When the shot clock was about to expire with 100 seconds remaining in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night, Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet caught a pass from Kawhi Leonard in 3-point range.
With Draymond Green in his face, VanVleet threw up a rainbow shot that left the frame of the television before it fell straight in for the dagger as the Raptors took a 13-point lead with 1:37 to go.
On Wednesday, fans in Oakland experienced the same pain VanVleet made Springfield fans feel for four years while he was at Wichita State.
And current Missouri State head coach Dana Ford is partly to blame.
Ford was an assistant coach at Wichita State in 2011-12 under Gregg Marshall. When VanVleet announced his commitment to the Shockers in July 2011, he gave credit to Ford for his recruitment.
“The past two months, me and him have built a strong relationship without him blowing me up all the time,” VanVleet told Chicagohoops.com. “I know I am going into a great situation and he will be like a big brother to me.”
VanVleet, who played four seasons at Wichita State from 2012-16, had his fair share of success against Missouri State before he became one of the breakout stars of the 2019 NBA Playoffs.
In an interview with USA Today in 2014 — while he was head coach at Tennessee State — Ford reflected on the recruitment of VanVleet.
“The thing that sticks out in my mind the most is when I first got the job there, we couldn’t go out and watch,” Ford said. “I had seen him in the summer or spring, and I knew that he had a chance to be good.
FRED VANVLEET
“I had his high school coach send DVDs in so Coach Marshall could watch them. Coach Marshall wouldn’t offer anyone he hadn’t seen. I popped the DVD in and I want to say it was the beginning of June, or end of May (before VanVleet’s senior year of high school).
“I’m watching, and there are two plays that stuck out in my mind. One of them is him going head-first for a loose ball, and getting it. The other was an unbelievable pass that he made. I called Coach in to watch. I said, ‘Coach, you’ve got to sit down and watch this kid to decide if we’re going to offer him because we’re going to run out of time.’
“He watched those two clips and offered him off those two clips. It was just an immediate infatuation. Immediate. Recruiting Fred, listening to Fred talk and knowing Coach Marshall, I just knew it was going to be a match made in heaven. That’s why they’re successful. They’re connected from a mental standpoint that’s very, very rare in college basketball.”
Imagine if Ford had never shown Marshall those DVDs.
Fast forward to the end of VanVleet’s career at Wichita State, and he was a perfect 10-0 against Missouri State while knocking the Bears out of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament twice. He averaged 8.5 points, 5.4 assists and 2.9 rebounds in his career against MSU.
VanVleet never missed the NCAA Tournament while reaching the Final Four his freshman year and the Sweet 16 his junior. He wasn’t selected in the 2016 NBA Draft before he was picked up by the Toronto Raptors, who signed him to a summer league contract before he received a multi-year contract.
Now in his third season, VanVleet is averaging 23.9 minutes per game off the bench in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. He’s averaging 7.2 points and 2.6 assists per game.
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet and head coach Nick Nurse converse on the sideline during a game.
In Toronto’s first ever trip to the NBA Finals, he’s averaging 35.6 minutes to go along with 16 points per game while the Raptors hold a 2-1 series lead over the two-time defending champs.
Ford is entering his second year as the Missouri State head coach. Wichita State left the MVC in 2017.
While Ford might have been a little bit to blame for the Bears’ pain in the past, he might be the one to give them joy in the near future. The Bears are expected to be the favorites to win the MVC heading into 2019-20.
FRED VANVLEET VS. MISSOURI STATE
Jan. 23, 2013 — 3 pts, 1-8 FG, 1 ast, 0 reb (62-52 win in Springfield)
Feb. 9, 2013 — 8 pts, 3-9 FG, 3 ast, 4 reb (79-50 win in Wichita)
March 8, 2013 — 3 pts, 1-1 FG, 3 ast, 0 reb (69-59 win in St. Louis)
Jan. 11, 2014 — 16 pts, 3-11 FG, 4 ast, 1 reb (72-69 win in Springfield)
March 1, 2014 — 2 pts, 1-1 FG, 7 ast, 2 reb (68-45 win in Wichita)
March 8, 2014 — 9 pts, 4-7 FG, 5 ast, 3 reb (67-42 win in St. Louis)
Jan. 21, 2015 — 15 pts, 5-8 FG, 7 ast, 4 reb (76-53 win in Springfield)
Feb. 7, 2015 — 10 pts, 4-9 FG, 11 ast, 10 reb (78-35 win in Wichita)
Jan. 13, 2016 — 4 pts, 2-9 FG, 8 ast, 3 reb (78-62 win in Springfield)
Feb. 18, 2016 — 15 pts, 6-9 FG, 5 ast, 2 reb (99-68 win in Wichita)
SPRINGFIELD NEWS-LEADER
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