Vanderbilt Women's Basketball: A Rising Power in the SEC

Watch Vanderbilt Women's Basketball: A Rising Power in the SEC - SportsGrid on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Let's head to the women's side and let's talk about the Lady Commodores of Vanderbilt.

00:05Shea Ralph's team, Shea Ralph, you don't know, national championship player for Gino Auriemma,

00:10longtime assistant.

00:13Her husband's on the staff as well.

00:15He did a great job as a head coach himself, and he's a great lead assistant.

00:21You know, Kevin, one of their assistants I've known for a long time,

00:24Jersey guy, Jersey in the building.

00:26So why are they playing really great basketball?

00:30Why?

00:32Jersey, what else?

00:34And the pride of Rutgers Prep.

00:38Shout out to Mary Klinger, a good friend of mine, longtime coach at Rutgers Prep High School,

00:42one of the best high school coaches in the country.

00:46That's Michaela Blakes.

00:48Michaela Blakes is getting you about 26 points per game, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists,

00:5447% from the floor.

00:56She has been outstanding, and she was a McDonald's All-American and a preseason All-American this year.

01:07Well, you know who stepped up?

01:09The pride of the Jersey Shore.

01:11A kid that I know, a kid that I have trained, and I've seen her blossom in her senior year,

01:18and that's Justine Passat.

01:21Just is getting you about 11 points per game, 5.4 rebounds.

01:25It's something they asked her to work on was rebounding the ball.

01:28But she's the sniper, getting about 2.5 three-pointers made per game.

01:33Now, Justine's also 6'4", so when you look at her, you're like, oh, this is a big, oh, this is a guard,

01:39with a limited range.

01:40But they got the freshman Aubrey Galvin, who's getting you about 7 assists per game,

01:46top 10 in the nation, 3.2 steals per game, and 10.4 points per game.

01:51Now, you're going to look at their record at 9-0, top, and number 14 in the country,

01:55and say, okay, they have not been tested yet.

02:01But knowing that staff, and seeing Michaela Blakes and Justine Passat grow up in front of my eyes,

02:12there's no doubt in my mind that they are going to be a force in the SEC.