Summertime Sunshine

Hello loyal readers! I haven't posted in about four months (yikes!) but I am back in action. There has been very little action on the Vermont news and recruiting front. So today I though it would be a good time to catch up on a few tidbits from the offseason so far. Two walk-ons have joined the Catamount program since the end of the season. Burlington High School star and Burlington Free Press athlete of the year Kevin Garrison switched his commitment from St. Michael's to Vermont. He cited an excitement about the opportunity and the comparative lower cost of attending UVM in the Free Press article where he made the announcement. Garrison is a tough 6-1 guard with a tremendous competitive drive. The multi-sport star is also an exceptional football player who made highlight reel plays the norm on the gridiron. He is exactly the type of player a team wants in practice and in the locker room. Becker has praised the contributions of his walk-ons in the past and I do think they play a very underrated role. Practice is where great teams are made and getting tough hard nosed competitors to give the rotation players a run has great value. Garrison is the exact type of player who could be a great walk-on. A mulit-sport player with a chip on his shoulder and a never quit attitude isn't going to back down from anyone. Just yesterday Verbal Commits announced that Jake Lorenzo a 7ft, 215lb big man from Englishtown, NJ will also be walking on to the Catamounts. With a walk-on there is not very much info as they are typically not being heavily recruited. He does have a page on HUDL with a few highlights. He certainly gives the Cats a big body to toss around in practice. Becker and his coaching staff have a strong track record with walk-ons and helping them develop and grow. Obliviously they are often long shots but Clancy Rugg, Nate Rohrer, and Ben Shungu all became strong contributors. Some like David Urso make it all four years as a practice player and some leave after one season like Troy Davine or Nassir Williams. Who knows what their contributions will be but it is great that student athletes want to be a part of the program at Vermont. There is so much excitement around this upcoming season as it is going to be exciting to see which teams rise to the top. With graduation and the exodus in Albany, the league is as wide open as I can remember. There should be a lot of exciting new players and there really is no cut and dry favorite like Vermont has been over the past two seasons. This league makeup should make for some exciting basketball. I think Vermont has a chance to be very good again as they incorporate some new pieces. This freshman group coming in is very exciting and with players getting new opportunities it is going to be fun to see who makes the big leap a la Drew Urquhart this past season. That is all for now but with the July recruiting period in full swing maybe there will be some 2019 recruiting information starting to surface. Enjoy the sunshine.