Raptors at Wizards 3/2/18
From a regular citizen in Rockford, IL to an NBA Champion, Fred VanVleet has had a long road to his success. VanVleet went to Auburn High School. Since that time, Fred’s cousin, Airmis Clark has grown up with him and watched him develop into a better basketball player.
“Fred was always good at the sports; he played football and basketball. He also was a real quiet kid, he didn’t speak much unless he was playing sports or something.”
While at Auburn, Fred played for Head Coach Brian Ott and averaged 15.6 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game and 3.5 steals per game. He has also won a ton of accomplishments during his time at Auburn and in the RPS 205 district such as being the All-Time Leading Scorer with 1754 points. He also had 357 Steals, 682 Assists and 487 Rebounds.
After taking the Auburn Knights to third place and not being able to reach the IHSA State Finals, he graduated and went to play at Wichita State University in Kansas which at the time had Greg Marshall as the Head Coach (and still is) and played alongside guard Ron Baker. As Freshman, Fred and Ron led the Wichita State Shockers to the 2013 NCAA Final Four, but ended up losing to Louisville, who went on to become champions. However, during Fred’s next three years at Wichita State, he and Ron Baker led the team in 2014 to an undefeated season (31-0). In 2016, he won the MVC Larry Bird Trophy Player of the Year and an AP All-America honorable mention. His stats are as follows; 225 career Steals that is a school record, and he had 637 career Assists.
Fred VanVleet declared for the NBA draft in 2016 although he would end up going undrafted. However, the Toronto Raptors would offer him a contract VanVleet signed on to join their roster. During Fred’s rookie season in the NBA, he split his time between the NBA and the NBA D-League now known as the NBA G League with the Raptors 905 and led them to the D- League Championship.
When he played on the main roster, he only played 37 games and had 2.9 points per game as well as 0.9 assist per game and 0.4 steals per game. In his second season in the NBA, he played 76 games and improved a lot and averaged 8.6 points per game. At the end of that season, he would be a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year Award.
When asked about how Fred has tried to become a basketball player, his cousin Airmis had this to say, “He stays in the gym and works out, working on his game. Every summer he comes home and he works out with his brother JD.”
In his third year in the league (2018/2019), VanVleet played 64 games and averaged 11.0 Points per game, 4.8 Assists per game, and 0.9 Steals per game. That year in the playoffs, he averaged 8.0 Points per game and 2.6 Assists per game and 0.8 Steals per game, and he helped the Raptors to the NBA Finals. Fred set a NBA Finals record with 16 3-pointers made off the bench to help Toronto Raptors win the 2018/2019 NBA championship.
Airmis had this to say when asked about VanVleet’s motivation, “Just taking care of his family, you know? He does it for his family so they can have a better life now; that’s what his biggest motivator is, being able to provide for his family and make sure everybody’s okay.”
During this season Fred played 54 games and averaged 17.6 Points per game, 6.6 Assists per game, and 1.9 Steals per game. Also during the season Fred joined forces with AND1 and became the face of the And1 brand. The Head of Sports Marketing of AND1, Dexter Gordon, was reached to ask a few questions on Fred’s signature shoes.
Q.) How did you feel when you signed Fred to an And1 deal?
A.) “It was exciting and I’ve always liked Fred. Back when Fred was in college, he was something that the AND1 brand was looking for.”
Q.) How did you and Fred come up with his shoe?
A.) “They sat down with Fred and talked about his background and Fred’s logo and his kids and his family and what he likes.”
Q.) How many colorways will there be for AND1 Attack 2.0?
A.) “6 colorways for Fred with the Raptors jerseys for the idea for the colorways with Fred’s logo.”
Q.) What ideas did Fred want in the shoe?
A.) “Light shoe that gives him support and comfort and locks his foot in the shoe and a shoe that can keep him safe.”
Q.) When will the shoe be sold in the U.S.?
A.) “Next release will be in Footlockers in Canada, there will be limited pairs sold at Fred’s store in Rockford, and AND1.com at the end of August – early September, but only 3 of the 6 colorways.”
Q.) How long did the shoe take to be made?
A.) “It took 2-3 months to be made with the added colorways and with Fred’s logo.”
A lot of Fred’s fans, especially here in Rockford, hope that he keeps improving and keeps betting on himself to become a better player and hopefully wins another NBA championship.
