. San Antonio Spurs (via CHI): Jarin Stevenson | 6-9 forward | Alabama

36. Minnesota Timberwolves (via UTA): Johni Broome | 6-10 big | Auburn

37. Charlotte Hornets: Bogoljub Marković | 6-10 forward | Mega

38. Dallas Mavericks (via TOR): Xaivian Lee | 6-3 guard | Princeton

39. Portland Trail Blazers (via ATL): Adou Thiero | 6-7 wing | Arkansas

40. San Antonio Spurs: Milan Momčilović | 6-8 wing/forward | Iowa State

41. Los Angeles Lakers (via LAC): Tyrese Proctor | 6-4 guard | Duke

42. Golden State Warriors: Payton Sandfort | 6-7 wing | Iowa

43. Memphis Grizzlies (via HOU): Dailyn Swain | 6-7 wing | Xavier

44. Los Angeles Lakers: Jamir Watkins | 6-7 wing | Florida State

45. Brooklyn Nets (via MIA): Mark Sears | 6-0 guard | Alabama

46. San Antonio Spurs (via NOP): Darrion Williams | 6-6 wing | Texas Tech

47. Washington Wizards (via PHX): Cade Tyson | 6-7 wing | North Carolina

48. Indiana Pacers: Nique Clifford | 6-6 wing | Colorado State

49. Sacramento Kings: Ryan Kalkbrenner | 7-1 big | Creighton

50. Orlando Magic: Rasheer Fleming | 6-9 guard | St. Joseph’s

51. Oklahoma City Thunder (via MEM): Baye Ndongo | 6-9 big | Georgia Tech

52. Cleveland Cavaliers: Sion James | 6-4 guard | Duke

53. Dallas Mavericks: Ben Henshall | 6-5 guard | Perth Wildcats

54. Cleveland Cavaliers (via MIL): Izan Almansa | 6-9 big | Perth Wildcats

55. Denver Nuggets: Tucker DeVries | 6-6 wing | West Virginia

56. Charlotte Hornets (via PHI): Saint Thomas | 6-6 wing | USC

57. Atlanta Hawks (via MIN): Michael Ajayi | 6-8 forward | Gonzaga

58. Houston Rockets (via OKC): AJ Storr | 6-7 wing | Kansas

59. Orlando Magic (via BOS): Noah Penda | 6-7 forward | Le Mans

(Note: The New York Knicks have forfeited their 2025 second-round pick due to free-agency shenanigans.)

(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photos of Dylan Harper, Cooper Flagg and V.J. Edgecombe: Lance King, Cameron Browne / Getty Images)

Culture

‘To the river’: Vanderbilt fans detail chaotic celebration and goalpost trek after Alabama upset

Published

17 hours ago

October 13, 2024

Press Room

‘To the river’: Vanderbilt fans detail chaotic celebration and goalpost trek after Alabama upset

It sank. Of course it did.

It was a several-hundred-pound goalpost heaved into the Cumberland River, but any of the students who marched down Broadway could be forgiven for thinking it might float. That’s because a few described something like magic in the air that night.

The goalpost, however, wasn’t as buoyant as the raucous Vanderbilt crowd, which stormed the field at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., last Saturday after a college football upset for the ages. The unranked Commodores closed out a 40-35 win over then-No. 1 Alabama to mark Vandy’s first-ever victory over an Associated Press top-five team. Bedlam, understandably, ensued.

“It was basically chaos,” said Dean Parentis, a senior at Vanderbilt who attended the game.

Another senior Vanderbilt student in the crowd, Robbie Tylman, called the postgame atmosphere “insanity.”

Parentis and Tylman were among the swarm of fans on the field when the contest ended — a stunt that led the SEC to fine the school $100,000. They were also among the roughly 50 people, by Tylman’s estimate, who helped carry the goalpost from the field at FirstBank on a 2.5-mile trek to the river after a handful of fans tore it down.

“You had students going up to players trying to dab ‘em up and give ‘em high-fives,” Parentis said about the on-field celebrations. “You had a rush in the middle of the field trying to see the coach and trying to get pictures. Then slowly everyone started fanning out toward the goalpost on the far side.”

Almost instinctively, the crowd moved toward that set of uprights, shook it down and carried it toward Broadway and the river beyond, as police attempted to corral the throng and traffic in the lively downtown area. Tylman, who said he had his hand on the post for about half the journey and ran beside it in a “sea of a thousand people,” immediately knew its destination. Parentis, who said he helped carry the goalpost out of the stadium and onto the street, heard chants in the tunnel: “To the river!”

For about an hour, the group marched and cheered, maneuvering the 30-foot-tall, roughly 20-foot-wide post that weighs several hundred pounds, over and around stopped cars while high-fiving drivers. One fan with a speaker even stood atop the goalpost waving a flag, Tylman said.

“It was probably the sweatiest and most disgusting group of people carrying it,” Parentis said. But he called the experience “a blast.”

