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Yesterday the transfer portal taketh. Today the transfer portal giveth.
After losing Mihailo Petrovic and Toni Bilic to the transfer portal, and freshman All-American guard Keaton Wagler to the NBA Draft on Saturday, the Illinois Fighting Illini are adding 6'7'' guard Stefan Vaaks from Providence on Sunday.
Vaaks committed to transfer to Illinois earlier today. As a freshman for Providence last season, Vaaks averaged 15.8 points per game, scoring in double digits in all but two games and notching 20 or more points ten times.
Unfortunately, I did not watch much Providence or Big East basketball this year as Marquette, my typical conduit to the conference, had a down year. Vaaks did score a then career-high 26 points at Marquette on January 19th. I will have to watch that and other Providence games on YouTube TV this week to get a better feel for his game.
From what I have read and seen, Vaaks is a shooter and playmaker who doesn't bring much defense. His offensive game reminds me a bit of former Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, with a little Luka Doncic and even Dirk Nowitzki, in terms of how he gets into his shot. In other words, Vaaks seems to get separation while getting into a slow developing but highly effective jumper like Doncic does and Nowitzki did.
Apparently, Vaaks was choosing between Illinois and North Carolina. Reaching the Final Four and having a track record of developing international players and producing pro guards certainly had to help Illinois secure Vaaks after a less-than-ideal season at Providence.
The Friars were seemingly a dysfunctional mess, as seen in a violent game against St. John's, with Head Coach Kim English being told he would not return before the season even ended. Still, Vaaks' numbers look good, especially in the Big East Tournament. Vaaks hit eight threes en route to a career-high 28 points during a victory against Butler before scoring 23 points during a loss to St. John's, one of three Big East teams to make the tournament.
In three games against St. John's, Vaaks scored 23, 20 and 16 points. In two games against UCONN, Vaaks scored 12 and 11 points. In two games against Villanova, Vaaks had 25 and 21 points. Those numbers are promising considering St. John's, UCONN and Villanova are typically very tough defensive teams.
From Estonia, Vaaks certainly looks the part of a modern Illini player, being international, bringing positional size and possessing an elite shooting touch, which can sometimes be hit or miss after arriving in Champaign. :-)
Here's hoping Vaaks will be teaming up with David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, and Tomi and Zvonimir Ivisic next season. If Vaaks is sliding into that Illinois lineup, filling a backcourt spot vacated by Wagler or departing senior Kylan Boswell, this seems to be a great initial get for the Illini.
After losing Mihailo Petrovic and Toni Bilic to the transfer portal, and freshman All-American guard Keaton Wagler to the NBA Draft on Saturday, the Illinois Fighting Illini are adding 6'7'' guard Stefan Vaaks from Providence on Sunday.
Vaaks committed to transfer to Illinois earlier today. As a freshman for Providence last season, Vaaks averaged 15.8 points per game, scoring in double digits in all but two games and notching 20 or more points ten times.
Unfortunately, I did not watch much Providence or Big East basketball this year as Marquette, my typical conduit to the conference, had a down year. Vaaks did score a then career-high 26 points at Marquette on January 19th. I will have to watch that and other Providence games on YouTube TV this week to get a better feel for his game.
From what I have read and seen, Vaaks is a shooter and playmaker who doesn't bring much defense. His offensive game reminds me a bit of former Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, with a little Luka Doncic and even Dirk Nowitzki, in terms of how he gets into his shot. In other words, Vaaks seems to get separation while getting into a slow developing but highly effective jumper like Doncic does and Nowitzki did.
Apparently, Vaaks was choosing between Illinois and North Carolina. Reaching the Final Four and having a track record of developing international players and producing pro guards certainly had to help Illinois secure Vaaks after a less-than-ideal season at Providence.
The Friars were seemingly a dysfunctional mess, as seen in a violent game against St. John's, with Head Coach Kim English being told he would not return before the season even ended. Still, Vaaks' numbers look good, especially in the Big East Tournament. Vaaks hit eight threes en route to a career-high 28 points during a victory against Butler before scoring 23 points during a loss to St. John's, one of three Big East teams to make the tournament.
In three games against St. John's, Vaaks scored 23, 20 and 16 points. In two games against UCONN, Vaaks scored 12 and 11 points. In two games against Villanova, Vaaks had 25 and 21 points. Those numbers are promising considering St. John's, UCONN and Villanova are typically very tough defensive teams.
From Estonia, Vaaks certainly looks the part of a modern Illini player, being international, bringing positional size and possessing an elite shooting touch, which can sometimes be hit or miss after arriving in Champaign. :-)
Here's hoping Vaaks will be teaming up with David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, and Tomi and Zvonimir Ivisic next season. If Vaaks is sliding into that Illinois lineup, filling a backcourt spot vacated by Wagler or departing senior Kylan Boswell, this seems to be a great initial get for the Illini.
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