Sophomore guard Devin Vassell declares for NBA Draft

Florida State Basketball had an excellent season. After being declared ACC Champions amid the cancellation of the ACC tournament, FSU looked to be a potential Final Four basketball team. Then the NCAA cancelled March Madness.

While FSU fans rightly lament the loss of the chance to see this ’Noles basketball team compete in March, even more difficult is the way the season ended for its star players.

Devin Vassell’s last minutes in an FSU uniform are behind him, as he declared for the NBA draft:

He committed to Florida State in 2017, choosing the Seminoles over smaller programs like Stetson and UNF, where he would develop into a top talent:

One of his more impressive games came against Notre Dame last year, where he showed off his talent as a freshman:

Devin’s length and athleticism gives him the upper-hand against the rest of the FSU bench. Against Notre Dame, he set a new career best for minutes (22) and rebounds (7). He scored his second most points of the year (13), going 3-3 from deep. He also had a nasty put back dunk, and came out of nowhere to block a 3-point attempt. Vassell has an offensive rating (points FSU scores per 100 player possessions) of 124.8, which is easily exceeding the Jonathan Isaac’s freshman record under Ham.

From then on, Vassell developed from a coming-off-the-bench contributor that specialized as a catch-and-shoot perimeter scorer to a consistent, contributing player with an all-around game. An elite team defender who is able to utilize his length and high basketball IQ, Vassell ranked in the top 25 among ACC players this seaso for both blocks and steals. Still, his three point shooting was his biggest weapon and his most memorable game might be the road win over Virginia Tech when he tied an ACC record by going 7-7 from beyond the arc.

He’s almost considered a lock first round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, making the top round in most NBA mock drafts.

Respected college basketball commentators and analysts such as Jeff Goodman, Jonathan Wasserman, and Rob Dauster weighed in:

The ACC acknowledged how large a role Vassell’s successful sophomore season played for the 2020 Seminoles:

Vassell had an excellent career for Florida State, and will be remembered as part of Leonard Hamilton’s best group at FSU.