NASHVILLE—Wake Forest wing Isaac Carr caught it in the corner in a position that would’ve led to him scoring it almost every time if it were this time last year. Carr has four inches of height and nine pounds on Tanner. Tanner didn’t have a help defender within range. 

But, less than five seconds later, Carr was standing back in the same corner after passing the ball off. 

Carr tried to go through Tanner’s chest to the basket, but he couldn’t. Tanner declared in the spring that he intended to get stronger and Thursday provided proof of concept in regard to that idea. He’s added 14 pounds of muscle since the end of last season, which was clear on that play. 

A year ago, Carr would’ve Barkley’d Tanner or put a shoulder into him after a dribble or two to create an open shot. But, he couldn’t. The only defense Tanner had against a guy like Carr coming at him a year ago was to try to steal it from him and take it the other way. Now, he can stand in the way and change his course. Tanner demonstrated his strength later in the game as a Wake Forest big man came barreling down the lane and shouldered him, but Tanner didn’t fall. 

“I think the majority of it will be putting some weight on, which I'm already working on now,” Tanner told Vandy on SI over the summer. “I still think there's a lot that I can improve on. I know last year it was a great year for me and my team, but I still think there's a lot of stuff in my game that I can get better at and that's why this year is gonna be for just finding those holes in my game and trying to improve everywhere I can.” 

Looks like Tanner did that. 

Tanner’s feedback from NBA people was pretty clear. Get stronger. Guard bigger players and don’t be picked on. Be more efficient from 3-point range. Be more physical. Thursday wasn’t Tanner’s best performance–in some ways, it was one of his worst of the season–but it demonstrated to the large group of NBA scouts in attendance that he’d taken their advice to heart and that he’s capable of taking advantage of it.  

The consensus surrounding Tanner was that he took a beating Thursday night, but he was no worse for the wear. Tanner was relatively passive early on and was 1-for-6 from the field at halftime while Wake Forest iced him on ball screens and effectively took him out of the game. Tanner wasn’t deterred, though. 

When Vanderbilt needed him to late in the game, Tanner took over the game for stretches and looked like the best player on the floor. He got to his spots, finished through contact, went above the trees and got to 17 points without making a shot from 3-point range. Tanner also went for 10 rebounds, which accounted for his second-career double-double and his first point-rebound double double. Yet, he wasn’t selected to go to the postgame press conference. He wasn’t serenaded with applause when he emerged from the locker room postgame. That was a fine showing for Tanner, but one that he’ll likely want to move past. 

That performance was the antithesis of Tanner in that he didn’t have all that much of a feel for the game early, wasn’t efficient and appeared to be sped up at times. But, that also was Tanner-esque in some ways. 

Tanner isn’t going to be happy with that one outside of how he impacted the final score, but elements of that performance were precisely what NBA evaluators wanted to see from him. Tanner will almost assuredly put out more impressive performances nearly every time he takes the floor the rest of the way, but Tuesday was foundational. It was a baseline showing that demonstrated his trip to California and trips to the weightroom were worth it. 

Thursday was very superstar-ish of Tanner. He was as bad as he’s been since rising to stardom a year ago and yet he went for a team-high in scoring and did something he’s never done as a college basketball player. His team also won against a power-five opponent. 

How about that for an off night. How about that for an indirect statement.