Vermont 92 Concordia 64
And the state of Vermont collectively holds its breath.
Another strong exhibition showing but the Cats was marred by an injury to senior captain Trae Bell-Haynes. He came down awkwardly grabbing a rebound in the second half. He was in obvious pain and did not put any weight on his left leg. His teammates carried him of the court and behind the bleachers. He did return to the bench and walked through the handshake line and to the locker room under his own power but with a significant limp. It goes without saying that an injury to the reigning player of the year is significant. Vermont fans everywhere will be crossing their fingers hoping that Bell-Haynes avoided a significant injury. I will refrain from any more speculation until there is some word from the team. Ernie Duncan also seemed to leave the game with an injury or was a least being protected as he played a very small amount at the beginning of the game. He did go down hard toward the end of the game on Friday so I am hoping it was just precautionary. On to the actual game action. Bell-Haynes looked great going 7-7 from the field on route to 17 points. He had some incredible finishes weaving through the lane and continues to blow me away with his ability to finish at the rim. Stef Smith had another great showing and is definitely ready to contribute from day one. He knocked down two threes as part of his 10 points and played tough aggressive defense. Most of his mistakes are in the form of making the typical "freshman" passes that just don't work in the college game. He is ahead of schedule and will be a crucial part of this team. Everett Duncan knocked down 4-5 shots from behind the arc for 15 points. He looks ready to be the guy to pick up where Kurt Steidl left off. He may not be able to provide the intangibles that Steidl did right off the bat but his shooting ability will keep him on the court and contributing. The other parts of his game will hopefully continue to grow throughout the season and if they do he will be a very solid contributor. Payton Henson and Anthony Lamb continued to do their thing and they are going to be a tough cover this year. Bailey Patella looked very good in this game. He has a nose for the ball and has that innate feel for the game that you can't teach. I am sure his slight frame has people thinking redshirt and that may be the case but he has the skill set to contribute this year as well. Skyler Nash still seems to be getting a feel for the speed of the college game and the Vermont system. He needs more repetitions before he is ready to contribute. Vermont is going to be very thin up front this season and it is going to leave them open to difficulties with foul trouble. Samuel Dingba and Drew Urquhart are very up and down during their time on the court. They will need to find consistency over the next few weeks to help shore up the Cats' post depth. The defense has a long way to go to get up to the standard that Coach Becker is accustomed to and this is where they are going to miss the graduates from last year the most. The offense is there but last year they won a lot of games by making big defensive plays and getting big stops. The new guys have a long way to go and even the returners are getting used to playing without the senior defensive leaders from last season. It will be interesting to see how this affects the Cats through he first part of the non-conference schedule. I will be posting an America East preview this week and a Vermont team preview the following week before the Cats open their season against Kentucky.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Friday, October 27, 2017
Hurricane benefit
Vermont 87 BU 76
Basketball is back and balance is restored to my life.
Vermont opened its season for a good cause in a exhibition against old rival Boston University. The Cats woke up in the second half and seized control of the game, cruising to a sizable victory. It was a great opportunity to see Vermont get a game against division one competition to begin their season. It feels like a more accurate assessment of where they are at. There is a lot to sort through so lets get to it. The returning core looked ready and ahead of the curve. Anthony Lamb looked his dominant self out-muscling and outworking his opponents for rebounds and finishing through contact at the rim. With increased confidence and a year of college basketball under his belt, he is going to have a big year. His froncourt counterpart Payton Henson also looked strong with some creative finishes at the rim. He was a little overshadowed by Lamb's breakout last year but he is every bit a special and versatile player who creates matchup problems. Trae Bell-Haynes looked good as always even though he was battling through some foul trouble. I thought Ernie Duncan looked like the most improved player of the group. He drove to the rim with more determination and grit than I have seen him through his first two years. If he continues to develop that part of his game it makes him that much more dangerous. He only needs to drive the ball like that a few times a games to keep the defense honest. He knocked down 4 out of 5 threes and looked quicker and more decisive with the ball. With so many strong returnees it is weird to think they are also trying to incorporate seven new players into the rotation. The new guys were about where you would expect at this stage of the season. A step slow on the defensive rotations. A bit unsure on offense. This is to be expected as they foray into the college game for the first time. Stef Smith was the standout from the group as he put up 15 points and had 3 steals in 14 minutes. He