Exclusive: Bangot Dak Has Big Goals For Vanderbilt Basketball Career – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—Bangot Dak’s highlight reel is among the most jaw dropping in all of college basketball, but he’s been around this game long enough to understand that there’s more to it than that. 
Dak has bigger goals than virality and making flash plays at this stage of his career. He wants to win at a level that he couldn’t a season ago while being a focal point on Colorado’s 17-16 team–which ended its season in the College Basketball Crown. He wants to prove that he can play professionally. 
Enter Vanderbilt, a program that has reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons and has a history of allowing big men to showcase their perimeter skillsets in the Mark Byington era. 
“He said he feels like if I get an improved shot, with how his offense is, that I'll be able to show my abilities to shoot the ball and get to the rim a lot more often,” Dak told Vandy on SI, “And just do what I'm able to do that not many typical big players can do in college basketball.” 
Dak in Vanderbilt’s system feels like a seamless fit in some ways. Byington often complemented Dak on his ability to get to the rim and pitched him on the freedom that he would have if he chose Vanderbilt. Dak is a piece that needs freedom if he’s going to be able to make an impact with his unicorn-like skillset at 7-feet. 
Byington hadn’t added a 7-footer yet in his tenure at Vanderbilt, but Dak is the rare type that can do what Vanderbilt wants its five men to do. Dak can run the floor, is one of the sport’s best lob threats, can rebound it, block shots and is a threat to make shots from 3-point range. As a result, Byington is going to give him the runway to do so. He’s held up his end of the bargain. 
Dak knows it’s time for him to hold up his. If Dak is what he was at Colorado, he’s a difference maker for this Vanderbilt team. He knows that he’s got the potential to be more, though. 
In a 10-minute conversation with Dak, he brings up the reality that he needs to improve his efficiency from 3-point range three times–two of them coming unprovoked. Dak is right, he’s got to become better as a shotmaker from 3-point range if he’s going to take advantage of the green light that Byington is likely to give him. 
Dak is a threat from beyond the arc, but he’s got to get significantly better from beyond the arc if he’s going to be a consistent maker from out there. He shot just 25.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26, 28.0% in 2024-25 and 22.2% in 2023-24. Dak’s career high for made shots from 3-point range is .4 per game and the most volume he’s attempted a night is 1.7 shots. 
That sample size doesn’t provide much optimism, but this Vanderbilt system has a tendency of platforming shooters like Dak–who has a repeatable release–to take steps forward. 
“My main focus right now is just being consistent in my shot,” Dak said, “And just getting a stronger base to be able to hold my ground defensively. All I’ve heard is good things about coach [Byington] and the confidence he gives his players, so I think this will be a good spot for me.” 
If Dak gets stronger and starts making shots at a more efficient rate from 3-point range, he has a chance to play his way into the back half of the NBA Draft in 2026. If he doesn’t, though, he’s still the best big man that Vanderbilt has rostered in the Byington era. 
Dak ranked No. 85 in the country in defensive rebound rate as well as No. 102 in the country in block rate. Even if those numbers don’t repeat, Dak’s presence will matter for Vanderbilt as he headlines its best frontcourt on paper of the Byington era. 
He wants more, though. 
“I want to have a great last year of college and put myself in the position to have a good long pro career,” Dak said. “I feel like obviously with going to Vanderbilt, that's something I'm gonna be able to do.”
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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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