Prospect Analysis
Fred VanVleet
Position: Point Guard
Height/Weight: 6-0 / 195
Birthdate: 02/25/1994
College: Wichita State
Bleecher Report article on him:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1980324-how-fred-vanvleets-stepdad-made-him-the-perfect-point-guard-for-wichita-stateStrengths
Tough competitor
Great understanding of the game
Excellent facilitator
Good rebounder for his position
Solid 3-point shooter
Good free-throw shooter
Excellent assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2)
Weaknesses
Lack of size and length
Not an overwhelming athlete
NBA projection: VanVleet wasn’t invited to the Chicago Combine, but as a senior who played in numerous high-level games, including the Final Four, throughout his career, NBA teams were well familiar with him. VanVleet hasn’t shown up on many mock drafts, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have a legitimate chance to get drafted or make an NBA team as a free agent.
2015-16 Season
VanVleet was the Missouri Valley Conference player of the year for the second time, was chosen to the league’s all-defensive team for the third straight season and earned a spot on the Senior CLASS All-America team while leading the Shockers to the NCAA tournament, where they defeated Vanderbilt in the First Four and took out Arizona in the first round before losing to Miami.
Key statistics: 12.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 1.7 tpg, 29.0 mpg, .390 FG, .381 3PT, .817 FT
Cool statistic: VanVleet finished his career with 120 victories, tying a school and Missouri Valley record.
Reminds me of: Derek Fisher
What Insiders Say
Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall
“Fred [against Vanderbilt in the First Four] missed a wide-open guy rolling to the basket on one of our screen-and-roll plays, and I said, man -- I'm an old point guard -- you missed that. At the [next] time-out he told me he had another option that he thought was good. So what does he do, he promptly in the same possession, instead of hitting the guy for the dunk, he drains his first 3 of the night. He basically told me that was enough.”
What Outsiders Say
Arizona coach Sean Miller
“He reminds me a lot of [former Arizona PG] T.J. McConnell, and Fred should take that as the ultimate compliment. In our program, he's the standard when it comes to winning, playing the game, and helping his teammates. Fred, I think his poise, how under control he is on offense, how he makes the right play almost every time, and yet he's over 40 percent as a 3-point shooter. Watching him on defense, I love the way he defends.”
-- Profile by Chris Dortch, editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. Follow him @cdortch