The story of heart over height (Profile)

 In this post, I will be detailing the journey of the Toronto Raptors starting point guard Fred VanVleet and how he got to the NBA. VanVleet is not the typical six foot six 235 pound freak athlete you see on an every day basis in the NBA. He is officially listed at a generous six foot one and one hundred and ninety four pounds. He will tell you its not about the size of the player, but the size of the heart of that player. VanVleet grew up in Rockford, Illinois and was a three star recruit according to Rivals. He ended up playing his college career at mid major Division 1 Wichita State where he was a two time conference player of the year in the Missouri Valley and led his team to four straight NCAA tournament appearances. After his senior year, Fred VanVleet entered the NBA draft where he expected to hear his name called from the commissioner. Unfortunately, he did not hear his name called and officially went undrafted into the NBA. He signed with the Tornoto Raptors after the 2016 NBA draft and immediately made an impact. He was a finalist for the sixth man of the year award and was a big part of the success the Raptors were having as they had one of the besty records in the NBA year in and year out yet, he was still being underestimated in the eyes of the public. All of that changed in the 2018-2019 NBA Finals. In those 6 games against the Golden State Warriors, he averaged 14 points a game while being asked to defend the greatest shooter of all time in Stephen Curry. Since that point, Fred VanVleet has moved into a starting point guard role for the Raptors and is regarded as one of the better point guards in the NBA. His journey was not easy, but it is what makes him the player he is today. He had to work a little harder than everyone else because he was not gifted with some of the physical abilities that a lot of NBA players have. He had to have a little more heart than everyone else to make sure he would get noticed and have a shot. When he got that shot with the Raptors, he made sure to take full advantage of it and is why he is a top point guard in the NBA. Fred VanVleets journey to the NBA shows you don't have to be the biggest guy, the fastest guy, or the smartest guy. Find what makes you special and care more than the person you are competing against. 

For more information onf Fred VanVleet you can visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_VanVleet