Aaron Nesmith


Aaron Joshua Nesmith is an American college basketball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of the Southeastern Conference.

Early life and high school career

Nesmith attended Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, South Carolina since fifth grade and was first called up to the varsity basketball team as an eighth-grader. As a sophomore, he won the South Carolina Independent School Association Class 3A state title as his team's leading scorer. Nesmith led Porter-Gaud to two more Class 3A state championships in his final two seasons. As a senior, he averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game and was named South Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year for his success in basketball and academics. He left high school as a three-time SCISA Class 3A player of the year.
Nesmith did not receive offers from any high major NCAA Division I programs until he was a senior, but he began drawing more attention after an Amateur Athletic Union tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was rated a four-star recruit by ESPN and 247Sports and committed to Vanderbilt over offers from Florida, South Carolina, Harvard, Virginia Tech, and Columbia.

College career

In his freshman season for Vanderbilt, Nesmith assumed an important role after Darius Garland suffered a season-ending injury and Simisola Shittu underachieved. He started in a majority of his games and averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, leading the Commodores in scoring in conference play. On February 18, 2019, Nesmith was named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week following two career games. He scored a season-high 26 points against Florida and posted a double-double of 24 points and a season-high 14 rebounds against Auburn.
Nesmith made his sophomore season debut on November 6, 2019, scoring 25 points, including seven three-pointers, in a win over Southeast Missouri State. In the following week, he scored a career-high 34 points, hitting seven three-pointers, in an overtime loss to Richmond. Nesmith made four straight threes in a span of only one minute and 39 seconds. On December 6, Nesmith was named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy watch list. On December 21, he matched his career-high of 34 points and connected on seven three-pointers in a victory over UNC Wilmington. Nesmith scored 29 points and made eight three-pointers, the best mark of his career, on January 4, 2020, as his team lost to SMU in overtime. On January 11, 2020, it was initially announced that Nesmith would miss the remainder of the season with a right foot injury that he suffered in a loss to Auburn. In 14 games, he averaged 23 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, shooting 52.2 percent from three-point range. Nesmith was the fifth-leading scorer in the NCAA Division I and averaged the most points by a Vanderbilt player since Tom Hagan in the 1968–1969 season. He had been on pace to have one of the best three-point shooting seasons in college basketball history. However, after having surgery on January 28, Nesmith indicated that he might return before the end of the season. Nesmith did not return, and after the end of the season declared for the 2020 NBA draft.

Career statistics

College

Personal life

Nesmith has an older brother, Eddie, who attends Harvard University and plans to attend medical school.