Jayhawks Portal Target? Devin Vanterpool is a GREAT FIT for Bill Self and Kansas Jayhawks

It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Lockdown Podcast Network.

Thank you for being here because your support means everything.

And if you're looking for another way to support the show that you love, while getting

something awesome in return, check out the Every Day or Club.

You get ad free episodes of your favorite Lockdown show, access to a members-only group chat

for fans of your team, and you can even jump into the national chats and talk about

whatever's happening across the league.

Tap the Every Day or Club link in the show notes to learn more.

I think I'd like Devon Vangerpool to be a Kansas J-Hawk.

Let's break down why on this deep dive of the former Florida Atlantic Owl.

You are Lockdown J-Hawks, your daily podcast on the Kansas J-Hawks.

Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

What's going on, Derek Johnson here with another episode of Lockdown J-Hawks.

On today's episode, we're going to be breaking down a deep dive of Devon Vangerpool,

who is a transfer from Florida Atlantic.

We'll get into what is his potential fit with KU, his scouting reports, strengths and weaknesses,

and we'll start right here.

Vangerpool is a six-foot-four, 190-pound guard.

I view him mostly as a shooting guard, but he's going to be a red shirt junior next season

that gives him two years left to play.

Red shirt is his first season at a high school at Florida Atlantic.

That was in the 2023-2024 season.

Then he appears in 30 games in the 2024-2025 season, limited playtime, eight minutes per game.

Absolutely broke out this season for FAU.

15.8 points per game, 6.3 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists per game, 1.5 steals per game,

and 0.8 blocks per game.

He did it while shooting 44% from the floor, 35% from three, and 78% at the foul line,

and actually won the American Athletic Conference Most Improved Player Award.

Good lineage as well.

His dad, David, is an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards and has also coached with

the Brooklyn Nets, Portland Trailblazers, and then a sort of timber wolves.

Now, I don't know, obviously you see the crossover of the Brooklyn Nets.

I don't know if he would have crossed over with Joclon at some point.

If he did, you would think that'd be a good thing for KU with having some sort of relationship,

unless they didn't get along, and that would be a bad thing, right?

But he actually got hurt this year and missed the final month of the season.

So missing some games as part of this, but his final game resulted in a 26-point outing

against South Florida, which obviously ended up being representative from the American

and making it to the NCAA tournament in his elevency.

That was his final game, 26 against them in mid-February.

He ended up with eight games with 20 or more points that included a season high of 30 points

back in November, and the scoring is nice, but what sticks out to me is the rebounding from the

guard spot. 12 games with seven or more rebounds, and also the defensive impact, the stocks,

steals plus blocks, five games with multiple blocks, 12 games with multiple steals.

So really impactful in some other ways, which I think is really appreciated by Bill Self.

You look at the metrics. They're good. 86th percentile RAPM with top court-tet numbers in

college basketball and offense and defense there. 85th percentile winch shares per 40.

Third, top third of college basketball on offense and defense.

87th percentile in PER. 89th percentile in Winsmove for place and player.

The team was a little over three points per 100 positions better on offense with them out there.

They were almost six rating. It was plus nine point two. That is really good when he was out on

the floor. It's kind of funny. I was taking a look. CBB Analytics has this like, you can look at their

player stats and who does their different stats and the things they do well and not.

Who does it compare to statistically in each conference? I took a look at, okay, who does he

compare to? What is this statistical profile compared to in the big 12? The number one comp

was Darren Peterson, interestingly enough. This is a fun player. Here's the other thing.

Florida Atlantic transfers have done pretty well transferring away and having success elsewhere.

Dusty May guys, obviously, the ones that were coming off the final four and then went to the

tournament the next year. You think of Nick Boyd at Wisconsin and so on. Matas Voki at Titus,

the center at Texas, who had a really good NCAA tournament. He was at Florida Atlantic last year.

Trey Carroll went to Xavier this year and averaged 18-a-game. Bob Ahmiller, we saw him kill Kansas

when he was at Cincinnati this year. He was at Florida Atlantic last year. They've had a good

track record of these players transferring up. I've repeatedly said I want guys who can score

and make shots. He fits that billing. The cool part here is I think he meets the other requirements

that Bill self needs and that he's going to want from an athleticism perspective, from a defensive

perspective, from a rebounding perspective. That's kind of the thing. With a lot of the shooters

that Kansas has brought in via the portal that haven't worked out, Nick Timberlake,

Ryland Griffin, Jaden Dawson. They either don't play good enough defense or they don't grab enough

rebounds or they do both. I guess they don't do both, right? To be valuable and more than just

the shooting aspect. I think it rubs Bill self the wrong way and then you get pulled a little bit

quicker and then you lose some of your shooting confidence. That's the beauty of Interpol. He plays

good defense. He rebounds the basketball. If the shot's not falling on a night, he's still going to

make, you know, it work in other ways. So what is the fit here? Are we talking starter? Are we talking

sixth man? Are we talking break the bank? Let's get into all that here in a second with the scouting

and port strengths and weaknesses on locked on J-hawks. Our episodes brought to you by Robin Hood.

