Vermont 89 UQAM 66
Basketball is back and it feels so good.
Vermont fans got their first look at the 2016-2017 Catamounts and it looked like the hype surrounding the potential of this team was justified. First and foremost, Anthony Lamb is the real deal and he is a future all league caliber player. His entire repertoire was on display. Scoring at all three levels and ripping down tough rebounds. What was most impressive was his ability to get to the rim. He demonstrated a tremendous ability to catch the ball at the three point line and slash to the hoop. It was only an exhibition game but 25 points is 25 points. He is a relentless player who goes all out on every play. He has a chance to be both an elite scorer and a strong rebounder. His strengths fit perfectly to shore up some of the deficiencies that the Catamounts experienced last year. He is going to be a fun player to watch and I have to think is the favorite for rookie of the year in the America East. To go along with the first look at Lamb, Payton Henson also made his Catamount debut. If he had made his free throws he would have challenged Lamb for the high scorer. Henson finished with 15 points and showed off an ability to put the ball in the hoop as well. He too demonstrated a tremendous ability to slash to the hoop and finish at the rim, which produced the highlight of the night when he attacked from the right side and threw down a ferocious dunk while getting fouled. He added a three pointer late in the game to round of the preview of his skill set. Henson showed tremendous athleticism and will be a tough match-up for post defenders. With the versatility in the post complimenting the versatility on the perimeter, the Cats are going to be a very efficient offensive team. The other newcomers looked good as well. Josh Hearlihy showed he can handle the ball up top and be a tough versatile defender. His offense looked like a work in progress but he will definitely be a valuable jack of all trades player this year. Ben Shungu was also very impressive. He has the size, strength, and speed to compete at the college level. His shot needs a lot of work but he showed that he could get to the rim. I don't know if the coaching staff is scratching their plan to redshirt him due to the injury situation in the backcourt. It seems to me they might be forced to, which would be too bad because there will not be too many minutes available when everyone is healthy and he could use a year to work on his offensive game without using eligibility. Everyone else looked like their normal selves although Nate Rohrer looked much quicker and more athletic than he did last season. Dre Wills is such a wild card for this team. He sometimes looks so good and really changes the game and then other times he looks very out of place in the offense. His ability to return to the form that he displayed two years ago is going to be crucial for the Cats, especially with the current injury situation. Vermont needs Ernie Duncan and Cam Ward to be healthy. Even with all of the depth this year, they are too important to the offense. UQAM was able to pack in their defense without the perimeter threats of Duncan and Ward. With the Vermont's offense being so predicated on slashing to the hoop, the Cats need to have perimeter threats in order to open up driving lanes. It seems like the coaching staff has a good handle on Duncan's injured thumb and are confident he will be back shortly. The news on Ward has been a little more vague and that makes it far more concerning. Back spasms has been the word so far and that in and of itself is bad but when Becker has talked about the injury it seems like they don't quite have an answer about how to fix it. It sounds like hasn't been doing very much in practice and back injuries are notoriously difficult to deal with. Hopefully the rest will help and he will be ready to go when the season begins. This game only reinforced my feeling that this is the most talent that Vermont has assembled on a single team. The Cats have had very talented individual players at different times, but have never had a team all the way down the bench with as much talent. All in all it makes for a very exciting season and when fully healthy it looks like the Cats will be a force to be reckoned with.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Sunday, October 16, 2016
It's been awhile/America East preview
Have no fear loyal readers, I have not disappeared! For the first time since I started this blog there was no interesting information in the offseason. No Canadian tours, no transfers, and no commitments. I had such a hard time dealing with the lack of information, my life felt so empty. Now it is only two weeks until games return and I finally have some information to post about. Before I get to the preview of how I think the league will finish, I would like to quickly talk about the lack of recruiting info. There has been a lot of grumbling about the lack of movement in getting the 2017 class together. I can understand the frustration as for several years there have been numerous and exciting commitments to Vermont basketball. The reason that recruiting has been so successful over the past few year was due to the immediate playing time that was available. One of the biggest selling points during recruiting has to go something like "You could go to a higher profile program and sit the bench or.......come to Vermont and play right away". That line is not available for this class because the team will be extremely senior heavy in the 2017-2018 season. The 2017 class is more likely to include a transfer or a "project player" rather than an instant impact freshman. The 2018 recruiting class will be the one that is more likely to include some instant impact, more high profile recruits. Another thing to keep in mind is that Ben Shungu and Kian Dalyrimple are also really part of the 2017 class as they as supposed to redshirt this year. Now on to this season and how I think it will play out.
