Greivis Vasquez

Vasquez fares well in many categories of this analysis, which may be one of the factors why his stock has been rising so dramatically as of late, as well as due to outstanding individual workouts.

Greivis Vasquez is one of the more unique players in this sample because of his skill set and role at Maryland last season. The Venezuela native got a lot of his possessions working off the ball, with 14.2% of his touches coming from off screen action. His aggressive scoring mentality is clear in the fact that more than half of his catch and shoot jumpers came with a hand in his face; a shot that Vasquez makes as efficiently as any player on this list. At 21.4 possessions per-game, he is also the third highest usage player in these rankings.

Kyle Nelson

Maryland had a rough start to their 2009-2010 campaign, but finished the season strong with seven straight wins and a first place finish in the ACC. The Terrapins’ unlikely finish would be impossible, however, without the efforts of senior point guard Greivis Vasquez. Vasquez returned to school after receiving marginal interest from NBA teams in the 2009 NBA Draft, and has responded with a career season, in a last attempt to convince scouts that he has the potential to play a role at the next level.

Though he has a below-average wingspan (6-7) and he could still work to add muscle to his 197-pound frame, Vasquez has outstanding size for a point guard at the next level, measuring a legitimate 6’6 with shoes at the NBA combine in Chicago last June. His lateral quickness and explosiveness are both lacking, however, and considering how he already struggles athletically at the NCAA level, there is no doubt he will have even more issues in the NBA.

Though his average athleticism is a significant obstacle, his unique style of play allows him to succeed at the collegiate level. As we have mentioned before, Vasquez is a point guard with outstanding vision and scoring mentality who has improved considerably throughout his time at Maryland. He is a very high usage player, responsible for over 25% of Maryland’s possessions. This season, he is averaging an outstanding 7.2 assists per 40 minutes pace adjusted alongside a career high 1.9 assist/turnover ratio.

On film, Vasquez is largely the same point guard, adept at running the pick and roll, but perhaps lacking the first step needed to be a great drive-and-dish threat against NBA-level defenders. He is still turning the ball over at a high rate, as well, and his 3.8 turnovers per 40 minutes pace adjusted ranks twelfth among point guard prospects in our database. His vision and passing ability are both outstanding however, as he’s able to find his teammates all over the floor in half-court sets and in transition with the utmost creativity. He has terrific timing on his drives and plays the game at a very unique pace, which helps compensate for his average athleticism.

While he has honed a score-first mentality at the collegiate level and has the green light to dominate the ball and make his fair share of mistakes, he must continue to convince scouts that he can develop into a more efficient distributor at the next level.

Vasquez is much improved as a scorer, however, in his time at Maryland, particularly as a jump shooter, as he is shooting a career high 38% from beyond the arc. While he still has an unorthodox release that loses consistency when he has a hand in his face, he is a perimeter threat because of his quick release, terrific scoring instincts and ability to hit shots both with his feet set and off of the dribble. His shooting motion has improved significantly during his time at Maryland and if he can continue to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc, then he will ease doubts about his ability to produce at the next level. To do so, he must improve his shot-selection, as he settles for far too many low-percentage contested jumpers, still not quite knowing his limitations.

When Vasquez puts the ball on the floor, however, the results are less positive, as he often lacks the first step, strength, and explosiveness to finish effectively around the basket. He is unlikely to develop into a prolific slashing threat at the NBA level, but can learn how to better utilize his size and skill-level, not to mention improving his explosiveness and strength, in order to get to the basket and finish more effectively around the rim.

For such a dominant offensive player, he is surprisingly limited from mid-range. He doesn’t elevate particularly well on his pull-up jumper and converts these type of attempts at a fairly mediocre rate of 31%. He tends to struggle against long and athletic defenders, who take away his angles and expose his lack of quickness and explosiveness. While he will not be expected to carry such a dominant scoring load at the next level, scouts will be looking for Vasquez to prove himself against elite defenders in the post-season and in pre-draft workouts.

On the defensive end, Vasquez lacks the lateral quickness to stay in front of quicker NCAA point guards and will have significant issues guarding point guards at the next level, possibly relegating him to the off-guard position. Considering his lack of defensive potential at the next level due to his below-average physical tools, effort will always be the key for a player like Vasquez, so it is essential that he works hard to disprove the notion that he projects as a liability on this end of the floor in the NBA.

Vasquez is a prospect at a crossroads. Despite the strides that he has made throughout his collegiate career, he must soon begin the transition to being a role player at the next level. His current style of play is not likely suited to a backup role, but his improved ability to knock down three point jump shots combined with his court vision, talent-level and overall production at the ACC level suggest that such a transition is possible. The game comes very naturally to him, and it’s possible that with better players around him he would not have to take as many risks with his shot-selection and decision making as he currently does. Improving his overall effort on the defensive end is a major key, however.

