Coverage in Canada

BASKETBALL IS BACK!!!

After obsessively watching highlight videos for months it was great to see Vermont play some real (mostly) basketball. The first exhibition game against Queens college was a resounding success. Vermont dominated the game and cruised to a 95-53 victory. The score was not what really mattered in a game like this as it was an opportunity to get a first look at the talent and potential of this team and of this much heralded freshman class. They did not disappoint. Becker rapidly substituted throughout the game and asked each player to adjust on the fly and play whatever position he wanted them to. This meant that every player had equal opportunity to showcase their abilities. Here are a few things that stood out.

With Ernie Duncan nursing a sore back, Trae Bell-Haynes and Cam Ward split the point guard duties. Both players excelled throughout the game. Trae attacked the rim repeatedly and showed an ability to finish in traffic. With a quick first step, Trae was able to get by his defender and create open shots for teammates. Trae also played tremendous defense and came up with several steals. Cam was calm with the ball and also attacked the rim and finished in traffic with an array of circus like finishes. Kurt Steidl looked like a star. He looked stronger and more confident. Steidl can score from anywhere and looks poised for a breakout year. Hector Harold hit a few three pointers and looked confident out on the court. He certainly showed tremendous talent in flashes last year and it would be nice to see him execute more consistently this season. Dre Wills looked as though he was more comfortable on the court and displayed the tenacity and athleticism that was present in his minutes last year. His athleticism is just through the roof. Brendan Kilpatrick looked very strong and aggressive in his first action in quite some time. The athleticism it still there after his foot problems and he was in attack mode on the offensive end, making several tough shots. Brandon Hatton showed a smooth jumper and Zach McRoberts played very smart and under control. Zach also threw down a nice fastbreak dunk. Ethan O'Day did his thing and looked good doing it. Drew Urquhart had some nice moments and some tough moments. He showed a good offensive game but struggled on the defensive end, looking a step slow and lost on the court. Becker was unhappy with him several times for not knowing how to run the defense or the offense. Lastly Ryan Pierson.....looked much like last years version of Ryan Pierson. A step slow, in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just don't know if he is going to get it back.

This team has tremendous potential. The pieces are there and the talent is definitely there to compete for the top spot in the America East. However, there a long way to go before Vermont can reach that potential. The new offense is going to be exciting and fast paced which is a welcome change. There is definitely going to be a significant step back defensively, especially defending opposing post players. It will be weird to have a team without a dominant individual rebounder as Vermont has gone from Holm to Blakely to Voelkel over the past 9 years. That is a decade of rebounding dominance. There is not a rebounder like that on this team. The major issue this year will be inexperience (obviously). There will be many "freshman mistakes" and the hope is those will be fewer and fewer as the season goes on. Vermont has not had this many offensive play makers and shot makers on the same team in their history as far as I am concerned.

All in all a great experience and a fun way to get a very early preview of the makeup of this team. Sadly this is the only Canadian game I will be able to attend. It is a long wait until October. As a final thought, Is there any better name in college basketball than Hamlet Tibbs, the new assistant coach Vermont hired? Awesome.