1. Vermont
The Catamounts have all the pieces in place to make a run to the title. They have a deep and experienced roster who are hungry for more after losing tight games to Stony Brook in the tournament the last two years. The team will be well rounded as they will add some frontcourt depth to go along with the already deep backcourt. Vermont checks every box in the title contender survey. The question really becomes how will this team handle being the chased as opposed to the chaser. The pressure is very different when as a team you are the preseason favorite as I believe Vermont will be. Games begin to mean a little more and the chatter from the fans and the media gets a little louder. Vermont has experienced several significant postseason disappointments since their last title and there is a significant amount of pressure on this group to deliver. If the Catamounts continue to handle adversity this season as they have over the last couple seasons, they will give themselves a chance to bring home the trophy.
2. New Hampshire
If Vermont can check all the contender boxes, New Hampshire can check almost all the boxes. The Wildcats also return an experienced and battle tested roster. They have been knocking at the door in recent years and finally look poised to break through and break up the Albany, Stony Brook, Vermont stranglehold at the top. The question will be did they add enough shooting to make that leap possible. Last year their difficulty making shots consistently really put them in tough situations, particularly against the upper echelon teams. If their offense becomes more efficient, they will be fighting for the top spot.
3. Albany
No matter what happens, Will Brown finds a way to put together a contender. Losing the big three from a year ago including the heart and soul of the team Peter Hooley, ushers in change for the Great Danes. Albany's task, as is seems to be every year, will be to integrate a tremendous amount of new players to their system. Will Brown has proved he is the wizard of roster turnover and I have no doubt he will do it once again. As with every year, Albany will be a great unknown when the season starts and by the end of the season will be playing their best basketball.
4. Binghamton
Will this be the year they put it together? I have seen some other lists picking the Bearcats as a sleeper in the league this year. Binghamton played tough defense last year but struggled to score consistently. The buzz is that the new additions to the roster will upgrade the offense and push them into contention. I will say the same thing I said last year: I will believe it when I see it. I know I am picking them fourth but that is more due to the losses that several other borderline teams have experienced. After the top three I believe there will be a significant drop off in consistent performance. Every year Binghamton is picked to break through. Every year they experience an obstacle that prevents them from getting there. Time will tell if this really is the year.
5. UMass-Lowell
UMass-Lowell took a significant step forward last year and looked ready to compete for a title. They shoot the ball at a high level and run a very smooth offense. Their defense still left a lot to be desired but they swept Vermont and played very competitively all season. This is their last year of postseason ineligibility and they look poised to be a legitimate contender in 2017-2018.
6. Stony Brook
I had Stony Brook as the fourth place finisher until the news of Ahmad Walker's suspension and possible dismissal. They already have to replace most of their team and Walker was poised to be a significant part of the new look Seawolves. With his status up in the air, Stony Brook has too many question marks.
7. Hartford
Another team dealing with a significant loss which is a theme for teams in the bottom half. Before Pancake Thomas transferred, Hartford was poised to build off their big upset of Albany in last years quarterfinals. Instead they are looking to replace their best player on team that already struggled with depth and balanced scoring.
8. UMBC
They have Jairus Lyles who is most likely going to lead the league in scoring and after that, many question marks. Many of the other players on the roster have failed to live up to expectations and the Retrievers are replacing their entire starting frontcourt. The top half of the league continues to be strong in the frontcourt and that does not bode well for the Retrievers chances.
9. Maine
Another year, another exodus in Orono. With Kevin Little and Issac Vann transferring, the cupboards are once again bare for the Black Bears. It is very difficult to build a successful program when the most promising players continually leave. Maine is another team that has a very thin frontcourt in a league that will be decided in the paint.
