NBA Draft Watch/College Basketball Game of the Day, January 23rd: (#1 Tennessee at Vanderbilt) Preview/Prospects of Note

Grant Williams and Admiral Schofield are the dyamic duo that drives #1 ranked Tennessee
(Photo Credit: Randy Sartin/USA Today Sports)

On the schedule for Wednesday night in college basketball is an at least somewhat interesting SEC contest between two teams going in entirely opposite directions at this current juncture of the season. One team in the Tennessee Volunteers enter tonight's game the brand-new number one ranked team in the country for the first time in over ten years after winning 12 straight games (16-1 overall). On the other hand Vanderbilt treks into their home tip-off against the top team in college basketball having lost their last five games and looking to stay above .500, with a record of 9-8.

Sporting strong field goal percentages on the offensive end and in defending their opponents, Tennessee supplies a strong attack across their roster with six players scoring 9.9 points per game, driven by a terrific tandem in senior Admiral Schofield and junior Grant Williams.

A unique prospect, as a wing with a brawny build at 6'6, 241 pounds Admiral Schofield has an interesting combination of stature and skill-set being a straight up and down in the shooter from the outside who is primarily performing as a spot up shooter or occasionally coming off screens (35 of 36 made 3's are assisted). While his shooting ability from deep (45.1 3P% on 4.8 attempts per game) chiefly stands about Schofield's game, he has more to offer than just standing around the perimeter.

More of a slasher and straight line driver than shifty ball-handler or shot creator, Schofield still is successful in using his superior strength against opposing wings in being able to play through contact and has more than sufficient athleticism to rise over defenders and drill tough, contested shots inside the arc. His physical attributes also surface on the other side of floor, where he's been having his strongest season as a a defender thus far (92.8 defensive rating, ranked 6th in the SEC last season with 95.9).

Joining his teammate Schofield as a unique and interesting prospect in his own right, forward Grant Williams has followed a strong season last year as a sophomore when he won SEC Player of the Year, with the assembly of another potential award winning campaign. Broad shouldered with a build that would be more beneficial in football, the 6'7, 236 pound Williams is a forward who is featured in a few different spots offensively, foremost within the arc.

Though he will occasionally step outside and keep the defense honest with his three-point shot, Williams is tactful in using his tenacity and touch to effectively convert on second chance points (1.9 offensive rebounds per game), producing post-up opportunities and signs of being able to seal his opponent on the block (46-62 on shots at rim), while being quite comfortable as a face-up four type (51% on 2-point jump shots). Another strength of the strong-bodied bully's game is his reliability at the free throw line (14-14 free throws last week verse Alabama, 81.7 FT% on the season) where he is a frequent visitor (7.4 attempts per game) and having added ability as a playmaker with his passing ability.

Schofield and Williams have had their names indicated as prospects increasingly with their individual and team success, and are each their own interesting individual prospects improbably on the same team. Whether their interest around the league is enough to become first round picks in a few months remains in the air. Though it is an interesting discussion in which there will an infinite number of opinions.

Boosting the boastful bunch buoyed by Schofield and Williams is another prospect of note and one of their teammates is junior Jordan Bowden. Starting in 27 of 30 games as a freshman and then in all 35 contests, last season as a sophomore, Bowden remained with the first five until Tennessee's lone loss on the season to Kansas. In since coming off the bench the 6'5, 193 pound shooting guard/wing has made the Volunteers an all the more dangerous team with his experience, energy, and overall effectiveness whenever inserted into the game.

In the last five games, since the beginning of in-conference SEC play, Bowden has averaged 17.4 points per game. He began the streak with back-to-back 20 point performances against Georgia and Missouri, before sinking 7 of 9 three-point attempts last week verse Arkansas and Alabama. Also a strong free-throw shooter, Bowden has adapted and excelled in his new role as one of the best 6th man in the country — in a similar role where his skills could earn him success in the league.

Having lost star freshman point guard Darius Garland for the season against Kent State, on November 23, 2018, where it dropped its first game of the season to become 4-1, Vanderbilt has struggled to find success since. Already having announced that he would be done for the year, Garland —a projected first round pick—  reportedly, recently decided to withdraw from school and declared that he will be entering the 2019 NBA Draft.

While the Commodores have had to adjust to his absence, they haven't aren't at a total loss for talent, featuring fellow freshman Simisola Shittu. From the North, as a native of the territory Ontario in Canada, the toned 6'10, 240 pound big has shown shades of a first round pick throughout the season, in spite of the team's modest amount of success, with functional above-average athleticism which accentuates the strengths of his game.

Although yet to strike suffering in opponents in being able to stretch the floor with this shooting (1-13 on three-point attempts), Shittu has shown he's more than capable of grabbing a board and dribbling the length of the floor or receiving the ball extended far outside the paint and using his agility to find his way into the paint for a strong finish to the basket. At his best when he is able to play in-motion diving to the rim, whether in transition or in a half-court set, the freshman big has also exhibited decent defensive ability.

Though not yet a dominant force as a shot blocker, Shittu can defend in the paint with explosive leaping ability to consistently contest shots and is a strong rebounder (ranks 6th in the SEC for defensive rebounding percentage). He's still supports a sound stat line (13.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 49.7 FG%), though undoubtedly would've the benefited by being able to play with Garland.

In the absence of the Darius Garland — since his injury — sophomore Saben Lee has stepped in as the primary ball-handler for Vanderbilt. At 6'2, 183 pounds Lee is a combo guard, who can control the offense and has a couple of tools that are cause for observation of him as a prospect (12.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg).

With a vertical that is visible when he decides to rise on a defender looking to challenge him at the rim and a knack for being able to attack and draw contact from the defense (7.2 free throw attempts per game, 69.9 FT%), Lee has exhibited certain qualities of a player who has pro potential. While his presence may cease to project in this upcoming draft class, the athletic young guard's continued development at the collegiate level is one to keep an eye on.