Devin Vassell

Florida State | SG/SF | Sophomore

Height: 6'7"
Weight: 194 lbs
Wingspan: 6'10"

Shades of: Mikal Bridges, Terrence Ross

Projected Draft Range: 8-12
Big Board Ranking: N/A

Selling Points: 

Vassell has some of the best defensive instincts of any wing prospect in recent memory. Vassell is an elite team defender with help defense and rotating instincts that are off the charts. Vassell is brilliant at disrupting passing lanes out on the perimeter and in the paint and makes intelligent predictive reads on where the ball is headed. On the ball, Vassell is able to keep up with smaller guards due to his lateral quickness and his ability to effectively change directions with his quick hip movement. This speed and agility allows Vassell to be highly effective in closeouts and recover on drives without fouling. Vassell has active hands when on-ball and has excellent instincts when it comes to picking the ball loose and reading the opponents next move. With his 6'10" wingspan and smooth leaping ability, Vassell is a prominent shot blocker from the wing position who is capable of being a solid weakside rim protector if absolutely necessary. 

Shooting 41.7% from three during his two seasons at Florida State, Vassell is an excellent catch and shoot option. Vassell is a high release point and isn't bothered by quick closeouts off the catch. Vassell also has some movement shooter potential as he sets his feet quickly and has a fluid shoot top to bottom. Vassell's improvement from his freshman year to his sophomore year as an off the dribble scorer gives hope for future development in this area. Albeit on one to two dribble pullups at the most, Vassell looks increasingly comfortable rising up in the midrange and has shown a few nice moments of minor self creation from the mid range using semi-spins and other similar moves. 

Vassell plays with a high motor and is always hustling on both ends of the court. He can provide energy as a lob threat in transition and had a few energetic putbacks throughout his sophomore season. As an athlete, Vassell is smooth and fluid plus a good jumper off of two feet. 


Turnoffs: 

Vassell is poor at creating off the dribble in isolation for himself as he lacks the handle and burst to create space for himself or get to the rim. Vassell doesn't have great top-end speed but also lacks the ability to change speeds and appears to play at one methodical speed. Vassell isn't a confident dribbler outside of his usual one or two dribble pull-ups and doesn't have any shake to him off the bounce. 

At 194 lbs, Vassell has a very slim frame and is lacking in strength which limits his impact on both ends of the floor. While he has elite defensive instincts on the interior, Vassell can be out-muscled by larger wings and bigs in the paint. On drives to the rim Vassell often gets bumped off course and subsequently settles for off-balance and inefficient jumpers and runners. When he does get to the rim, Vassell has next to no ability to play through contact and gets his shot attempt swallowed by the defense. 


NBA Outlook: 

Vassell fits the mould for the highly sought after "3 & D" archetype and at the worst, albeit an unforeseen injury of sorts, should be an impact defender from day one and carve out a long career as an efficient three-point scorer as well. 

The likelihood of Vassell becoming an effective enough on-ball shot creator is low but his year-to-year improvement in this area are promising enough to not rule it out. Vassell will likely thrive in a third-fourth scoring option role at the next level and could potentially see some all-defensive team votes come his way if he is too put on some weight.