Devin Vassell’s transition scoring
Devin Vassell has what one could call the “Holy Trinity” of modern basketball skills. Two of those skills have already been discussed: his versatile defense and shooting prowess. The third skill left to highlight is his transition scoring ability.
Vassell was involved in transition offense at Florida State 20.9 percent of the time (essentially, if he wasn’t shooting then he was running). Per Synergy, despite the heavy sample size, he was one of the best downhill offenders in all college basketball; he ranked out in the top 6 percent of all transition scorers last year (averaging 1.411 points per possession doing so).
Vassell’s elite combination of (once again) length, vertical athleticism, and body control make him a tough guy to stop once he’s running. He’s also great at reading on-the-move defenses; he always seems to be in the right spot when running off-ball, waiting for a transition pass or a lob. He can act as a trail man or as the main initiator when on the run.
Here’s him acting as a trail man:
And here is him as the main initiator:
Vassell, as noted before, doesn’t have the shiftiest handle. But his handle is controlled enough that he doesn’t ever really lose grip of the ball when gaining steam; he also can carve around defenders with just one long step or hop. Despite his skinny frame, he has strong hips and can finish around the rim with flexibility. He is very controlled and he’s very tough to stop.
He covers a lot of space when running (remember the Mister Fantastic reference, in regards to his defense? That applies here as well); he’s like a gazelle in transition, who only really needs around five steps to get to the rim once he’s past the halfcourt line.
Also, he is a threat as a pull-up shooter in transition, and even better, he is great at using his long arms to catch deep outlet passes or long-range alley-oops. Simply put, he is a transition-scoring “Swiss Army Knife.” While he might not have every scoring tool in the halfcourt, when going coast-to-coast he has everything a team could desire.
And teams should desire that; Almost every team in the NBA averaged over 15 transition possessions per game in the 2019-20 season. The pace of the game continues to increase, and likewise, being able to get an efficient full-court bucket continues to grow in importance.
That is the story of Vassell’s game though; he thrives by having modern NBA skills. He is a photocopy wing prospect in 2020. That being said, though, Vassell isn’t a picture-perfect player. He’ll certainly bring some limitations with him to the pros.