Scapegoating Frankie Collins Isn't The Answer Here For Vanderbilt Basketball; Column – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—The reality had just hit this Vanderbilt team like a bag of bricks and Frankie Collins walked in the direction of the locker room when he heard a yell from an individual voice that quickly became the moment of the day. 
All had been fine and well and the patience level surrounding Collins’ injury had been relatively high prior to what happened Saturday, but as he left the floor it appeared as if patience had worn thin. It’s been seven weeks since Collins suffered a meniscus injury that was set to keep him out four-to-six weeks and had been less than several since Vanderbilt picked up a quad-three loss to Oklahoma.
The context of the reason for Collins’ absence or Vanderbilt’s Saturday loss didn’t matter much to a singular, unidentifiable voice in the stands. Vanderbilt had lost to Oklahoma and could’ve pulled off a win had it had Collins. That was all the context that fan needed.
“Toughen Up Frankie!” The fan yelled from the stands surrounding the Vanderbilt tunnel. 
That sentiment was meant by the fan who said it, but this isn’t simply a case of Collins needing to toughen up or being a heartless mercenary. Collins has been medically cleared to play, but that doesn’t guarantee a return to the lineup anytime soon. Setbacks—including swelling—happen. Being in basketball shape is different from being cleared, also. The indication out of Vanderbilt is that Collins’ intent isn’t to medically redshirt as it currently stands, and he shouldn’t be expected to. 
Here we are with Collins being used as the proverbial scapegoat–not necessarily by Vanderbilt itself–for Vanderbilt’s Saturday loss to Oklahoma, though. Vanderbilt could use Collins, sure, but he wouldn’t solve all of its issues. The eerie nature created by Collins’ passed timeline, the complexity of this situation and the vague terms that Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington speaks about this with have made this into something more polarizing than it needs to be, or is. 
“Frankie’s still doing his rehab,” Byington said postgame on Saturday after declaring that Collins was cleared a week ago. “He’s still working. It’s hard to give a timetable. I wish it was closer. It was rehab after surgery they said four to six weeks, and we’re at seven now. So, maybe there’s something there holding him back, but we’re not giving up on him.” 
There’s been some undertones of frustration in regard to Collins’ recovery from Byington as it’s re-emerged as a storyline, but he didn’t make it the story of the afternoon on Saturday. Frankly, it shouldn’t have been. 
Collins and Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles—who certainly would’ve changed the feel of this thing in a revenge game of sorts—would’ve made a difference on Saturday. This wasn’t as much an issue of Collins and Miles’ absences as it was an issue of Vanderbilt not getting the job done. 
Saturday demonstrated that Collins and Miles buy this team more margin than it otherwise has—and that it needs them for the most important games of the season—but Vanderbilt has won without them before. This shouldn’t have been different. This was a Vanderbilt team that had knocked off Kentucky in a blowout and Ole Miss playing against an Oklahoma team that was 1-9 in league play. Vanderbilt was more than capable of making it three in a row without two of its starting guards. 
It didn’t, though. Why? 
"We didn't play well, we didn't prep well, and we weren't ready to play,” Byington said as he reflected on Vanderbilt losing after a bye week. “We can't ever do this again."
Byington wasn’t being dramatic, either. Vanderbilt’s metrics didn’t tank like they could’ve if this had stayed the way it was before a late Vanderbilt comeback, but Byington’s team now has a boarderline  quad-three loss on its rèsumè for the first time in his tenure and may drop a seed line as a result. 
Its comeback—and particularly Tyler Tanner’s role in it—was admirable, but nothing else about Saturday was. Vanderbilt trailed by about a million at points on Saturday, it was out toughed, its depth didn’t show up and it let Oklahoma forward Tae Davis loose for 14 points before anyone could blink. 
No play was more indicating than an early-second half sequence in which Vanderbilt guard Chandler Bing forced a pass to AK Okereke, Oklahoma forward Derrion Reid beat Okereke to the ball, shoveled it to Oklahoma guard Xzayvier Brown—who caught Tanner frozen—before Brown laid it in. It was almost a microcosm of everything that went wrong on Saturday.  
This was like Arkansas all over again. This was like Oklahoma a season ago—a game that made Vanderbilt’s staff do some looking in the mirror. Vanderbilt was getting beat off the dribble, it wasn’t meeting the moment.
As a result, it had to pay.
Don’t pin this on Collins, though. Don’t pin it on Miles, either. They would’ve helped the cause, but Vanderbilt should’ve done this without them. 
The fact that it didn’t shouldn’t lead to any big-picture conclusions about what this group does or doesn’t have, yet. At least not until it knows what exactly its roster looks like. 
Blame this group for now, but pause the general evaluation of it and its ceiling. Pick it back up when or if Collins and Miles return.
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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