What if sports were traded like markets? Now you can put your sports IQ to work in real time

with Robin Hood prediction markets. It's not you against the house. It's you participating in a

live market. You can buy or sell your positions live all game long. Users sports knowledge in the

moments that matter. Robin Hood prediction markets change the game. It's people moving the action

so when momentum shifts, you can move with it. I always never had a dynamic way to apply that

knowledge. Now I can actually take part live in a market powered by the people. You're no longer

just a spectator play by play. You decide trade every play with Robin Hood. Now available across

the U.S. download the Robin Hood app now to begin. Futures include swaps trading involve significant

risk and is not appropriate for everyone. Event contracts are offered by Robin Hood derivatives

LLC. It registered Futures Commission merchant and swap firm. This episode is also brought to you

by TurboTax. It's tax time but for a lot of us, a live doing taxes is a lot. Trying to book an

appointment that's not the most convenient, sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers,

emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year you're

getting a major upgrade into a TurboTax now as in-person locations nationwide. You can meet face-to-face

with real tax experts and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot.

And just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar you deserve

while you get real-time notifications as you go about your day. It's the relief of walking

in and meeting a real person and walking out knowing your taxes are being handled right.

Head to TurboTax.com slash local to find a store near you and book your appointment today

with TurboTax. Thanks again for joining us here on this episode of the show Devin Vanderpool,

a very interesting player. What are some of his strengths for the transfer from Florida Atlantic?

Good lineage, as I said, when you look at the dad spending a bunch of years in coaching circles

in the NBA, it doesn't always mean this but like, I don't know, usually that means that you're going to

have a better understanding of locker room dynamics and you're not going to be a problem in

the locker room. And I don't know. I think there is something to that of making an addition where you

know the principles that the parents probably grew up with for the kid that probably could help you.

I don't know. I don't think you can be something that hurts you. But that is a question you have

to have. When you add some of these transfers, you're almost like speed dating right now to bring

them in. Any little bit of info that makes you feel better is good. And I think that is one of them.

I'm rebounding. He's in the 57th percentile for offensive rebound rate for guards, so above average,

but 95th percentile in defensive rebound rate. He is as elite as they come for guards in defensive

rebounding. Also, the defense of playmaking, 79th percentile steal rate. He has a 94th percentile

block rate amongst guards. So elite doing those things. It's 94th percentile. If you look at

Hakeem rate, which is a combo of the two. And I think that part of this too, he's not just a

defensive playmaker. I just think he's a good defender in general. He's a good athlete in general,

too, which helps him on the defensive end. Three point shooting is another strength. He was at 35%

for the year, which is above average. But oddly, this is what's funny. The game he played against

a division two school, he goes one of seven from three. So if you look at just the games he played

against division one opponents, he shot 37% from three. And he was in the 80th percentile

three point attempts per 40 minutes. So he got up a good amount. He shot him well. And he was

specifically excellent from the wing where he shot 50%, 42% from the left and right respectively.

He was bad from one corner, bad from the top, average in the other corner. So he's not the most

versatile shooter, but he was very good shooter, especially from those wing areas. He's also a good

mid-range shooter. 46% on mid-range shots. Darren Peters in shot 45% this year for Kansas on

mid-range shots. Vanderpool is at 46%. So it does give you the ability. If somebody chases you off

the three point line, you can step into a 14 footer and have good confidence. He's going to bury it.

And then he was in the 66th percentile overall and dribble jumpers. So ability to kind of create

your own shot and make it off the bounce. He was solid at it, right? Those are all really good things.

When you look at some of the weaknesses, I think the injury that kept them out at the end of the

season, is there something you have to worry about there? The other one would be just in general,

it's just one year of production. And it was cut short by that injury. So you have to worry at all

that this is really just one breakout year. Is that going to be the norm for him? Is he an ascending

talent or was it just kind of a everything lined up in the right way? He also turns it over a little

bit too much. Below average turnover rate, just a 34th percentile assist to turnover ratio.

He wasn't the best passer in the world. And then he struggled shooting at the rim. You'd think,

you know, with how athletic he is at six foot four, he would do really well there. But he only

shot 54% on shots within 2.6 feet of the rim. That's the same percentage Melvin counsel shot

there where he struggled a little bit. Now in all at the rim, he'd shot just 51%, which ranked

just in the 17th percentile nationally. He was also just in the 36%ile rim attacks. So in general,

not the best driver of the basketball, he was okay when he was driving in transition in the open

floor, but in the half court, not really his game. But if you're bringing on in your Kansas and

you're asking play an off ball role, maybe you don't have to worry about that stuff as much. So let's

talk more about the fit. Does he make sense? Am I still all in on KU bringing him in next?

