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Denver Nuggets: Could Jarred Vanderbilt be a future starter?

By Grayson Moore

LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 24: Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 24, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY - FEBRUARY 24: Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates against the Missouri Tigers at Rupp Arena on February 24, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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LEXINGTON, KY – JANUARY 23: Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats grabs an offensive rebound over the Mississippi State Bulldogs defenders during the first half at Rupp Arena on January 23, 2018, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – JANUARY 23: Jarred Vanderbilt #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats grabs an offensive rebound over the Mississippi State Bulldogs defenders during the first half at Rupp Arena on January 23, 2018, in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Rebounding Ability

Vanderbilt has also proven he is a very capable rebounder.

The Nuggets are definitely in need of more players like him. Despite finishing 7th in the league in total rebounds, the Nuggets only had 1 player with more than 410 rebounds and finished 15th in defensive rebounding percentage. Plus, when Nikola Jokic was off the court, the Nuggets rebounding percentage dropped by 3.4% and their opponents rebounding percentage went up by 3.4%. In essence, Denver is a much worse team at rebounding the ball when Jokic is off the court. Vanderbilt could change that.

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Despite averaging a measly 17.0 minutes at Kentucky, Vanderbilt led the team in rebounds per game(7.9) and offensive(23.1%) and defensive(27.9%) rebounding percentage. In fact, he was the best player in the nation at collecting offensive boards, with his mark of 23.1% of available offensive boards grabbed leading the nation among players with 200+ minutes. For that matter, he is the owner of the highest single-season offensive rebound percentage since 2009-10(first season stats was available).

He is also one of the best rebounders in the college game of the last 10 years. His 7.9 rebounds per game on just 17.0 minutes per game is the most rebounds in those minutes since the 2009-10 season(first season stat was available) min. 5 games.

Despite the lack of meat on his lower body, he can get up. He recorded a 39.5″ vertical leap at Kentucky Pro Day. For comparison, if he had recorded that at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine, he would have tied for the 12th highest leap of the event with Gary Trent Jr., Jaylen Hands, and Landry Shamet, all guards praised for their athleticism. He also would have recorded the 3rd highest jump among forwards.

According to DraftExpress, he is also exceptional at igniting the break after grabbing a board and he crashes the boards hard.

The Nuggets could certainly use an instinctual and athletic rebounder like him. The two main centers on the roster, while both above-average rebounders, do not possess the athleticism or natural rebounding talent that Vanderbilt does. Adding a rebounder as talented as Vanderbilt is never a bad thing for any roster, especially when he also excels at defending.

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