With his senior season winding down, Vasquez must now begin to work towards the future and convince decision makers that he has what it takes to play a role at the next level.

With the ACC Tournament just around the corner, this seems like a great time to check in on one of the most productive and versatile guards in the country, Greivis Vasquez. The top-dog for the unpredictable Terrapins (18-12), Vasquez has lived up to his reputation for aggressive play this season. While his take-no-prisoners mentality has led to a few great games, including a 35 point, 11 rebound, 10 assist performance in Maryland’s overtime upset of North Carolina, it has also yielded some very poor ones. With his team falling off the bubble, Vasquez’s consistency, or lack thereof, will be the deciding factor in where Maryland stands when the regular and post-seasons end, and where his draft stock sits heading into the summer.

After the strong campaign Vasquez put together last year, he has had a difficult time surpassing the lofty expectations he set for himself in some areas, but has remained eerily consistent in others. The most notable change has been in his aggressiveness as a passer. Lacking a comparably dynamic scorer, Gary Williams has made some small adjustments to open up more scoring opportunities for Vasquez in half-court settings, allowing him to do a little more work off the ball to create easier scoring opportunities for himself. This, coupled with improved discipline on the floor, has helped Vasquez steer away from his tendency to be too assertive when trying to set up his teammates, a propensity the landed at the top of our database in turnovers per game last season. However, it has also hurt his creativity as a passer, despite the fact that he still remains among the top assistmen in our database.

While Vasquez has turned the ball over considerably less, he hasn’t had a great season shooting the ball. The 6’5 point guard has always been known for his somewhat sporadic outside shooting ability, but this season he has experienced the lion’s share of his issues inside the arc as well. Without another game changer on the perimeter to game plan for, opposing defenses have done a very good job keying in on Vasquez when he puts the ball on the floor. He has seen many of his drives to the basket strung out on the perimeter, leaving him to attack with help-side defenders already waiting for him. His lack of blow by quickness has been especially noticeable this season, as he’s been forced to take a lot more difficult shots from inside of 17-feet than he has had to in the past. Vasquez is making a very pedestrian 45% of his 2-pointers, while continuing to settle excessively from beyond the arc (2/5th of his field goal attempts)—making just 32% of his 3-pointers. This type of inefficiency will give most scouts serious room for pause, especially when considering his shortcomings as a defender and decision maker.

With defenders attempting to slow down his floor-game in the half-court, Vasquez has continued to make a living in transition, showing nice ball-handling ability and creativity, while showing better recognition on the pick and roll –an improvement that will help him immensely on the next level. Despite making fewer trips to the line this season, Vasquez has significantly improved his free throw percentage to the point that he is one of the top qualified foul-shooters in college basketball –quite an accomplishment for a player who had a career free-throw percentage under 80% coming into the year.

Defensively, Vasquez has made some small improvements from last season, but still largely projects as a liability at the next level. Vasquez’s poor combination of strength and lateral quickness will make it very difficult for him to defend NBA point guards, and the lack of interest he generally shows on this end of the floor doesn’t help matters at all. Vasquez has good instincts getting in the passing lanes, allowing him to come up with quite a few pass deflections that lead to easy transition opportunities, but he has a tendency to gamble excessively to get those.

Though Vasquez has grown in some areas and struggled in others, he remains very much the same player that he was last season. He’s a big point guard who produces offensively at a high rate with a rather erratic style of play, and is below average defensively. His efficiency as a scorer is questionable to say the least, but his role on the next level won’t be as demanding as the one he takes on at Maryland and will probably be more focused on his passing ability and versatility. With that said, he doesn’t show many of the key elements NBA teams look for in a backup point guard—mainly the ability to limit turnovers, play solid defense and make shots efficiently from the perimeter. It appears likely that Vasquez will declare for this year’s draft, at least to test the waters, although next season could be a very interesting one if Lance Stephenson spurns Kansas and St. John’s to play for Gary Williams. A player like Stephenson will drastically change the dynamic Vasquez has to play in the offense, possibly for worse considering the fact that he also a dominant ball-handler who needs everything to revolve around him—so it will be interesting to see how he reacts. Vasquez’s talent is undeniable, but he will need to become a much more consistent player in all facets of the game (decision making, perimeter shooting, defense in particular) if he’s to reach his full potential.

Vasquez enters the 08-09 season as the focal point of the Terrapin offense, looking to build off of a very productive sophomore season. Ranking amongst the top 10 returning point guards in points, rebounds, and assists, it’s easy to see the versatility that this talented guard brings to the table, and why he is such an intriguing prospect.

Standing 6’5, Greivis has outstanding size for a point guard prospect. Height aside, though, he doesn’t offer a ton as far as his physical attributes are concerned—as he’s not a player that is going to blow you away with his first step, pressure you with a freakish wingspan, or put the clamps on with his lateral quickness. However, Vasquez has the makings of a prospect who can surely rise above what is usually expected from the prototype athlete thanks to his uncanny instincts and all-around feel for the game.

