When Darius Garland came down with a knee injury two minutes into a game against Kent State, there was an underlying feeling that not only would this likely be his last game of the season, but also his career at Vanderbilt. Though he had only played in five games and was still finding his footing in the college game, it was clear that he’d built a good enough case to be a surefire lock for the lottery and maybe even the top-five if the injury wasn’t too bad.
In his short college career, he seemingly showed everything you could ask for in a modern guard: he could break down anyone off the dribble and get into the lane; he could fly off screens and drain pull-up jumpers; he could blow by everyone in transition and get an easy bucket; he could even find open shooters on the other side of the court and make some truly spectacular passes.