si
NASHVILLE — Mark Byington may not recall the exact games, but he clearly remembers the realizations that followed them. There were instances last season when Vanderbilt escaped with wins despite Duke Miles being sidelined by injury, but Byington knew he couldn't keep asking Tyler Tanner to shoulder the entire backcourt burden.
Tanner, ever the stand-up teammate, insisted he was fine logging all 40 minutes. However, Byington understood that relying on Tanner without a complementary guard wasn't sustainable for anyone involved. With Miles and veteran guard Frankie Collins unavailable, the Commodores had no choice but to thrust Tanner into that demanding role.
"I was wearing him out," Byington admitted after Vanderbilt's Monday-night exhibition win over UAB. "He could throw it to somebody and go back and get it and have to do everything else. He was getting worn out. So having somebody where he can go on and off the ball and make plays is important to him and his longevity."
On Monday, that support finally materialized. When Tanner shared the backcourt with freshman Ant Brown—whom Tanner described as "one of one" and a player who will "surprise the country" in 2026-27—Brown took over primary ball-handling duties. On inbounds plays, Brown walked the ball up while Tanner was already stationed on the 3-point line, ready to initiate the offense. Tanner didn't have to set up the offense, communicate with Byington, or handle ball pressure. He was simply there, free to read and react.
Tanner won't get used to that luxury and will clearly be on the ball more than off it as he enters 2026-27 as a preseason All-American point guard. Still, he finally has the chance to shed some proverbial weight as the pressure eases for a few possessions.
Tanner doesn't necessarily see his time at the two as a way to boost his scoring volume, but he believes it could help him navigate the various coverages defenses will throw at him now that he's at the top of every scouting report. He doesn't think he'll struggle to impact the game if he doesn't play off the ball often—and Byington agrees, stating Tanner can play both positions well—but he wants to see this through.
"I think it'll help me a lot," Tanner told Vandy on SI. "It just allows me to play the same game I always play."
That game manifested in Tanner averaging 19.5 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.5% from the field and 36.8% from 3-point range a season ago. Now, he's been tabbed a preseason All-American by multiple outlets and was the SEC Preseason Player of the Year runner-up.
Tanner was good enough to declare for the NBA Draft and have a legitimate chance to stay in it last spring. He attended the NBA Combine and participated in both scrimmages while working to improve his stock, saying he was intent on doing what he could to stay in the draft. Ultimately, though, Tanner was a fringe first-round pick and opted to return to Vanderbilt for another season. He received feedback from NBA executives indicating they wanted to see more from him as a defender in ball screens and that they wanted him to get stronger, but Tanner has said repeatedly that he's open to anything that can help him improve.
As a result, he's willing to give this a shot—particularly since he feels the way he does about Vanderbilt's other guards.
"They take a lot of pressure off of me," Tanner said. "Last year, we had Duke Miles but a lot of times [Byington] would want me to play the one most of the time. I think [Brown] and Ace [Glass] will be able to play that one spot and we also have bigs that can bring it up. Whatever defenses and coverages they're throwing at me, I think it'll help me by just taking a little bit of that load off."
Key Analysis
Byington's willingness to experiment with Tanner off the ball signals a strategic shift aimed at preserving his star guard's energy and maximizing his effectiveness. With Brown and Glass capable of handling point guard duties, Tanner can conserve energy for scoring and playmaking, potentially making him even more dangerous. This adjustment not only addresses last season's workload concerns but also prepares Tanner for the varied defensive schemes he'll face as a preseason All-American. If successful, it could elevate both Tanner's individual performance and Vanderbilt's overall ceiling.