Vasquez utilizes every bit of his 6’5 frame on the offensive end, making him a problematic player for opposing guards to match up with. He consistently has his head up, allowing him to pass over smaller guards at will. The vision that he shows in distributing the ball extends beyond making the simple pass, as he makes incredibly difficult passes in transition and once he breaks the defense down with both his left and right hands. Simply put, we are looking at a player who is amongst the upper echelon of creativity and vision that the collegiate game has to offer right now.

Scoring the ball, the former Montrose Christian star can be quite prolific as well. He is a threat to punish opposing defenses from beyond the arc thanks to his solid shooting touch and range, although frequently this comes with mixed results. Making him even more difficult to guard is his ability to slash to the rim and finish with either hand, eluding defenders with his slithery moves to get to the cup. Greivis also does a nice job running the pick and roll and is even capable of posting from time to time, giving you a glimpse of the total package he offers offensively.

On the down side, shot selection and decision making are issues that have plagued Vasquez in the past. An incredibly confident player, he feels that he can literally make any play he wants to when he’s out on the hardwood. This explains why he led all prospects in our database in turnovers last season at 4.4 per game, and shot a lowly 30.9% from 3-point range. These numbers don’t necessarily reflect Vasquez’ skills, but more so the lack of discipline and decision making criteria that make him such an unpredictable player from game to game and possession to possession.

Defensively, the best thing that Vasquez offers is his ability to rebound the ball for a point guard. Using his superior height, he was able to corral nearly 6 rebounds per game last season. The Venezuela native also does a nice job of getting in the passing lanes, using his nice anticipation skills to get his fair share of steals and deflections. Like on the offensive end, he lacks discipline as a defender and often finds himself out of place on this end of the floor. Improved fundamentals in terms of man to man defense would certainly help his performance on this end for this junior campaign.

Maryland’s success this season is going to rest largely on the shoulders of Vasquez, with him being the catalyst of the Terrapin offense. How he matures as a player will ultimately determine Maryland’s success, as well his where he stands as a draft prospect. There were rumblings last season of Vasquez potentially testing the waters, but after the disastrous way the season ended for both him and his team, he ultimately decided to return. With a steadier and more efficient season underneath his belt, Vasquez is a player who we certainly could be talking about as a first round prospect when it’s all said and done.

After a freshman season where he showed plenty of flashes, Greivis Vasquez has come back extremely strong as a sophomore, posting All-ACC type numbers for Maryland. Vasquez’s production is up across the board, and he’s showing off his outstanding talent night in and night out, leading the show for his squad. He currently leads the team in points, assists, turnovers, steals, and is third in rebounds from the point guard position.

The multi-talented guard’s skills have to begin with his point guard abilities, where he does things most players simply are not capable of doing. Given great freedom in Maryland’s offense this season, Vasquez has dished out assists in every which way, pushing the ball in transition, feeding the post, running the pick and roll, hitting cutters to the basket, and finding open shots for his teammates. He currently ranks 9th amongst all players in our database in assists per-40 minutes pace-adjusted. The most impressive aspect of his passing, though, is his ability to make passes off the dribble, always keeping his head up and showing a pension for no-look, one-handed passes through the seams of the defense. He makes passes in this vein in transition and the half-court, showing great accuracy and speed on his passes, considering he’s throwing them with one hand while on the move. Vasquez also excels feeding the post, where he shows a good understanding of angles and recognizes when to make a bounce pass and when to make a straight-line pass, getting the ball to his teammates in strong position.

For all of Vasquez’s ability in the passing game and the running of his team’s offense, moving the ball and creating open shots all over the court, there is somewhat of a downside to this aspect of his game, as evidenced by his 4.4 turnovers per game (8th in our database). Vasquez is prone to trying to do too much by forcing some passes, and also makes some lazy passes at times. Also, while he shows very good control of the basketball moving up and down the court, he can leave it unprotected at times, leading to turnovers.

Vasquez’s questionable decision-making extends to his scoring game as well, where his shot selection leaves something to be desired. He is prone to rushing some pull-up jumpers and taking shots from NBA range frequently, which hurts his accuracy. He also seems to misjudge his momentum on off-the-dribble shots at times, leading to bad misses. That said, his 33% three-point percentage is not indicative of his true shooting ability, as he’s a much better shooter when he isn’t rushing and has time to get his feet set. He actually has a very smooth shot with strong mechanics, and is capable of pulling up in space, but needs to cut down on some of the forced attempts, whether they’re contested, rushed, from NBA range, or all three.

