Jarred Vanderbilt played in just 17 games at UK. (Vicky Graff Photo)
I know Kentucky fans got frustrated with Jarred Vanderbilt during his one injury-filled season at UK when it seemed like he barely played. Many were stunned when he opted to go ahead and put his name into the NBA Draft in 2018. But guess what? The restricted free agent has just re-signed with Minnesota. It’s a three-year, nearly $14-million deal according to ESPN.
Vanderbilt was a five-star recruit out of Texas and a consensus top 15 player nationally. The 6-9 Vanderbilt missed UK’s first 17 games of the 2017-18 season with a foot injury and played in 14 games before missing all six postseason games.
He averaged 5.9 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds when he did play and five games had 10 or more rebounds.
Vanderbilt played in 64 games last season for the Timberwolves and made 30 starts while averaging 5.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.0 steals. He shot about 61 percent from the field.
That was a dramatic turnaround from the previous two seasons when he played in just 28 games for the Timberwolves and Nuggets because of injuries.
Vanderbilt is still just 22 years old.
