This past offseason Kim English and staff looked to add overseas talent by bringing in Latvia’s Peteris Pinnis and Estonia’s Stefan Vaaks. Of the two players Stefan Vaaks is certainly making more buzz as he enters his freshman season. Vaaks went from an unknown to Friar fan sensation without even playing a single game.
Vaaks is listed as a 6-6 guard but know that he’s been on campus he may be pushing 6-7. He has guard skills with the ability to push the basketball, create looks for others and can really shoot it. It didn’t take long for all of Friartown to look up his highlight tape while playing for Kalev/Cramp of the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League.
All that hype seemed to hit a road bump when Stefan tore his meniscus in a playoff game back in May. However Vaaks is on campus and based on clips from practice seems to be fully recovered from surgery.
Vaaks should be able to thrive in Bryan Tibaldi’s pro style offense. The Friars are looking to play with much more pace and movement in their offense and that should suit Vaaks game well.
Certainly questions regarding to how he will adjust from his pro league overseas to the Big East are justified. And given he is coming off of a knee injury there are some who may be skeptical of how much Vaaks can contribute this year. However with a team that seems to lack facilitators, Vaaks could provide Providence with a boost this season.
The size and skillset Stefan Vaaks has lends itself to the belief he is going to be a big part of this Providence program sooner or later. In a way Providence doesn’t have to rush him into the fold but if he can show he’s capable why not throw him into the fire? In the Crier’s opinion Vaaks is going to play his way to be firmly in the rotation this season. Regardless, Stefan Vaaks is an intriguing prospect for the Friars and could turn out to be a gem of a find all the way in Estonia.
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