What was Vern Fleming's game like?

[SelakStreet]

Offensively, defensively, etc. when he was in his prime with Indiana and later on in his Pacers tenure followed by one season with New Jersey.

[Owly]

Mostly second hand but ...

Tall guard, converted point from college forward and befitting that, never a pure point - and sometimes a combo guard - suggestions mentality and vision weren't quite where you'd like it as a point.

Scoring game is mostly driving (inc getting fouled) and some power game rather than shooting (which as maybe passable but not good [particularly for a guard] and most comfortable within 16ft. Above average efficiency, slightly below average volume (though for the most part I think 1s were mostly trending that way for most of the 80s).

Defensive impression is better than his numbers, indeed an outright positive.

Intangibles: solid, hard worker (though as above perhaps not a leader at the point).

Low key solid peak for a never all-star, never 15ppg guy: 17.5 PER. .148 WS/48, 2.8 BPM with good non-boxscore defense.
Some parallel with Humphries at that type* of level (somewhat lost in class of '84, point/combo guard, good defender, decent for that level production at peak [or short prime for Humphies] but not really sustained) though on a slightly different arc (Fleming ready and peaking sooner).

*= Humphries averaged 15.3 and 15.2 ppg seasons

[penbeast0]

Can't do better than that.

[prolific passer]

He was solid. This was a time when people were looking for a big point guard due to Magic Johnson's success.

[Stan]

It was good.

[SinceGatlingWasARookie]

I am talking about Pacers Vern Fleming, I don't actual remember him with another team. Big point guard. Consistent defensive effort. Nothing flashy. I don't remember mistakes. Check the turnovers but I don't remember turnovers. Functional. He gets the ball where it should go.

Not all that good at drive and kick but he can drive and kick if the lane is not to crowded. I think he could hit open mid range if it was given to him by the defense.

My memory is almost entirely Pacers vs Celtics and mostly playofs. Chuck Person had a good losing playoffs series vs the Celtics and Fleming was the guy passing the ball to Chuck Person. Michael Williams was a good smaller faster point guard that shared the point guard position with Fleming. I did not check stats for this post.

Then you have Pooh Richardson and Vern Fleming splitting the point guard minutes.

Still later you have Haywood Workman and Vern Flemming splitting the point guard minutes on a more memorable Pacers team that has begun having some playoff success but by this stage Flemming is past his peak. As Rik Smits, Reggie Miller, and Dale Davis improve, Fleming is getting older.

Then Flemming and Workman are replaced by Mark Jackson and Travis Best.

Edit now I have checked stats. On a per minute basis Fleming's stats peak age 25 to 30.
Younger Fleming played more minutes, not because he was better but rather because he was not sharing minutes with a pointguard like Michael Williams who was as good as Fleming. Before Williams Fleming waa backed up by 35 year old Ricky Green who was once a fine point guard but not at age 35. Before that he was backed up by young pre-prime Scott Skiles who would become a good point-guard but not yet. Finesse point guards like Skiles who lack athleticism develop slowly.

[trex_8063]

Mostly second hand but ...

Tall guard, converted point from college forward and befitting that, never a pure point - and sometimes a combo guard - suggestions mentality and vision weren't quite where you'd like it as a point.

What? I'd been told Miller always played with excellent and pure PG's (and that it was the only way his off-ball game could thrive).....

I think your description was fairly spot-on.
I recall Fleming being a decent-sized PG who was fair-to-good at many things [except outside shooting], great or "stand-out" at nothing. A reasonably solid role player who---perhaps at his absolute peak [like around '88]---was a decent starter-level [though decidedly sub-AllStar] guard, but in every other year probably not a PG any team would truly relish having to start and play 30+ minutes [Indiana just didn't have a better option thru the late 80s/early 90s].
I'd gauge he had 1-2 years where he was a totally solid/decent starter-level guard, probably another 3-4 years where he was a weak starter-level player (like just slightly better than a league-average player), and the rest of his career was league-average or worse.

[prolific passer]

Nobody signed him after 96 so he went to go play overseas. Rockets probably could have used him for their 96-97 season. He would have given Stockton some problems.