SEC Tipoff 2010
Vanderbilt Commodores

Men’s Head Coach Kevin Stallings
On going into this year with having a lot of young players last year…..
"We had seven freshmen last year and we are delighted that they have a year of college basketball under their belts. We are very excited about what this season might hold for us. They have all improved and we feel that there is a significant amount of talent in that class for us and we are hoping that it will show for us on the court. We have a very challenging schedule but we are hoping that with the good start off to the fall and the trip we took this summer that we will become that team that so many of us want to become."

On what are some of the things that you guys have been focusing on......
"Our biggest challenge is to become a difficult team to play defensively. We were hesitant to try to do too many things with the freshman last year. We wanted to give them a fundamental base of basketball. When I reflect on last year, our deficiencies primarily derived on the defensive end. We strive to rectify that first and our talent level will help us score points on those nights were we are not as well coached and maybe we will get a little better defensively."

Work to team to advantage with Calipari’s rival that a lot of the attention right now?
"If we as coaches are doing our jobs right, we will not be impacted by other teams and what they are doing. All I can do on a daily basis is to make my team better and my program better."

Jermaine Beal, G, Sr.
On the expectations of the team…
"I think we can be real good. Our team is young. Last year we lost a lot of games because our team is young but I think those games last year can help us out this year. We are hoping to be the best team in league. All I’m focused on right now is to get better in practice and to go from there."

On Vanderbilt’s offense…
Our offense is always inside out. Get AJ the ball and let him work down low for us. We have good shooters for outside shots and our offense should be real good this year.



Women’s Head Coach Melanie Balcomb
On the outlook of the season…
"This is a year for us that we need to be a great team. We need to mesh our seniors (we have four seniors) with our underclassmen because we’ll have a lot of freshman that will play. We have some players in the middle Jence Rhoads and Hannah Tuomi that have experience as returning starters. We need to be able to mesh the players that have played a lot with the incoming players to enable our team chemistry."

Expectations for the season…
"Expectations are the same as every season and that is to win the conference. We shoot to win the conference every year and we’re going to do the same thing this season."

On a having a go-to player…
"No, I don’t think we ever had a go to player. At Vanderbilt, we play a very unselfish style. We aim to lead the conference in assists, we try to play as a team, and our roles will be developed as the season moves on. Merideth Marsh would have the most experience in hitting big shots and she’s our only returning All-SEC player from last year."

Merideth Marsh, G, Sr.
On the outlook about Vanderbilt basketball...
"Every year we have a different team, but this year we have a good group of freshman coming in with a lot of energy in practice, and we have some upper classmen stepping up a little bit. So far it’s looking pretty good. I think the conference this year is up for grabs. I don’t think that any one team will dominate, so hard work and persistence in the preseason is going to set us up pretty well for the SEC."

On what it takes to be successful in March…
"Coach always talks about who wants it more, and I think that’s where preseason comes in. The couple weeks of practice, the conditioning, working together and staying together is what sets a team up for the hard times in March. And if you’re not working hard and getting better and coming together as a team in the preseason there is no way a team will be successful in March. That’s where you draw strength from, and when you ever you talk about getting tired and feel like you can’t give anymore, you start to draw strength from all the effort put in during the preseason."



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