Exhibition: St. Michael's at Vermont

Ernie Duncan is back.

Vermont ripped through their last tune up before the regular season with an 85-56 victory over St. Mike's. Catamount fans finally got a look at Ernie Duncan playing a full game and it did not disappoint. Duncan looked tremendous scoring 17 points including 5-11 from three. Calmly running the offense and threading smooth passes to teammates, Duncan looked every bit the top recruit he was billed to be last year. Heath is always something that has to be discussed but, if healthy, Duncan is going to be a tremendous part of the Vermont program. He is one of those players that makes his teammates better and takes what the offense gives him. He led the Cats in scoring without forcing the ball or creating his own shot. Overall the offense looks very sharp. Adding Duncan, and Darren Payen will really open up the floor and give the Cats many scoring options. Payen can really finish around the rim and is going to form a potent 1-2 punch with O'Day. That is of course if they can both stay out of foul trouble. Drew Urquhart also looked much improved. He showed a beautiful touch from the outside and looks quicker and stronger with the ball underneath when rebounding and finishing. With that said, the frontcourt should look good in a game against a team with almost no post players, but the potential is there. I was again impressed by Nate Rohrer as the 10 minutes a game post player. He has a nice shooting touch and knows where to be on the court. He is always cutting to the hoop and crashing the boards. Could turn into a very valuable piece for the Catamounts. Kurt Steidl and O'Day both struggled with foul trouble and general ineffectiveness but the game was out of hand from very early on. Vermont will be a versatile offensive team and again will have balanced scoring. That is crucial to make up for off nights from certain players. That is one quality that has always made Vermont a dangerous team. It is very hard to pinpoint who to stop as it seems like some else always steps up. The defensive side of the ball is a work in progress but Becker's coaching record speaks for itself in his ability to get his teams playing tough defense. The rotations are slow right now and several players are getting lost in the shifts. Vermont will again be pushed around by more physical teams and teams that are strong on the boards. In those games Vermont will have to rely on out shooting the opposition from the perimeter. It was a major downer to see Dre Wills go down with what looked like a significant hamstring pull. That injury is going to linger and there is a real possibility he is going to miss several games. He is so important to the Cats on both sides of the ball. I am certainly hoping for a speedy recovery. Now it is time to start the regular season. I will have a full preview of Vermont's season posted before Friday's opener so be ready!

P.S. I love the gray uniforms so much.