Making case for Vanderbilt senior Jeff Roberson as All-SEC first-teamer

Vanderbilt’s Jeff Roberson is trying to go from role player to All-SEC first-teamer as a senior.

Roberson has been called an unsung hero, an underrated player and a glue guy during his four-year career while racking up 1,298 points and 727 rebounds in 128 games (111 starts). But he’s never been an all-conference player.

That should change when the All-SEC team is announced March 6. But will Roberson be a first-team selection? His teammates have been rooting for that recognition for their low-key leader in an otherwise frustrating season.

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When Roberson earned SEC Player of the Week on Monday, fellow senior Riley LaChance tweeted, “FIRST TEAM.”

And then injured Matthew Fisher-Davis, a preseason All-SEC selection, followed with an even more emphatic tweet: "FINALLY GETTING THE RECOGNITION HE'S BEEEEEEEEEEEEEN DESERVED!!!!!"

All exclamation points aside, Roberson has a solid chance with one week left in the regular season. But Vanderbilt (11-17, 5-10 SEC) is in last place heading into Saturday's game (3 p.m., ESPN2) against Texas A&M (17-11, 6-9 SEC).

Here is where Roberson’s first-team candidacy stands, but each point is countered by his team's poor record:

Crunching the numbers

Roberson and Georgia’s Yante Maten, the co-SEC Preseason Player of the Year, are the only two players ranked in the top five in the SEC in scoring and rebounding.

Roberson averages 16.7 points and 7.1 rebounds, ranked fifth in both categories. The other top four rebounders are 6-foot-8 or taller while Roberson is only 6-6.

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Also, he has lifted his scoring average to 18.3 points in SEC play. And Roberson’s 85.2 free-throw percentage and 33.9 minutes-per-game average are ranked third in the SEC.

If positions are considered, four of the SEC's top-10 scorers are forwards/centers — Roberson, Maten, Tennessee's Grant Williams (16.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Kentucky's Kevin Knox (15.4, 5.6) UT, however, is the SEC's second-place team and Kentucky is tied for third.

Roberson’s predecessor made first team

Jeffery Taylor, a 6-7 forward, is the last Vanderbilt player with Roberson’s similar skill-set to make the All-SEC first team, and their stats are comparable.

In the 2011-12 season, Taylor averaged 16.1 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 42.3 percent from 3-point range. Roberson averages 16.7 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range.

Of course, the major difference is that Taylor’s team finished the regular season at 21-10 overall and 10-6 in SEC play. The current Commodores are 11-17 and 5-10.

Only Will Perdue did it better

Roberson’s numbers stack up well to Vanderbilt’s other recent SEC first-team selections.

His 16.7-point scoring average is the highest for a Vanderbilt player since John Jenkins scored 19.9 during his 2011-12 season, when he garnered All-SEC first-team honors.

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And in the past 30 years, 19 Vanderbilt players have made the All-SEC first team. Among them, only Will Perdue (10.1 in 1988) averaged more rebounds than Roberson. Frank Kornet tied Roberson with 7.1 rebounds during his 1988-89 All-SEC first-team season.

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

NEXT GAME

VANDERBILT (11-17, 5-10 SEC) VS. TEXAS A&M (17-11, 6-9)

When: 3 p.m. Saturday

TV/Radio: ESPN2/1510 AM, 98.3 FM