![]() He hit 42.4 percent from 3 off the catch, then also took about 2.5 midrange jumpers per game, most of which were one- or two-dribble pull-ups off heavy closeouts. ![]() On offense, he was viewed largely as a shooter, with everything he got coming off the threat of his jumper. On the ball, he was quite good at fighting through screens and using his length to contest, particularly against opponents at the one through three positions. He was a monster team defender at Florida State, with outstanding anticipation and positioning. When he was picked, he was considered “the epitome of a 3-and-D prospect,” as I wrote in my 2020 NBA Draft Guide. He went 11th overall in the 2020 draft, looking like a classic Spurs upside selection. After growing two inches and putting on weight, he went from being a likely redshirt to a rotation player as a freshman, then leapt to All-ACC status while averaging 13 points per game for a balanced Florida State team. When Florida State got involved in his recruitment, he was a 6-foot-4, 160-pound wing who only held offers from North Florida and Presbyterian. He was barely ranked in the top 200 of his recruiting class after playing on an independent AAU circuit for former NFL corner A.J. Vassell has had as strange and low-key a path to a guarantee like this as any player coming off a rookie-scale contract, so it’s worth exploring how he went from an off-the-radar high-school player to a potential NBA All-Star - with a contract that pays him like one - in the last six years.
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