Darius Thompson, a 6-foot-4 point guard out of Blackman (TN) High School, verbally committed to Vanderbilt, choosing the Commodores over Tennessee, N.C. State and Purdue, among others.

“When I went down there to visit and talked to the academic people, I really liked the school,” Thompson said. “Then, when I met with coach (Kevin) Stallings — he’s a great coach — he’s going to push me to the best I can be and get the best out of me.

“Then their players were really cool players. I liked the situation there.”