Brandon Hatton transfers from Vermont

In a last minute decision, Brandon Hatton has left the Vermont basketball team and will continue his basketball career elsewhere. Before the conspiracy theorists start whispering about chemistry issues or coaching mistakes, lets take a look at this years team. While this leaves Vermont short on bodies, the on court product is going to look no different. All last season I felt that Hatton was destined to transfer and waited for it all spring. I am not surprised at all by this decision because Hatton's playing time on a healthy Vermont team was going to be zero. Last year Hatton showed some flashes of knock down shooting, but ultimately left a lot to be desired on the court. His defense was poor and his shooting was wildly inconsistent. Outside of the Stony Brook game where he single-handedly led the team to victory, he struggled to stay on the court and consistently contribute. This year with a healthy Ernie Duncan, Hatton's minutes were gone. He would have been fighting Duncan, Bell-Haynes, Ward, Wills, Steidl, and Everett Duncan for minutes. I can't speak for the younger Duncan but the rest of that group has far superior talent. Hatton suffered the fate of many high school players who's physical build causes them to be a tweener at the next level. Hatton was too short to be a forward and too slow to be a guard. I wish him luck at his next school and I hope he finds a place where there are minutes available. He is not a bad player, just a player without a spot on this team. This does leave Vermont in the lurch and there is little that they can do at this point. Unless they have someone waiting in the wings, it will be hard to add a player for the upcoming season. It is very rare for a team to enter the season with multiple unused scholarships so it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff does. If by some miracle Vermont is able to stay healthy all year, the team will be in good shape. If there are any injuries the team will have a very hard time remaining competitive. This has been a very wild off-season for the Cats and it only builds the anticipation for the upcoming season. Two months from today!!!!!!