Basketball Recruiting Update...

With the departure of four seniors, including Shan Foster, who rivals.com named a first-team All American, most Commodore fans seem to think the basketball team will be worse next year based on our recent poll here at The Sports VU.

However, as Lee Corso might say, "not so fast my friends". Vanderbilt has already signed Steve Tchiengang, a 6'8" power forward who should fill in for the departure of Ross Neltner, and Lance Goulbourne, a 6'7" small forward who some close to the program have already compared to Shan Foster. Both are widely considered top 100 players in the nation.

While both of these players are sure to be stars for the program, the more exciting news is that coach Kevin Stallings and company are not done with their recruiting for next season after a disappointing exit from the NCAA Tournament. Just this past week, both Brad Tinsley, a 6'3" point guard from Oregon and Jeff Taylor, a 6'7" shooting guard/small forward from New Mexico, narrowed their lists of offers down, and the Commodores made both players' top three according to Rivals.com.

Tinsley is still considering seven programs including USC, Butler and Arizona State, but he favors three: Vanderbilt, Oregon and Wake Forest. Tinsley has scheduled a visit to Vanderbilt for the weekend of April 12. Tinsley is ranked as the 18th best point guard in the 2008 class by rivals.com and is a four-star prospect.

Taylor has narrowed his list down to three: Vanderbilt, Texas and Gonzaga. While Vanderbilt is still in the hunt, Taylor has family in Texas which may influence his decision. If Vanderbilt could get commitments from these two players not only would the Commodores bring in the best basketball recruiting class of the Kevin Stallings era but they would also be in good position to return to the NCAA Tournament next year despite having a young team.

Check back with The Sports VU as we will continue to update you on these two prospects.