was strong with the ball and attacked the rim with force (including a sweet fast break dunk). Smith looks ready to contribute this year. Everett Duncan hit the first shot of the season and played the most minutes of the new guys. He got stronger during his redshirt year and continues to impress me with his underrated rebounding ability. He looks to be the guy who is going to get the first crack at minutes and his playing time is going to hinge on his ability to play defense. Skyler Nash looked timid but solid in his minutes. The coaching staff clearly wants Samuel Dingba to be a part of their post rotation. He has the length but he is very raw and foul prone. The staff is going to have to deploy him in short spurts like they did with Darren Payen last year in order to maximize his efficiency. Ben Shungu, Bailey Patella, and Ra Kpedi didn't play quite enough to get an impression of what their roles might be. Overall Vermont looked very strong. The offense is going to be there this year and I think they are going to have close to 5 guys averaging double figures. The offensive efficiency and versatility is on track. The defense takes time and the defensive system is difficult to learn. The young guys have their work cut out for them in that department. With the loss of Kurt Steidl and Dre Wills I do think the defense, especially early in the season, will take a slight step back. Without the strong and experienced individual defenders Vermont is going to have to rely on each other more and function as a defensive unit. The returning core group hasn't skipped a beat and will be leaned on heavily to start the season. The depth may be an issue early on but the talent is there and come conference time the young guys will have carved out their roles. I already cant wait to be back at Patrick on Sunday.
Basketball is back and balance is restored to my life.
Vermont opened its season for a good cause in a exhibition against old rival Boston University. The Cats woke up in the second half and seized control of the game, cruising to a sizable victory. It was a great opportunity to see Vermont get a game against division one competition to begin their season. It feels like a more accurate assessment of where they are at. There is a lot to sort through so lets get to it. The returning core looked ready and ahead of the curve. Anthony Lamb looked his dominant self out-muscling and outworking his opponents for rebounds and finishing through contact at the rim. With increased confidence and a year of college basketball under his belt, he is going to have a big year. His froncourt counterpart Payton Henson also looked strong with some creative finishes at the rim. He was a little overshadowed by Lamb's breakout last year but he is every bit a special and versatile player who creates matchup problems. Trae Bell-Haynes looked good as always even though he was battling through some foul trouble. I thought Ernie Duncan looked like the most improved player of the group. He drove to the rim with more determination and grit than I have seen him through his first two years. If he continues to develop that part of his game it makes him that much more dangerous. He only needs to drive the ball like that a few times a games to keep the defense honest. He knocked down 4 out of 5 threes and looked quicker and more decisive with the ball. With so many strong returnees it is weird to think they are also trying to incorporate seven new players into the rotation. The new guys were about where you would expect at this stage of the season. A step slow on the defensive rotations. A bit unsure on offense. This is to be expected as they foray into the college game for the first time. Stef Smith was the standout from the group as he put up 15 points and had 3 steals in 14 minutes. He was strong with the ball and attacked the rim with force (including a sweet fast break dunk). Smith looks ready to contribute this year. Everett Duncan hit the first shot of the season and played the most minutes of the new guys. He got stronger during his redshirt year and continues to impress me with his underrated rebounding ability. He looks to be the guy who is going to get the first crack at minutes and his playing time is going to hinge on his ability to play defense. Skyler Nash looked timid but solid in his minutes. The coaching staff clearly wants Samuel Dingba to be a part of their post rotation. He has the length but he is very raw and foul prone. The staff is going to have to deploy him in short spurts like they did with Darren Payen last year in order to maximize his efficiency. Ben Shungu, Bailey Patella, and Ra Kpedi didn't play quite enough to get an impression of what their roles might be. Overall Vermont looked very strong. The offense is going to be there this year and I think they are going to have close to 5 guys averaging double figures. The offensive efficiency and versatility is on track. The defense takes time and the defensive system is difficult to learn. The young guys have their work cut out for them in that department. With the loss of Kurt Steidl and Dre Wills I do think the defense, especially early in the season, will take a slight step back. Without the strong and experienced individual defenders Vermont is going to have to rely on each other more and function as a defensive unit. The returning core group hasn't skipped a beat and will be leaned on heavily to start the season. The depth may be an issue early on but the talent is there and come conference time the young guys will have carved out their roles. I already cant wait to be back at Patrick on Sunday.
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