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.