Oct. 4—Stefan Vaaks made his debut with Estonia’s senior national team two months shy of his 20th birthday. The then 19-year-old guard played a small role in a pair of FIBA EuroBasket qualifiers, averaging 4.5 points in limited playing time.
Two years later, Vaaks has turned into one of Estonia’s top players. The now 21-year-old Illinois guard returned to Europe this summer to play in two FIBA World Cup European qualifiers. The 6-foot-7 guard put up 19.5 points, six assists and 2.5 rebounds per game, establishing himself as Estonia’s present and future on the world stage.
“That experience was amazing,” Vaaks said. “I got to play against some NBA guys. When you play with grown men and people who are 30 years old, they teach you a lot.”
Vaaks wound up missing about a month’s worth of Illinois’ summer workouts to play for Estonia. The Illini staff, however, typically supports its players playing for their national teams given the unique opportunity and honor involved. That Vaaks starred for “Sinine Laine” — otherwise known as the “Blue Wave” — only reinforced the decision to let him play.
That basketball experience, though, couldn’t have featured a more drastic change in style compared to the first 10 days Vaaks spent in Champaign before returning home. Estonia’s offense is tightly regimented, while Illinois’ is more free form.
“Europe is tactics, less physicality, and a lot of IQ,” Vaaks said, noting Estonia coach Heiko Rannula wanted a set play called every trip down the court. “It was definitely different.”
Vaaks views the combination of his international experience and the structure Estonia plays with the more open concept Illinois system as a potential advantage this coming season. So does Illini assistant coach and offensive coordinator Tyler Underwood.
“I think European basketball is much closer to American football where everything is a play,” Underwood said. “They scheme these plays to get the shots that they want. American basketball is much more like European football, like soccer, where we’re playing in concepts, we’re playing fast, we’re trying to create advantage and then we’re just maintaining shape after that.
“I think Stef is very, very good in the open court. He’s an unbelievable shooter that causes gravity, so the defense always has to be aware of him. That takes the defense away from the rim, which opens up drives. When we do need to go to some of our sets, he’s very comfortable in that, too. It’s been good for him to blend those.”
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