Matt Velazquez

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

When it comes to season openers, there's always an air of mystery. That's especially true in college sports, where rosters turn over every year, players alter their games in dramatic ways and coaches move from one school to another.

As Marquette prepares to take on Vanderbilt in the Veterans Classic at the U.S. Naval Academy at 5:30 p.m. Friday, the Golden Eagles don't know exactly what lies ahead. The Commodores have a new coach in Bryce Drew, who comes to Vanderbilt from Valparaiso, but that's not the only unknown element about them.

"They didn't play an exhibition game that was on TV like we did, so we're walking into this game trying to make our best guesses, but we have nothing concrete to hang our hat on," Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski said. "We understand how Bryce's teams played at Valpo; obviously, he did a great job there. We understand the kids that are back at Vanderbilt that contributed to an NCAA Tournament appearance.

"But how those things fit together is a little bit of an unknown for us. As a coach that makes you a little nervous."

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Senior Jajuan Johnson, who relishes the opportunity to play Vanderbilt, a team from his home state of Tennessee that didn't recruit him, can't remember a situation like this since he arrived at Marquette. The same holds true for redshirt junior Duane Wilson, but both believe as a team they've done all they can to get ready by watching Drew's Valparaiso teams as well as film of Vanderbilt's players who will be returning from last year.

"Vanderbilt, they've got a lot of shooters, that's been our main focus in practice shutting down the shooters and running them off the three-point line, just being the aggressor," Wilson said.

"We don't know too much about them, they've got a new coach, but based off what they did at Valpo they were a run-and-gun team with shooters and they were a great defensive team with a great defensive coach. It's going to be a battle."

Drew takes over a Vanderbilt team that is in a bit of flux. The Commodores had high expectations for last season but barely squeaked into the NCAA Tournament and lost in the First Four. In the off-season, their top two scorers — Wade Baldwin and Damian Jones — opted to forgo their senior years to enter the NBA draft and each was taken in the first round with Baldwin going 17th and Jones 30th.

Though those losses will be felt, Vanderbilt brings back three starters, including 7-foot-1 senior Luke Kornet, 6-5 guard/forward and top returning scorer Matthew Fisher-Davis and 6-6 junior forward Jeff Roberson. Vanderbilt also likely will start 6-2 junior guard Riley LaChance, who is someone the Golden Eagles actually know very well.

LaChance attended Brookfield Central High School and after his senior season in 2013-'14 was a unanimous first-team all-state selection by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association as well as the Associated Press. Wojciechowski arrived at Marquette too late to make a run at recruiting LaChance, who committed to the Commodores in September 2013.

"I would have recruited the heck out of him," Wojciechowski said. "As a freshman at Vanderbilt, he was first-team all-rookie in the SEC. ... He seems like a real winner to me in watching him on film."

LaChance has made appearances at Marquette as recently as this summer, playing with and against the Golden Eagles' players at open gyms. Wilson, who attended Whitefish Bay Dominican, knows LaChance well from their many on-court battles over the years.

"I played against Riley a lot growing up, so that's going to be interesting playing with him," Wilson said. "He also came to a lot of open gyms this summer. Riley's a great player, so I really look forward to playing against him."