Vanderbilt's best player, sophomore wing Aaron Nesmith, missed Saturday's game against Texas A&M with a right foot injury and a source confirmed to CBS Sports that it is feared he could miss the rest of the season.
After Vanderbilt's 68-50 home loss on Saturday, Commodores coach Jerry Stackhouse said Nesmith will be non-weight-bearing on his right foot for the next six weeks. He also said, "We don't anticipate him being a part of what we're doing anymore this season."
Stackhouse on Nesmith and injury: #Vandy pic.twitter.com/xN2pw0j3EV
— Teresa Walker (@TeresaMWalker) January 12, 2020
Nesmith, one of the best shooters in college basketball, has blossomed into an NBA prospect thanks to his ever-reliable long-range shot. The 6-foot-6 forward has made 52.2% of his 3-pointers this season (60 for 115) on his way to averaging 23.0 points and 4.9 rebounds. Nesmith, in turn, has become one of the most efficient players in college basketball, posting a 128.0 offensive rating at KenPom, among the best in the sport.
The injury is a major setback for a Vanderbilt squad that's 8-7 and was coming off a four-point loss against Auburn on Wednesday. Nesmith's injury surfaced a couple of weeks ago, and he aggravated his condition in that Auburn game, wherein he played 39 minutes and scored 14 points.
The Commodores are 0-2 in the SEC and next play at Arkansas on Wednesday.
It's also bad luck for the program in this regard: it's the second straight season that Vanderbilt has lost its best player for a long period of time due to injury. In 2018, eventual top-five pick Darius Garland was injured five games into the season with a torn ACL.
