Everett Duncan to Vermont

The first 2015 recruiting domino fell yesterday as 6-6 165 pound shooting guard Everett Duncan from Evansville, IN committed to the Vermont men's basketball team. Duncan is the younger brother of incoming freshman point guard Ernie Duncan. There are several reasons to get excited about this commitment. First and foremost Everett is a very good player. He plays hard and has a similar "it" factor that you can see when watching his brother. Watching his highlights and reading tidbits from scouts the takeaways are a player with a high basketball IQ and a lethal outside jumper. Everett doesn't have elite athleticism but he makes up for it with crafty hard nosed play. Once he adds strength he will be a force and is very similar in his game with current catamount Kurt Steidl. The coaching staff is making a commitment to getting  players that fit the style that Vermont wants to play. Off the court the coaching staff is continuing to create the sense of community that makes Vermont a special place to play. Becker and the rest of his staff clearly want shooters at every position and to me it seems like they are moving toward a faster paced, more offensive style of play. The other reason this signing is great for program is to continue the Indiana pipeline. Everyone knows that Indiana high school basketball is played at a high level and the more players that Vermont can get from there the better. It also doesn't hurt that my personal favorite 2015 target Josh Speidel is friends with both Everett and Ernie. There is a chance that having some of his buddies to play basketball with in college could get Speidel to come to Vermont. Regardless of how that will factor into his decision, Speidel will probably not commit anywhere until after the July recruiting period. He is garnering interest from a few Big 10 schools and as a result I am sure he wants to see if that interest materializes into formal offers. Incidentally if he does commit to Vermont I will officially be breaking out the term "Indiana North" for the 2015-2016 men's basketball team. To finish up the positives about the commitment, I am continually amazed at the success that Becker has had in building a true program. When the Becker basketball camp rolls around every year, players from past and present make it a point to be a part of the Vermont family. This sense of community and family is what I believe is the key to the continued success of the program. Most of the commitments Vermont has received over the last year have been immediately following the recruit's visit to campus. That demonstrates to me that the feel of the program is exactly where it needs to be. To achieve that level of cohesion in such a short time is nothing short of incredible and the entire staff at Vermont should be proud of that accomplishment. I think back to Becker's opening press conference when he took the job and it was his goal from the get go to build a complete program. A round of applause is due for step one of Becker's process and I can't wait to see it translate to continued success on the court.

Summer Updates

It may only be June but the future of Vermont basketball begins now. Many of the new players have already arrived and the rest will be arriving sometime later in the week. Timing the players arrival with the Becker basketball camp is a stroke of genius as the community/family feel to the program is on full display. Players from the past, present, and future all come together for the camp. It is a great opportunity to showcase the success and feel of the Vermont program. This week also marks the official visits for what I would consider Vermont's top 2015 targets. Josh Speidel and Everett Duncan will be on campus this week to see if Vermont is where they would like to continue their basketball careers. Duncan is the younger brother of incoming freshman Ernie Duncan and the chances of landing him seem solid. He is a nice player with great length and shooting ability. Speidel is the player that would be a coup for the program. He is garnering some interest from a few Big Ten schools and I believe he is the last piece to creating a new top tier team. Speidel is friends with both Ernie and Everett so there is a chance the family feel could be the selling point. While on the subject of the future, here are a few updates about what some of the incoming freshman have been up to since their high school careers ended.

Drew Urquhart made the Canadian junior national basketball team. This is an impressive accomplishment considering he missed his entire senior season of basketball. The Canadian scouts have raved about the 30 pounds of muscle that Drew put on this past year. The team is competing right now in the FIBA championships in Colorado Springs. Canada is undefeated thus far and will play in the gold medal game tonight against the USA. I have watched several of the games and Drew has played very well. He plays hard and has a great understanding of the game. His outside jumper has looked solid and he has demonstrated some impressive athleticism with a few nice dunks. In the semifinal Drew played the entire overtime period and hit a big three to put Canada ahead for good. The negatives thus far are that his free throw shooting has been poor and a few too many turnovers. The rust from the year off shows up with passes that are not quite where they need to be and being a little loose with the ball as he adjusts to the speed of the game. Watch the gold medal game here.

Zach McRoberts played on the Indiana senior all star team that played a series of games following the completion of the high school basketball season. McRoberts started every game and looked very impressive. He showed and improved outside shooting touch, especially beyond the three point line, and continued to play tough defense. The Indiana scouts rave about his ability to defend any position on the court and he seems to provide leadership on whatever team he is on.

That is all for now. I will provide some more updates as the summer moves on.