Bryce Drew and Vanderbilt are about done -- and the Vols will bring the fork

Joe Rexrode
The Tennessean

Bryce Drew is a good recruiter but a bad basketball coach.

Simi Shittu wouldn’t go in the first round even if the G League held a draft.

The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team quit Saturday and is looking at 0-18 in the SEC.

All of those statements are exaggerated for dramatic effect. They all go too far. But emotional involvement breeds hyperbole, and you could sense these thoughts and others like them behind the boos that mounted Saturday at Memorial Gym.

Vanderbilt fans had such excitement for this season, and now it has maybe a gasp or two of breath left after a dismal 71-55 loss to No. 23 Mississippi State. The Tennessee Volunteers – the nation’s top-ranked team in Monday's AP poll – and thousands of their orange-clad fans will be in the building Wednesday to see to the stomping out of those breaths.

Tennessee guard Jordan Bowden (23) celebrates a foul called against Alabama in the last seconds of the second half of Tennessee's home SEC conference game against Alabama at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Saturday, January 19, 2019.

Maybe the Commodores (9-8, 0-5 SEC) will save their season and shock the Vols (16-1, 5-0) in a nod to 2008 when Shan Foster and Vanderbilt did so to newly minted No. 1 Tennessee in Nashville. And maybe Bruce Pearl will become an NCAA compliance officer.

Vanderbilt is toast, or at least the bread is in the toaster and is starting to brown. For the second straight season under Drew, after his surprising first team made a late charge to the NCAA Tournament, the Commodores are looking at a February and March of obligation instead of opportunity.

Drew essentially hinted as much late Saturday night, gesturing to freshman Aaron Nesmith on his left and sophomore Saben Lee on his right and talking about they will help Vanderbilt win in the future. On this rivalry game that should be met with desperation and a refusal to be humiliated again, Drew said he is “more concerned about us than Tennessee,” in particular his young players learning from these experiences and growing.

Anyone who watched the Commodores miss 17 of their first 19 shots against the good-not-great Bulldogs (14-3, 2-2), and play like strangers for most of the night, and sustain premium damage on 14 turnovers that led to 18 MSU points, and eventually let defensive intensity wane to the tune of layups, dunks and boos, had to wonder where the growth is happening.

But at least Drew didn’t mention Darius Garland afterward. That counts as progress. After Wednesday’s 74-71 loss to South Carolina, in which Vanderbilt had a 5-point lead with 1:38 left, Drew was going through all that went wrong when he mentioned: “It’s no secret, we lost our leader, and someone else has to step up and prove that they can help us win games in the last few minutes.”

Vanderbilt guard Darius Garland (10) is attended to after being injured against Kent State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Nov. 23, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.

The season-ending knee injury suffered by Garland, Vanderbilt’s most heralded recruit ever, altered things permanently. Drew has been asked about that often since, and there’s nothing wrong with him answering honestly. It’s a devastating loss.

But bringing it up unprompted? At this point? It’s interesting to go from Titans coach Mike Vrabel to this. Vrabel’s team was riddled with injuries in the fall, but he refused to indulge that narrative when given countless opportunities to do so. I think he didn’t want his players to fall into excuse making, self pity or anything else that would distract them from their jobs.

And I think Drew should think of it the same way. But I’m just spitballing here. It’s his team – a team with way too much talent to play like this -- and his job to fix it.

I just know that when there’s a players-only meeting, as Lee said there was Thursday, that’s often a bad sign. When the players respond to that meeting by playing the way they played Saturday, that’s definitely a bad sign.

The word “quit” made its way into the post-game discussion among media, and that’s a heavy word. I don’t see a team that has given up. I see a team that can’t find the answers and is growing increasingly dispirited as a result.

“Obviously it sucks,” Nesmith said of Vandy’s situation. “But you’ve got to live and learn. We’re going to learn from this and as soon as we get our first win we can hit the road running.”

Mississippi State guard Nick Weatherspoon (0) drives against Vanderbilt forward Aaron Nesmith (24) in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn.

Nesmith is going to be a star and leader for this team some day, and that was a timely dose of optimism on a dreary night for Vanderbilt. There’s a long way to go for this season and for this program under Drew. So let’s put those opening statements through that lens and make them real.

Bryce Drew is a good recruiter and a young coach with a young staff and a lot yet to prove at this level.

Simi Shittu is a gifted prospect with an NBA future but enough flaws that he looks increasingly like a guy who needs another year of college basketball.

The Vanderbilt men’s basketball team is looking at precious few wins in a loaded SEC, and it hit a low point Saturday.

But just wait until Wednesday.

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Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.