Duke Miles Set To Make Return To Lineup For Vanderbilt Basketball – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—He’s back. 
Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles will return to the lineup as Vanderbilt faces Tennessee on Saturday. Miles has been out since Jan. 24 after undergoing a minor knee surgery. Vanderbilt was 4-2 in that stretch, but Miles’ return elevates the ceiling of this Vanderbilt team significantly. 
“Duke's expected to go,” Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said, “As of right now, he practiced yesterday, he's had a good week, he hung back from the Missouri trip so he can train here. 
And we're expecting him to go.”
Miles is Vanderbilt’s second-leading scorer, averaging 16.6 points as well as 4.3 assists per game. Defensively, Miles has been disruptive all season and recorded seven steals in Vanderbilt’s win against Mississippi State–which was the most a Vanderbilt player has recorded in a game since James Strong hit the same number in 1998. 
“Haven’t seen him play much but I do enjoy watching him and Tyler [Tanner] in the backcourt defensively,” Strong told Vandy on SI via text message after that game. “Reminds me of myself and Atiba Prater. I really appreciate the intensity, competitiveness, and pride he plays with on the defensive end. His anticipation and feel defensively are elite.” 
Miles is sixth in the country in steals and is the leader in steals at power-five schools at the time of his injury. The Vanderbilt guard has played just 18 games this season, but is an off-the-bounce scorer that is as dynamic as anyone else on Vanderbilt’s roster. Miles is nationally ranked in six efficiency of KenPom’s individual efficiency categories. 
Byington was bold enough to make a prediction in regard to Miles’ status after Vanderbilt’s win over Texas A&M a few weeks ago. Now he appears to believe Miles won’t need much of a ramp up as he returns to the lineup. 
“You can kinda just go with the stats,” Byington said. “So, he gives us a lot on the offensive end. He gives us another ball handler along with Tyler Tanner, that kind of makes plays out there. And then his steals are impactful. He might have been leading the league in steals before he got hurt, I know the stats are different now, but he makes impact everywhere he goes.”
Vanderbilt had to lean heavily on Chandler Bing and Mike James in the absence of Miles, but will be able to readjust its rotation with him back on the floor.
Miles is dedicating the 2025-26 season to his late grandmother Terry Martin. Miles and Martin “always” talked about his dreams of going “far” in the NCAA Tournament and making it to the NBA. Miles is as close to actualizing those dreams as he’s ever been while she’s looking down on him. 
“The first thing” Martin ever taught Miles was that giving up isn’t an option and that if you start something then you have to finish it. The words have manifested themselves throughout Miles' day-to-day life and tumultuous college basketball career. 
Now, Miles gets to make his final push.
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, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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