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.