When they finally arrived at the landing spot, the group unloaded the weight. Sure enough, Tylman recalled, when the goalpost hit the water, “It sank!” Police were swift to disperse the crowd after that, but for the fans who made the journey, it marked a victorious end to an unforgettable night.

Vanderbilt beat Alabama on Oct. 5 in a historic college football upset (Photo: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA Today via Imagn Images)

Much of the excitement stemmed from the unexpected nature of the win. Vanderbilt, which started this year 2-2 after finishing last season 2-10, was a 22.5-point underdog heading into the game. Alabama had only lost three times as a top-ranked team to an unranked opponent before Saturday.

Tylman noted most of the fans in attendance were there for Alabama.

“The vibe was very much like, ‘Yeah, it will be fun to watch Vanderbilt lose,’” he said.

“I think one of my friends made a joke like, ‘How funny would it be if they won?’” Tylman continued.

Then in the contest, Vanderbilt never trailed. An early touchdown by Sedrick Alexander was followed by a Randon Fontenette pick-six in the first quarter. That gave Vandy fans early hope. Quarterback Diego Pavia continued to deliver, throwing for 252 yards and two touchdowns, and the Commodores closed out a historic win, beating Bama for the first time in 40 years and handing the Crimson Tide their first loss of the season.

The loss sent Alabama (4-1) to No. 7 in the rankings as other schools ascended after the weekend full of upsets. Vanderbilt (3-2) remains unranked but received 26 votes in the latest AP poll. They travel to play Kentucky (3-2) on Saturday night. But even if the Commodores don’t win another game this season, Parentis said he wouldn’t care. The highlight already happened.

“We beat Bama. We beat the No. 1 team in the country,” he said. “That’s still good enough for me, but I would love to see us still smack around some other teams. It’s a win-win at this point.”

As for the goalpost, the Nashville Fire Department retrieved pieces from the river and returned them to Vanderbilt. The school is now auctioning off the pieces along with other game paraphernalia. Six and eight-inch goalpost pieces have sold for $4,035 while a four-inch piece sold for $1,005.

Although Parentis didn’t depart Saturday with the goalpost, he said the memories from the mayhem would stick.

“The number one thing we were saying as we were walking the goalpost down was, ‘There is never going to be a point in college better than this,’” he said.

Required reading

(Photo: Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA Today via Imagn Images)

Culture

Dodgers vs. Mets 2024 NLCS preview: Predictions, pitching matchups and more

Published

1 day ago

October 12, 2024

Press Room

Dodgers vs. Mets 2024 NLCS preview: Predictions, pitching matchups and more

By Fabian Ardaya, Tim Britton, Will Sammon and Eno Sarris

The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets both put away division rivals in the NLDS to keep their postseason hopes alive and reach the NLCS. The Dodgers overcame a 2-1 series deficit against the Padres, storming back to shut out San Diego in a decisive Game 5. The Mets took care of the Phillies in four, with Francisco Lindor slamming the door on Philadelphia to give New York its first playoff series win at Citi Field.

This is the fourth time these teams have squared off in the postseason, with the Mets prevailing in the 2015 NLDS and 2006 NLDS and the Dodgers taking the 1988 NLCS. This best-of-seven NLCS begins Sunday in L.A., with the winner advancing to the World Series to face the New York Yankees or the Cleveland Guardians.

Game times

Game 1: Mets at Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 13, 8:15 p.m. ET, Fox

Game 2: Mets at Dodgers, Monday, Oct. 14, 4:08 p.m. ET, Fox/FS1

Game 3: Dodgers at Mets, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 8:08 p.m. ET, FS1

Game 4: Dodgers at Mets, Thursday, Oct. 17, Time TBD, FS1

Game 5: Dodgers at Mets, Friday, Oct. 18, Time TBD, Fox/FS1 (if necessary)

Game 6: Mets at Dodgers, Sunday, Oct. 20, Time TBD, Fox/FS1 (if necessary)

Game 7: Mets at Dodgers, Monday, Oct. 21, Time TBD, Fox/FS1 (if necessary)

Pitching matchups

The Dodgers’ staff should be deeper than the Mets, and probably also better. If Yoshinobu Yamamoto is going to sit 97 mph and look as sharp as he did in Game 5 of the Divisional Series, that gives the Dodgers an ace to throw against any other. Jack Flaherty is a good No. 2 and equal to any starter New York will throw out there. And if the Mets have a better third starter, the Dodgers’ bullpen depth should help them zero out that difference. The Dodgers had a whopping 15 relievers who featured above-average stuff in the regular season, and they’ve showcased that depth this October. Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Daniel Hudson and Michael Kopech have collectively hung a zero on the postseason. And if Vesia is injured, the Dodgers have other pitchers who can step forward.

But anything can happen in the playoffs. After all, Philadelphia probably had a better staff than the Mets, and yet it was the Phillies who imploded — they pitched to a 5.82 ERA overall in the NLDS while the Mets got 18 innings of four-run ball from the trio of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino and Jose Quintana. Those starters have been mixing it up well, and taking their inspiration from tragedy or whimsy. With Kodai Senga back in the fold — even with a couple of his pitches moving strangely and his velocity a little down — this might be a “just enough” kind of rotation.

