Wichita State vs Illinois State

Wichita State's Fred VanVleet (23) celebrates after making a big play against Illinois State on Saturday in Wichita.

(AP/Fernando Salazar)

In this edition of the NBA Stock Watch, I'm going to appraise a player who's not even on the board. Why would I waste your time on such a non-prospect?

Because he's the sort of guy who could end up on an NBA roster in a couple of years and everyone will ask, "Where did Fred VanVleet come from? I don't remember him being drafted."

That very well could happen. It's unlikely Wichita State's senior point guard will be called in the first round of 30 players. And he quite possibly won't be called at all. He's not the sort of player anyone wants to spend a choice on because you know you can sign him as a free agent.

You remember VanVleet as the peppery 6-foot point guard on the Shockers' Final Four team of 2013, its 35-1 team of 2014 and the Sweet 16 team of last year. He was the floor leader of the last two, feeding familiar scorers like Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton and the Knicks' high-flying winger Cleanthony Early.

VanVleet was never a brash focal point, just the humming little motor. And as a typical NBA specimen, well, he's just not one. Solidly built but slight by league standards, neither is he stunningly athletic.

There's just this one thing: He really knows how to play point guard. And because of that, I think he has a chance to eventually stick somewhere as an every-night back-up point, something every NBA franchise needs. Think Eric Snow only two inches shorter.

And that's the problem. If you're as short as VanVleet, NBA types want you to be lightning fast or they're ready to discard you out of hand. You'd better be Iverson-quick. That's why Oakland (MI) point man Kay Felder, maybe 5-7, will get a serious look from somebody. His fast-twitch qualities are ridiculous.

Wichita State's Fred VanVleet (23) may be small but is muscular and thick enough to absorb contact as he does here against Northern Iowa's Wes Washpan.

VanVleet will have to work a lot harder to make The League and probably will take more than one job in Europe. But I love this kid.

After watching him a while, the first thing that strikes you about the Rockford, Ill. native is not only how often he makes the right decision on the pick-n-roll but how he makes it at the exact right instant.

The next thing you notice is his economy of movement, always balanced always using his body to influence defenders with little nudges here, a back-up step there, a languid hesitation before a bolt to the rim. His handle is equally dexterous with either hand, his feet are always underneath him like a pair of big fat tires on a little dune buggy. If you knock him off-balance, it's because he wants you to - so the ref sees it.

Another strike VanVleet has against him is his mid-major conference heritage. VanVleet was just named player of year of the Missouri Valley Conference for the second time in three seasons. It's not a great year in the MoValley, so scouts haven't seen him against great competition too often.

They don't need to. Because they've seen him in prior years in the Shockers' 10 NCAA tournament games, outplaying or at least getting a draw against the likes of Indiana's Yogi Ferrell, Kansas' Frank Mason, Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson, Kentucky's Harrison twins and Ohio State's Aaron Craft.

Small point guards simply must be super-quick and springy to catch the eye of the vast majority of NBA personnel people. That's the way Penn State's undrafted 6-footer Tim Frazier, recently cut by the Portland Trail Blazers, has received repeated opportunities with three clubs despite his perimeter shooting deficiency. The question is, will one GM take a shot on VanVleet simply because of his timing, skills on the pick-n-roll, hands and feet on defense and a knack for a well-placed 3-pointer (39 3PG, .424 3P%)?

Once personnel folks get to know him, the tipping point may be the understated resolve of the kid's personality. He was raised in Rockford, Ill., just west of Chicago, where his father was a drug dealer, shot dead when Fred was just 5. By all accounts his mother and stepfather provided a good home but some tough love. The stepdad made Fred and his brother work out at dawn when they were just young boys. The result is a tough, tempered kid with a certain steady vibe about him.

So, in sum, VanVleet is not a risk/reward on which any may use a 2016 NBA Draft choice before the second round, if at all. But if he starts popping off the bench for someone in a year or two, you'll know where to trace his history: on the free-agent transactions. Keep an eye on him.