Transfer Tapes: Watch Stefan Vaaks in action against Kalif Young, Duncan Powell in a 3OT thriller at Clemson

Before you say it, I know Stefan Vaaks is listed as a freshman on Providence’s roster, but for the sake of this exercise we’ll include him in a few upcoming Transfer Tapes articles.

In the coming weeks, you’ll see Vaaks in FIBA Europe Cup action, including games where he faced former Big East players and another in which he caught fire, scoring 28 points on eight made 3-pointers.

Today, we’ll start with Vaaks and his BC Kalev/Carmo team (Estonia) in action against CSM CSU Oradea from Romania. When searching through box scores of Vaaks’ and stumbling upon this one, I immediately knew where to start when I saw former PC center Kalif Young listed.

One of the more popular players of the recent past, the now 28-year-old Young, was part of one of the great what-if stories in Providence history: the 2020 team that was red-hot down the stretch before the season was called due to the pandemic.

Young remains one of my favorite Friars, both for his on-court impact and his personality.

As a reminder on the Transfer Tapes footage: rather than include highlights that only show the positive, the aim here is to give a more complete and realistic look at incoming players — setting appropriate expectations in the process. You’ll see made shots, assists, and strong defensive play, but misses and turnovers as well.

This game (from January) wasn’t one of Vaaks’ most efficient from this tournament (14 points, 5-13 from the field, 2-5 from three, 2-3 FT, 4 rebounds, in 26 minutes) but his talent is on display in the 83-76 victory. Vaaks was his team’s second-leading scorer and finished a +9.

What stands out most in these games is how productive Vaaks is against professionals and former high-level college players. You’ll see it more in upcoming videos, but Vaaks played both point guard and off the ball for this club — and his playmaking ability (especially in the pick and roll) really pops in games we’ll post over the next month.

In this one, we see more of Vaaks’ scoring ability: throwing down a dunk off a drive from the top of the key, hitting a tough off-balance midrange jumper, and showing off his range beyond the arc.

Vaaks is #7 in blue, while Young is #13 in white.

Our other game today features Providence graduate transfer Duncan Powell in a triple overtime thriller against Clemson in early February.

Georgia Tech came out on top in this one, 89-86, with Powell finishing with 19 points and eight rebounds on 8-19 shooting from the field, 2-7 beyond the arc, and 1-5 at the free throw line.

Powell played 48 minutes and his shooting numbers were hampered by three or four possessions in which he was forced to take tough shots at the end of the shot clock.

This was one of just two ACC losses for Clemson, who finished 18-2 in league play and won 27 games overall.

As I’ve written previously, Powell has a bit of Rodney Bullock to his game. He’s probably not quite as strong a post scorer or rebounder as the former Friar, but he is likely a better shooter from beyond the arc and can get to the rim off the bounce more effectively. Like Bullock, he’s not a superior athlete, but a sturdy 6’8 stretch four.

Powell was in the midst of a breakout in conference play at this point of the season. He averaged 14.7 points and 5.3 rebounds on nearly 37% shooting from three (on 5.5 attempts per game) in ACC games last year. Despite being a strong shooter from three, Powell shot 68% at the free throw line, and struggled in that regard in this one.

His biggest moments came in the final 40 seconds of regulation. With his team down five, Powell buried a corner 3-pointer to cut the lead to two, then he tied it after putting back his own miss at the buzzer.