What makes Stefan Vaaks such an intriguing addition for Providence
“The more we watched him, the more we were captivated with his savvy skill set and his bravery attacking the challenges the game of basketball presents.”
Those were Kim English’s words in a press release on Friday (April 5) announcing that Stefan Vaaks, a 19-year old, 6’6 guard from Estonia will enroll as a freshman at Providence in the fall.
Playing against grown men in the Latvia-Estonia Basketball League, there isn’t much Vaaks hasn’t put on tape offensively. He shoots it with range, gets into the lane with methodical dribble moves, and has flashed very good passing ability in the screen and roll (as you’ll see in the tape we’ve pulled together below).
He averaged 14.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals in the 2024 FIBA Europe Cup, and 15 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the Latvia-Estonia Basketball League this year.
His club in Estonia (BC Kalev/Carmo) has had some familiar names throughout the years, including former McDonald’s All American Isaiah Briscoe, Iona star Scott Machado, and Providence legend John Linehan.
Briscoe spent two years at Kentucky and after a summer league stint with the 76ers he played his first professional season with BC Kalev/Carmo, averaging 18.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 1.6 steals in 2017-18.
Vaaks was drawn to Providence because the Friar staff is willing to let him serve as not only a shooter, but a creator with the ball in his hands. What could his role look like as a freshman?
Breaking down Stefan Vaaks:
The biggest question for any young prospect transitioning to high level Division 1 basketball is the speed of the game. Recent PC commit Daquan Davis was quoted earlier this year saying how he really had to learn to adjust to getting his shot off against bigger, faster, more athletic defenders than he’d seen previously. Davis was a good shooter in high school whose numbers figure to rise as he continues to adjust.
That will be the biggest question for Vaaks. He lulls defenders to sleep with tricky ball handling, rather than an explosive first step. His defensive metrics (points per possession against) aren’t great, but that’s to be expected for a 19-year old playing against professionals in their 20s and 30s.
Despite the question marks, the offensive skill set is tantalizing when you watch extended tape of Vaaks. He has the look of a really good passer — freezing defenders, throwing pretty bounce passes in pick and roll action, and whipping high-velocity looks to shooters beyond the arc. If he’s able to beat defenders off the dribble at the high major level, he’ll create a lot of great shots for his teammates.
Vaaks is a pretty good spot up shooter (37% this year), has excellent numbers as a scorer in pick and roll, and was terrific as a jump shooter off the bounce (41% on 46 recorded attempts). Almost all of his recorded jump shots came from beyond the arc — little from the midrange. He also had 40 assists to 23 turnovers.
On a Providence team that just brought in two point guards that are more scorers than creators, Vaaks has a great opportunity to step into a facilitator role right away next season. It’s hard to see him starting with Jason Edwards, Corey Floyd Jr., and Jaylin Sellers manning the 1-3 spots (Sellers and Floyd figure to be much farther along defensively), but on paper Vaaks looks like quite the luxury item for English to turn to off the bench.
It’s exciting to think of the playmaking potential of Providence’s young wings. For the longest time, Ed Cooley funneled everything through his point guards, but the Friars have four underclassmen in Vaaks, Ryan Mela, Jamier Jones, and Jaylen Harrell that all have the ability to create. English wants everyone contributing in that area.
Highlights:
But what does the tape tell us? While the highlights provide a brief look at everything a player does well, we want to provide you with more this offseason.
To set a more realistic expectation (and to let you decide for yourself), we’re pulling together dozens of clips of every Providence commit this spring in an extended reel. These 10 minutes of possessions will show all field goal attempts and turnovers, but we’ll kick it off with about a dozen passes that demonstrate Vaaks’ potential as a creator.
This is for the diehards:
The Verdict: It’s hard not to be very impressed with both the highlight reels that are out there and when watching him in full games. By no fault of his own, I’m trying to temper excitement over Vaaks until we see what he looks like against the athleticism he’ll face next season. That’s a bit of the skepticism that comes with the Friars having a down year.
But even with a more skeptical eye heading into this spring, it’s hard to ignore what’s right in front of you. This is a 19-year old who put up numbers against professional players, and can get it done in so many ways offensively. I loved his willingness to take (and make) big shots late.
Due to his offensive profile, production, and the fact that he’s playing across the world, Vaaks very well could be the most intriguing player on Providence’s roster heading into next season.