So these episodes brought to you by Indeed Workplace chaos deadline stacking up inbox overflowing.

The one position you have to fill is still sitting open. When the pressure is on, you need the right

hire. This is a job for indeed sponsor jobs. Indeed sponsor jobs helps you reach the people who

actually fit what you're looking for with the right skills, experience locations. You're not

just hoping the right candidate stumbles across your post. And here's a stat that says it all.

In the minute I've been talking to you, companies like yours made 27 hires on Indeed according to

Indeed data worldwide. So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing

candidates to check all your boxes with indeed sponsor jobs, spend less time searching and more

time interviewing candidates to check all the boxes with less stress, less time, more results.

When you need the right person to cut through the chaos, this is a job for indeed sponsor jobs.

Listers of the show get a $75 sponsor job credit to help get your job. The premium status it

deserves at indeed.com slash podcast. That's indeed.com slash podcast. Tell them that you heard about it

on Lockdown J Hawks indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply need to hire. This is a job

for indeed sponsor jobs. Don't forget you can check out our every day or club. Get the ad free

version of the show lock on podcasts.com slash every day or it's also in the show notes.

Okay, what is the fit here? So I think in general, you're talking about him being to me more of a

two guard. Because of the rebounding, I think you could play him at the three, right? Like let's say

K you had a lineup where they have two combo guards. Kenny, let's say they bring in another smaller

guard who's in that six one to six three range, you could play him at the three in those lineups.

And I think be okay with that, especially, you know, if you get bigger at the four and five,

or if you just want to play a super fast, you know, lineup for a period of time, then you can do

that. And then another lineup. So you can have him as the two where he is next to just one guard. And

if you want to play bigger, you know, his ability to rebound and defend makes it feel like it's

six four. He's like six seven at the two position. And then you can get big at the three through five.

So you have a little bit of flexibility. What you want to do with him there at the two and three.

And honestly, if you are playing a little smaller, and let's say you have like six foot seven wing

in at the four, having Vanta pull out there is going to help you play small because of his ability

to play up and rebound the basketball really well. So I do like that. I like his fit next to

tailing Kenny as well, because with Kenny, you're talking about a shot maker who we want to know

what is his defense going to look like. Well, with Vanta pull, he's going to be able to take the

the tougher guard matchup. Um, when he starter come off the bench, to me, he's a starter. I think

he's good enough to do that. Now, if you could convince him to be your six man, if Devon Vanta pulls

your six man, you're an absolutely loaded team. I would be comfortable with him starting, though.

I think he's good enough to be a starter and be a good one at that, right? So the question now

just becomes like, what is the cost? Are you having to pay $3 million, $4 million? Are you paying

$2 million? I don't know. Um, and I don't know what I would go to, like, again, it all depends on

the budget and how the rest of the roster works out. But like, just off the top of my head,

if he wants $2 million, I'm like, yes, let's do it. Like, come on down, come to Lawrence, because

overall, this is a take for me. I think there's enough there when I'm like, okay, I do have some

concerns about the driving a little bit, but if you're going to be the off ball, like, if you're

going to be the two guard, Kenny's going to have ball in his hands. If you're going to be the

three guard, that means you have two combo guards who are going to have the ball in their hands.

You're going to be more of an off ball shooter anyway. So that allows you to just to emphasize

your three point shooting, your mid-range shooting, and your defense. Those are all great things to

me. So I am all in on Devon Vanterpool. Haven't seen anything connecting KU, at least just yet,

who knows if they'll get in on the sweepstakes, but I think they should, if they haven't. All right,

that'll do it for this episode of Lockdown Jay Hawks. You can find a show anywhere you

podcast, including on our YouTube page. We'll see you next time for another episode of the show.

Introducing the all new Mazda CX-5 featuring more connection. Hey, Google, where's the nearest

Pilates class? Safety that has your back. More discovery on the scenic routes. More passion

in the details. And more control in changing weather. The all new Mazda CX-5, more to move every

side of you. See it in five films at MazdaUSA.com slash five sides. Google is a trademark of Google

LLC. Sequences shortened and simulated. The winter games are officially here. And if you're

anything like us, you're locking in for events you only get to see on the biggest stage every four

years. And that's why following the winter games on Fandall just makes sense. From middle counts to

individual events to finding your angle on the sports you care about most. Fandall gives you more

ways to say connected to the action. The drama of curling matches that start slow and somehow

get intense fast hockey games that feel different right from opening face off. The winter games are on

and there's no better way to follow them than with Fandall. Fandall, play your game.