Florida State Basketball: 2020 NBA Draft Profile for wing Devin Vassell
By Cody Larson
Draft Stock
As a senior in high school, Vassell was ranked 200th overall as a recruit. But even despite that disrespectful ranking, Vassell still had aspirations to enter the NBA draft by the end of his sophomore year at Florida State, as he said:
“I came into college with a goal in mind, and I just kept it to myself – between me and my dad – it was going to be God’s plan regardless. I just kept having faith in myself and having faith in him, and each day I just tried to get better.”
That is exactly what Vassell did: got better each and every day. To the point where he is at now a sure fire lock for this year’s NBA lottery. In fact, most websites have him going somewhere within the 8-12 range in this year’s draft. But with this year’s class featuring a murderer’s row of high-risk, “highway-elected” prospects at the top of the draft; Vassell could (and perhaps even should) go higher than the just mid-lottery.
His former coach at Florida State, Leonard Hamilton, likely agrees:
“Sometimes, people evaluate all the physical attributes but I think it’s very difficult to evaluate, which is the most important thing, is that your mentality, your emotions in the game, your IQ, your ability to make decisions, and how you respond to stressful situations. Well, that’s what they call it the It-factor and Devin, he checks all those boxes.”
Vassell might not check all the boxes in terms of his strengths and weaknesses, but his mental makeup suggests that he might be able to sometime down the road. That is the quality draft evaluators should look for when making a top selection in the draft: a player’s ability to maximize their potential. Vassell certainly has that quality.
Next. What a perfect 2020 NBA Draft would look like. dark
In the matter of two years he grew from the 200th ranked recruit to a NBA lottery pick. Who is to say that exponential growth has to stop there? Who is to say that Vassell’s low-risk game does not also have a high-reward potential outcome? It is those kind of questions that will likely perplex NBA team’s leading up to this year’s draft, and their answers to those questions are will dictate just how high he potentially gets selected.