It just feels like a high-wire act for New York — with all that below-average velocity from the starters, and a bullpen that somehow has an ERA around 4 despite a 12 percent walk rate and a below-average strikeout-minus-walk rate. No pitcher represents how shaky, yet successful this bullpen has been in the postseason better than the Mets’ closer. Edwin Díaz has blown a save, is sporting a postseason ERA over 8, and has five walks in 3 1/3 innings, but he also has seven strikeouts, a save and a win. Just enough from this staff will be four-ish innings from the starter, good bridge work from previous starters David Peterson and Tylor Megill, and a version of Díaz that somehow finds his command that’s been missing. Maybe a few days off will help, given his heavy usage.

The Dodgers just have fewer questions in the bullpen. That’s mostly what gives them the advantage in this pitching matchup. — Sarris

Why the Dodgers will win

They may be the most talented team left in the tournament along with its hottest bullpen. Mookie Betts’ bat came to life. The Dodgers’ lineup has shown depth and length, with Kiké Hernández once again emerging as a clutch October performer in their NLDS-clinching win. They still employ Shohei Ohtani.

And, believe it or not, the strength of their bullpen might be giving them enough pitching to make the rest of the pieces of the puzzle work. Dodgers pitchers combined to hold the Padres to 24 consecutive scoreless innings to end the series, the longest consecutive stretch in franchise postseason history. Yamamoto was sterling in the series clincher and could be back to start for the Dodgers as soon as Game 4 of the NLCS. Flaherty is lined up to pitch Game 1. And their bullpen could likely run back the bullpen game it successfully executed in Game 4 of the NLDS. — Ardaya

Why the Mets will win

Well, there’s this whole “Mets Magic” thing going on. You know, the fast-food mascot, the “playoff pumpkin” and the catchy pop song. If that’s not enough for your taste, the Mets proved long ago that they’re a pretty good baseball team.

The Mets’ lineup has displayed the kind of versatility that tends to come in handy in October. They can string together hits for a big inning late in games and they also have the ability to overwhelm pitching staffs with their power. The Mets’ defense is as crisp as it has been all year. And their starting rotation continues to surprisingly impress — more often than not in the playoffs, a Mets starter has thrown at least six innings. As long as the rotation continues to pitch deep into games, their bullpen becomes less concerning.

The Mets do not have a dominant bridge to Díaz, who has also looked shaky. But the return of Senga allows the Mets to be creative elsewhere. He is still limited but should be able to give the Mets more than the two innings he threw in Game 1 against the Phillies. Senga’s presence allows the Mets to use Megill, a righty, and Peterson, a lefty, out of the bullpen in either bulk or leverage roles. — Britton and Sammon

Staff picks

TEAM	PERCENT OF VOTE
	71.4% Advertisement
	28.6%

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National League Championship Series predictions: Our experts make their picks

His status will be as much of a question throughout the NLCS as it was during the NLDS. Freeman took 14 at-bats and started four of the five games in the series, but he’s dealing with an ankle injury that would normally knock him out for a month. Freeman said during Friday’s celebration he expects to be in the lineup for Game 1 of the NLCS, but even that likely would come with some compromise in terms of his mobility and ability to potentially play in consecutive games. — Ardaya

But seriously, who else could it be? Lindor has been the central figure of the Mets’ entire turnaround, sparking it with his offensive production in late May and pushing it further and further with his all-around brilliance late in the season. His heroics to clinch a playoff berth and now lift the Mets into the NLCS have cemented this as probably the best individual season by a position player in team history. He can win a game in so many ways, and he’s shown it throughout the season. — Britton and Sammon

Tale of the Tape

Who has the edge?

Teams	R/G	SP ERA	RP ERA	OPS+
	4.74 (7th)	3.91 (12th)	4.03 (17th)	108 (7th) Advertisement
	5.20 (2nd)	4.23 (19th)	3.53 (4th)	121 (1st)

Dodgers top performers

	POS	KEY STATISTICS	WAR
Lineup	DH	54 HR, 59 SB, .646 SLG, 190 OPS+	9.2
Rotation Advertisement	RHP	3.17 ERA, 127 ERA+, 194 Ks	3.1
Bullpen	RHP Advertisement	1.93 ERA, 201 ERA+, 0.943 WHIP	1.4
Fielding	CF/UTIL	3 OAA, 1 DRS Advertisement	1.8 (dWAR)

Mets top performers

	POS	KEY STATISTICS	WAR
Lineup	SS	33 HR, 39 2B, 29 SB, 138 OPS+ Advertisement	7
Rotation	LHP	3.47 ERA, 184 Ks, 114 ERA+	3 Advertisement
Bullpen	RHP	3.52 ERA, 20 Saves, 14.1 K/9	0.5
Fielding Advertisement	C	.993 Fielding Percentage, 88th percentile framing	8.9 (dWAR)