Exhibition: Keiser at Vermont 10/31/15

Happy Halloween!!

As a disclaimer I watched the first half online before heading out trick or treating with the kiddos so my analysis is part watching, part box score, part highlights. The exhibition games are a great way for the team to get their feet wet and work out a few kinks before the season starts. Today's game was no different. I felt as though Keiser was a strong exhibition opponent and certainly better than Concordia or St. Michael's (save for last year). I especially liked the fact that they had some size to test the frontcourt. Darren Payen continued to impress with his versatile offensive game. He is smooth finishing around the rim and is a creative finisher. His athleticism is top notch and already looks to have a good feel for the offense. He will be a very big contributor on this year's team as he is going to play big minutes and have a major role in the offense. Unfortunately for me as much as he impressed me on the offensive end he disappointed just as much on the defensive end. He looked completely lost on defense and his rotations were extremely slow. A handful of times it was clear he had no idea where he was supposed to rotate to. He also struggled to block out on rebounds and seemed to struggled with timing when going for a rebound. Now this was his first game action in over a year so I may be jumping the gun a bit, but he definitely has to improve on the defensive side of the ball. He will be an important piece on this years team. The other big takeaway was how great a fully healthy Kurt Steidl can be. His looked so much more athletic and aggressive in this game. Finishing with a double double of 13 points and 10 rebounds and looking confident. He is the best rebounder on the team(except Wills) and seems to have found some extra bounce to his game. I was very impressed by the improvement from last year and he is pushing himself into another level. Cant wait to see what he can do this year. It was interesting to see Nate Rohrer off the bench so quickly and then he played productive minutes. He certainly has the opportunity to carve out a role on this team. Everyone else did their thing and looked like the players they need to be. Except Ernie Duncan. He walked off the bench with a injury and did not return to the game. I am crossing my fingers that it is not his back and hope that it is nothing serious. Also I found it odd that Dylan Sinnickson did not play at all. It seemed like he would be able to carve out a few minutes but at least initially those minutes may be going to Rohrer. My one complaint was that Vermont is still unable to run an effective out of bounds play. Seems like something they should be able to execute with more effectiveness. Also the same narrative as last year is going to be true: Vermont is going to struggle to rebound the ball. They compensated in a few different ways last year and they will have to continue to do so this year to win games.  Overall the team looked solid and on track to be where they should be at this point in the season. I am so excited to get back into Patrick for the St. Mike's game next week. I will be posting an America East preview later this week so keep an eye out.

Open Practice 10/24/15

It felt really good to be back at Patrick. The chance to see the team practice and get a feel for this group was a great opportunity. One thing is for sure, The two transfers from Tulane (Patyon Henson and Josh Hearlihy) are going to make a significant impact as transfers next season. They both looked very good. Hearlihy has a very smooth shot and can put the ball on the floor. Henson is big, strong, and has a nice feel the game. It is obviously a small sample but they looked like they will have an immediate impact next season. As great as it is to look into the future, it is all about this year's team. Adding Ernie Duncan to last year's backcourt is going to make this team very good offensively. Duncan has a nice feel for the game and is a tremendous passer. He looked healthy and is playing without limitations. You could tell his conditioning is still a little behind but he is going to immediately be the best passer on the team and will give Vermont another perimeter threat. The Cats definitely have an embarrassment of riches at the point guard position. There are many mid major college teams that would feel good having one of the three point guards that Vermont has. What a luxury it is to have three starting caliber point guards to mix and match. Cam Ward and Trae Bell-Haynes looked very focused and confident. Dre Wills rode the bike for the entire hour and is still being held out as a precaution due to a nagging foot injury. It sounds like he played through it for most of last year. That is tough to hear because it seems as though it is an injury that is not going away anytime soon and one that he has to play through. The perimeter shooting will be even better this year as both Duncan's are very strong shooters. Everett Duncan has some work to do to get up to speed and get physically ready to play, but he has a very smooth shot. Much like last year, this team is going to rely heavily on outside shooting and dribble penetration to be effective. They are still going struggle to rebound the ball and defend strong, back to the basket post players. The most impressive player at practice was Darren Payen, the transfer from Hofstra who is eligible this year. He scored in a variety of ways in the post and showed strong athleticism. He looked like he will make an impact this year and will have a large role on the team. Drew Urquhart looked slimmer and faster but still struggled with his motor. Becker talked to him several times about getting his head in the game and running hard. The talent is there for Drew U, but his consistency will be a major story line this year. Kurt Steidl looked strong and it looks like some of his athleticism is returning after a few seasons of nagging leg injuries. If he can add another dimension to his offensive game it will really help him be a consistent scoring threat. Dylan Sinnickson and Nate Rohrer are the other newcomers to this years team. Sinnickson is very physical and will help them defensively and on the boards in whatever minutes he will play. Rohrer is a step slower that the rest of the team but plays hard and is also physically strong. He will push his teammates in practice and may develop down the road. Rohrer did have one of the highlights of the practice when he stuffed a Steidl dunk attempt quite spectacularly. Becker has this team focused and bought in to the the Vermont way. I am very excited to see what this team can do this year in what will be a very difficult, top heavy America East.