Well there you have it. A few thoughts on the league. I will be writing up each exhibition game and a Vermont specific preview will follow before the start of the non conference. Only two more weeks and then basketball is back. Thank goodness.
1. Vermont
The Catamounts have all the pieces in place to make a run to the title. They have a deep and experienced roster who are hungry for more after losing tight games to Stony Brook in the tournament the last two years. The team will be well rounded as they will add some frontcourt depth to go along with the already deep backcourt. Vermont checks every box in the title contender survey. The question really becomes how will this team handle being the chased as opposed to the chaser. The pressure is very different when as a team you are the preseason favorite as I believe Vermont will be. Games begin to mean a little more and the chatter from the fans and the media gets a little louder. Vermont has experienced several significant postseason disappointments since their last title and there is a significant amount of pressure on this group to deliver. If the Catamounts continue to handle adversity this season as they have over the last couple seasons, they will give themselves a chance to bring home the trophy.
2. New Hampshire
If Vermont can check all the contender boxes, New Hampshire can check almost all the boxes. The Wildcats also return an experienced and battle tested roster. They have been knocking at the door in recent years and finally look poised to break through and break up the Albany, Stony Brook, Vermont stranglehold at the top. The question will be did they add enough shooting to make that leap possible. Last year their difficulty making shots consistently really put them in tough situations, particularly against the upper echelon teams. If their offense becomes more efficient, they will be fighting for the top spot.
3. Albany
No matter what happens, Will Brown finds a way to put together a contender. Losing the big three from a year ago including the heart and soul of the team Peter Hooley, ushers in change for the Great Danes. Albany's task, as is seems to be every year, will be to integrate a tremendous amount of new players to their system. Will Brown has proved he is the wizard of roster turnover and I have no doubt he will do it once again. As with every year, Albany will be a great unknown when the season starts and by the end of the season will be playing their best basketball.
4. Binghamton
Will this be the year they put it together? I have seen some other lists picking the Bearcats as a sleeper in the league this year. Binghamton played tough defense last year but struggled to score consistently. The buzz is that the new additions to the roster will upgrade the offense and push them into contention. I will say the same thing I said last year: I will believe it when I see it. I know I am picking them fourth but that is more due to the losses that several other borderline teams have experienced. After the top three I believe there will be a significant drop off in consistent performance. Every year Binghamton is picked to break through. Every year they experience an obstacle that prevents them from getting there. Time will tell if this really is the year.
5. UMass-Lowell
UMass-Lowell took a significant step forward last year and looked ready to compete for a title. They shoot the ball at a high level and run a very smooth offense. Their defense still left a lot to be desired but they swept Vermont and played very competitively all season. This is their last year of postseason ineligibility and they look poised to be a legitimate contender in 2017-2018.
6. Stony Brook
I had Stony Brook as the fourth place finisher until the news of Ahmad Walker's suspension and possible dismissal. They already have to replace most of their team and Walker was poised to be a significant part of the new look Seawolves. With his status up in the air, Stony Brook has too many question marks.
7. Hartford
Another team dealing with a significant loss which is a theme for teams in the bottom half. Before Pancake Thomas transferred, Hartford was poised to build off their big upset of Albany in last years quarterfinals. Instead they are looking to replace their best player on team that already struggled with depth and balanced scoring.
8. UMBC
They have Jairus Lyles who is most likely going to lead the league in scoring and after that, many question marks. Many of the other players on the roster have failed to live up to expectations and the Retrievers are replacing their entire starting frontcourt. The top half of the league continues to be strong in the frontcourt and that does not bode well for the Retrievers chances.
9. Maine
Another year, another exodus in Orono. With Kevin Little and Issac Vann transferring, the cupboards are once again bare for the Black Bears. It is very difficult to build a successful program when the most promising players continually leave. Maine is another team that has a very thin frontcourt in a league that will be decided in the paint.
Well there you have it. A few thoughts on the league. I will be writing up each exhibition game and a Vermont specific preview will follow before the start of the non conference. Only two more weeks and then basketball is back. Thank goodness.
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