Exclusive: Inside Tyler Tanner's Mind With NBA Decision Looming and Vanderbilt in NCAA Tournament – Sports Illustrated

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OKLAHOMA CITY—-Within the back halls of PayCom Center walks Tyler Tanner as his most important basketball to date as a Vanderbilt player awaits him and the decision of his life looms. 
The decision; should he fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming an NBA player right now and declare for the draft when this run Vanderbilt is on ends? Or should he take a king's ransom to return to the program he loves for one more year in an effort to set himself up for a better runway as a professional? 
Has he made that decision yet? Maybe, but probably not. Is he willing to tip his hand yet? Of course he’s not. That probably won’t happen until he’s already gone through the NBA Draft predraft process. He’d be naive not to.
“I'm focused on right now, which is the truth,” Tanner told Vandy on SI. “All that, I'll figure out once this is over this year.” 
Any other public-facing answer than the one the Vanderbilt star gave or one that demonstratively indicated his intention to return would be selfish at this point. Anything other than what Tanner said on Friday from Oklahoma City would’ve been untrue, too. 
Tanner’s decision is far from a no-brainer at this stage. Anyone who believes there’s one side exclusively to consider here either has black and gold tinted glasses on or is missing some of the nuance at hand. Tanner is a fringe first rounder and has to approach this accordingly.
Staying could include a big payday, a chance to get stronger, develop and have a chance to stay at home–around what is clearly a very strong dynamic within the Tanner family and his longtime girlfriend, who lives in the area. The choice to stay, though, would leave Tanner’s NBA future up in the air and would almost require him to take a step forward after an exceptional season. Perhaps staying could allow Tanner to raise his stock, but he’s had a tremendous year as is.  
The Vanderbilt guard is averaging 19.3 points, 5.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting it 48.8% from the floor and 37.3% from 3-point range. The accolades have started to follow the stat sheet, too. So has the attention, even if it doesn’t show as Tanner sits at his locker alone in the moments following media being able to enter. 
Tanner could say he chooses to ignore it entirely, but that doesn’t appear to be possible these days. One of Vanderbilt basketball’s biggest stories doesn’t have all that much to do with whether it wins Saturday against Nebraska. It has a whole lot more to do with what this sophomore from Brentwood will decide to do once this is all over. He can’t let that become what dominates his mind, though. He knows that. 
“The quote that I live by is live where your feet are,” Tanner said. “I've learned a lot about balance and everything through it. A lot of it's just leaning on the people close to me about it.”
Tanner admits that there was a week this season in which he was overwhelmed with the weight of the career-altering decision that was ahead of him, but says that these days he’s not focused on anything but the NCAA Tournament. 
Vanderbilt strength coach Brady Welsh has been a sounding board for Tanner throughout the process, as have a few other members of Vanderbilt’s coaching staff. Tanner also confirmed to Vandy on SI that he’s hired representation from CAA Sports to help him navigate the process. He says that decision took the pressure off of him. 
“Now I'm getting to play freely,” Tanner said. “I'm just taking it one day at a time, focused on each and every one of these games that we get to play because it's a blessing.”
Tanner appeared to view the situation as a stresser initially, but he says that he’s begun to embrace the process for what it is. 
Perhaps it’s stressful—of course it is, there’s a lot on the line here—but it’s also what Tanner has dreamed of for years. This isn’t black and white, but why can’t it be something that Tanner remembers fondly? He doesn’t see why not. 
“When you step back and look at it, it's like ‘wow, like, I get to decide on an agency and I get to think about the future a little bit,’” Tanner said. “But like I said, it's just a huge blessing. I'm really not focused on it at all right now, honestly. But, I'm very thankful that I can make those decisions.”
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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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