Vermont lands Middlebury transfer Dylan Sinnickson

Just before summer practices start Vermont was able to finalize their roster for the upcoming season. Dylan Sinnickson a 6-5/195 small forward who has been playing his college ball down the road at Middlebury will join the team as a walk on. As a graduate transfer Sinnickson will be able to play in the upcoming season. By using the open scholarships on transfers who will be eligible starting in the 2016-2017 season, Vermont was left with a thin roster. As demonstrated with the glut of injuries at the beginning of last season, having depth is very important. With no scholarships to fill that last spot on the roster, the coaching staff had to get creative. This move is a clear home run in my book (I had to work in a baseball reference as Sinnickson was  also a star baseball player at Middlebury). This move is the epitome of low-risk, high reward. Getting a walk on who has already played several years at any level of college basketball is a huge plus. Throw in that Sinnickson is very good and an exceptional athlete who played two college sports, and Vermont has themselves a solid insurance plan. At minimum, Sinnickson will be able to push the young guys hard in practice. If called upon due to injury he should give those valuable 6 to 8 minutes and at best he becomes a solid back end rotation player. The only possible downside would be that he steals some minutes from a few of the young guys and they get frustrated with a lack of playing time. What it boils down to is that this late in the game getting a player with this much experience and potential without having to use a scholarship is an impressive move by the coaching staff. As far as possible on the court impact, Sinnickson is a very tough, gritty player who is an exceptional rebounder. He will have to adjust to being undersized but he is a max effort player who will still have an impact on the glass. He is also a decent enough shooter that he can't be left open. I watched several Middlebury games this past season where he demonstrated a relentless motor and a nose for the ball. If he does see the court I could see some parts of his game translating purely due to the fact that he outworks everyone on the court. This off season is going to be difficult as November seems so far away.......