Why Vanderbilt Basketball Needs T.O. Barrett To Do More Than Score In Return To The Lineup – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—What a sight for Mark Byington’s one ballhandler-induced sore eyes to see. His Vanderbilt team played two point guards for long stretches of its Monday-night win over Bellarmine. Finally, it happened for Byington. 
Vanderbilt’s coaching staff wanted to do it last year, but “whatever happened with suspensions, injuries, or whatever else,” as Byington says, never allowed it to. Vanderbilt had one ballhandler while Duke Miles sat due to injuries. Even when Miles was healthy, Vanderbilt only had two on the floor with him and Tyler Tanner. When Miles was hurt, Tanner was a one-man show. 
No longer will that be the case, though. 
Tanner was already complemented with Ace Glass and Ant Brown and could play off the ball as a result. But, T.O. Barrett is back after missing a long stretch of the preseason and gives Vanderbilt a fourth ballhandler. Barrett won’t quite be an offensive engine for this Vanderbilt team, but he’ll be an every-night veteran ballhandler and point of attack defender for Byington to rely on alongside Tanner and Brown. 
“We’ve been eager to get him back on the floor," Tanner said. “With him we can always have two guards out there. It doesn’t matter who brings the ball up. It makes us all a lot better when we’re out there with him.” 
Barrett averaged 8.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in 2025-26 while shooting 46.0% from the field as well as 20.5% from 3-point range on 1.3 attempts per game. Missouri used Barrett in 20-24% of its offensive possessions and he repaid Tigers' coach Dennis Gates by finishing with a national ranking in assist rate, free throw rate and steal rate. 
Vanderbilt’s staff saw Barrett up close and personal in one of his best games of the season, a 16-point performance against the Commodores in which he went 8-for-9 from the free throw line and shot 2-for-5 from 3-point range. Barrett also had five assists in that game. They know Barrett won’t do that every night, but they liked the way he ran the show for Missouri and collapsed the defense by getting downhill. They knew Barrett was limited, but they appeared to believe that his skillset is applicable.
Monday was the quintessential Barrett game in that he scored four points, but set the table with four assists and turned it over just once. In a Vanderbilt blowout win that inflated the stats of all of Vanderbilt’s go-to guys, Barrett’s were as realistic as anyone’s on the roster. Vanderbilt didn’t bring Barrett in to be a high-volume scorer, instead it brought him in to fill the Frankie Collins or Grant Huffman role. Barrett is the best player Vanderbilt has placed in that role yet. 
“He’s versatile,” Byington said. “I thought he passed the ball well. I thought he read the game. He had to get game rhythm, the other guys on the team had three exhibition games and he didn’t have any of those. He was healthy. He looked good. He moved well and hopefully we’ll keep expanding him.” 
Barrett played sparingly for Missouri as a freshman, but took a step forward as a sophomore and was a significant reason as to why the Tigers made the NCAA Tournament. His best performance came in a 28-point outing against Tennessee. Now, he looks to take a junior-year leap for Vanderbilt. 
Barrett is firmly in Vanderbilt’s rotation, but was on a minutes restriction due to injury on Monday. Vanderbilt will clearly play him more than the 13 minutes he was on the floor for on Monday, even if he isn’t changing the outlook of games with his scoring.
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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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