Vasquez excels in the dribble-drive game, where even though he doesn’t have an explosive first step, he gets into the lane and finishes frequently. He uses changes of speed, changes of direction, and high screens well, frequently penetrating with the ball going in either direction, though he strongly prefers his right. He doesn’t have much explosiveness around the basket, and with his slight frame, doesn’t take contact especially well, but that doesn’t stop him from consistently finishing, as he has an excellent right-handed floater, which he uses frequently. At 6’5, he’s able to convert with this consistently even if his defender is still in front of him. Vasquez also shows good touch off the glass, and will finish with his left and right hand at the rim, using some unorthodox scoop shots and high lay-ups off the glass to score. Vasquez gets to the glass using off-ball cuts as well, catching and finishing after making good reads on open lanes in the defense.

On the defensive end, Vasquez shows excellent anticipation in the passing lanes, where he uses his length well to pick off passes, though he struggles at times as a man-to-man defender. Vasquez’s lateral quickness is not that great, and his high center of gravity hurts him defending smaller, quicker point guards. He compensates for this somewhat by using his length and doing a good job sticking with his man off the ball, fighting well through off-ball screens. He struggles with on-ball screens, though, often going under them rather than fighting through them, leading to some open shots for his man. Vasquez does use his size and length well on the boards, though, pulling in 5.6 rebounds per game, most of them on the defensive end.

Vasquez is likely to test the draft waters this year from what we’re told, given his strong performance this season, and because big man teammates James Gist and Bambale Osby will be graduating, without much coming into replace them. While Vasquez is an extremely talented player, there are some questions about how his game will translate to the next level, and reasons for him to strongly consider coming back to school next year. Vasquez’s ability to defend point guards at the next level is a concern, and his decision-making has a lot of room for improvement, something that will best come with playing time and coaching. It’s uncertain whether he could secure minutes in the NBA at this stage of his development, even with his outstanding talent. Despite his excellent production this season, he still has a lot of room for improvement as a player, as there are many things he’s capable of doing much more efficiently. Continuing to develop his game and honing in all his talent may be crucial to his long-term success, and entering the draft too early may prevent him from doing that.

Greivis Vasquez had a very good freshman campaign as the point guard for the Terripans, to the tune of 9.8 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game. However, even more impressive is his performance this summer for the Venezuelan National Team. The images of him aggressively attacking Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd should not be overlooked. Vasquez is a coveted prospect because of this fearlessness, but also because of his combination of size, versatility, and potential to play both point guard and shooting guard positions.

On the offensive end of the floor, Vasquez has shown flashes that hint at his vast potential. For one, he is a prolific slasher. Though he doesn’t have an amazing first step or incredibly explosive leaping ability, he uses his superior size, slithery quickness, and solid body control Vasquez to go through just about anybody to get to the basket. He also uses his size well to back down smaller guards in the post. His rate of completion, however, is a little bit disappointing at 44% from the field, since he gets into the lane just as well as anybody in the NCAA. That being said, his largest offensive inadequacy is his lack of a midrange game. If Vasquez is going to be a future top pick, he must develop the ability to hit the midrange jump-shot. But it is not like he doesn’t’ know how to shoot. Vasquez is in love with the perimeter. On 2.6 attempts per game, he connected on 32% of his three pointers. While he has a very quick release and displays nice elevation, his form definitely needs work, particularly his low release point. With his talent creating space and open shots for himself on the perimeter, he should be shooting much higher percentages.

As a point guard, he leaves a little bit to be desired, though you can’t help but admire his natural gifts, toughness, and his level of performance as a freshman in the ACC. He loves to shoot from the perimeter and because he is not exactly a sniper, you sometimes wonder why he doesn’t move the ball around more often. The same goes for his constant slashing. He turns the ball over almost three times a game, often because he dribbles himself into triple teams while he is busy thinking of how to generate offense for himself. His handle is solid, but his dribble is a bit high, and when he drives, he is constantly at risk of getting stripped. If Vasquez is going to be an NBA point guard, he is going to have to develop his instincts better. Too often last season, he made pointless turnovers and bad decisions that negatively affected his team.

On the defensive end, he shows similar inconsistencies. Though he is not particularly athletic, he is quick and intelligent enough to stick with his man; let’s not forget that he has solid length and size for a college point guard. However, he was also the first guy on the court that required D.J. Strawberry to relieve him of his defensive duties last season. He has the size and potential, but he has to start putting it together better on both ends of the court.

With an off-season of practice under his belt and the experience of FIBA, Vasquez should look much improved this time around. After all, despite all of the criticism, he was a freshman last season playing big minutes on a high profile team. He definitely exceeded expectations and did about as good of a job as you could ask from such a young player. In terms of his draft stock, however, he probably could benefit from extra time to work on his shooting and developing better point guard instincts. That being said, Vasquez will be an NBA player someday, but he has to keep working if wants to be achieve all of his potential and distinguish himself from next year’s stellar draft class.