2020 NBA Draft: A deep dive into Devin Vassell, a surefire first-round pick

Devin Vassell’s elite shooting

In terms of efficiency, Vassell’s 12.7 points per game were amongst the most efficient in college basketball last season. Per Synergy, he averaged 1.083 points per possession last season; which ranked him in the top 5 percent of all college players. A large reason for that is because of his elite ability to shoot the heck out of the basketball.

Let’s let the numbers do the talking (again courtesy of the reliable recourse, Synergy Sports). For starters, notice Vassell’s top-tiered shooting numbers from every distance on the court:

Vassell’s jump shot range

• Short (17 feet or shorter): 0.768 PPP [Rank: “Good”]
• Medium (17 feet to 3-point line): 0.800 PPP [Rank: “Excellent”]
• Long (3-points line or longer): 1.247 PPP [Rank: “Excellent”]

Vassell is a multi-level jump shooter, which will be huge for him at the next level. The best scorers in the NBA are not confined to just one level of the floor; neither is Vassell. That being said, he has a “specialty” level in his shooting game. As the numbers above suggest, that’s the 3-point line.

Vassell ranked in the top 8 percent of college 3-point shooters last season; his 41.5 percent 3-point accuracy is one of the best in the 2020 NBA Draft class. He can attack you off-the-catch (where he made 41.5 percent of all his jumpers) or even off-the-dribble, despite his rather raw handle (where he made 38.3 percent of all his jumpers).

The video above is a good look at Vassell’s live, straight up jumper. He has an extremely high release point, which at his height, makes him an extremely hard player to disrupt once he’s in his shooting motion. His release is stiff and consistent (again making it tougher to throw him off).

There’s no foot-sliding with his shot either; with a steady base, his shot checks all of the boxes. The fact that he can shoot off the bounce is a bonus.

Again, notice the sky-high release point on Vassell’s jumper; even with what might not be the most “skippy” handle, he doesn’t need to create too much space to find a clean look. He found success with the above shot on numerous occasions last season; and he can also ably hit basic pull-up dribble shots or jumpers out of the pick-and-roll (he made 44 percent of his shots when dribbling out of a pick and roll situation, per Synergy).

“Basic” is the important word there. Vassell isn’t some off-the-dribble maestro, but he has an awfully solid tool kit for NBA teams to dig into and develop. He’s a very sturdy shooter when shooting off the bounce and that helps alleviate his handle’s limitations.

Having shooting-ability in the NBA is like having money; teams theoretically could always use more. Drafting Vassell would be the winning lottery ticket in that department. As a shooter, he brings a very attractive combination of having an already-solid base and having a ton of room to grow. That is also the case with his transition scoring prowess.