Live basketball at the Aud

First off, what a wonderful feeling being in a gym and watching live basketball again. There is just nothing like it. Also I would like to say thank you to all the people who come up and say hello and talk to me about the blog. I really appreciate the community that this blog has built and love connecting with other Vermont fans.

Now onto the scrimmage.

The game ended in a 61-61 tie with a pretty exciting last 5 minutes of big time shot making by both teams. 

The thing that stood out to me the most from today was the size, strength, and physicality of this years team. The group of guards that Vermont has is bigger and stronger than any group they have had before. The players went hard today and I was blown away by their physicality. Vermont has always prided itself on defense and this years team has a chance to be very special on that end of the floor. 

Let us start with the players who look ready to reprise their roles on the team. Ryan Davis looked every bit the centerpiece he was last season. Ben Shungu is poised to cap off his career with another strong season and will be locked in as the Cats number two scorer. Isaiah Powell looked great doing his normal dirty work down low and will continue to see his role grow. Robin Duncan continues to bring his steady presence running the offense and the defense. Justin Mazzulla spent the whole practice coaching on the court, off the court, and to anyone who would listen. He made some nice plays and continues to provide a very versatile presence. 

Aaron Deloney was great in the scrimmage, finally showing off the shooting touch Vermont fans have been waiting for. He has always been tough and unafraid to do the little things and if his shot can find some consistency he will be able to provide some of the shooting Vermont is looking for. Georges Lefebvre made some nice plays and flashed some potential. He hit the boards hard and had a beautiful highlight reel drive and dunk. He certainly has all the pieces to be impactful but still needs some more reps to get into the speed of the game. Eric Beckett and Bailey Patella played limited minutes. Duncan Demuth, Tomas Murphy, and Nick Fiorillo were on the sidelines for this one.

The moment we have all been waiting for. Our first look at the new Catamounts. Kam Gibson looked solid. No glaring mistakes and knocked down several threes. Should be able to provide an experienced presence and outside shooting. Finn Sullivan looked very good. He is going to be a very nice piece for the Cats. He played all over the court including lots of point guard in the second half. Strong, versatile, and showcased good court vision. He had several great finds for threes. He has a nice ability to get his own shot, even if a few times he dribbled himself into some bad spots. Evan Guillory is big, physical, and a very strong defender. He will get minutes this season as a defensive stopper while his offense catches up. Sam Alamutu is equally as big and strong. Tremendous size at the guard position between these two freshman. Alamutu showed flashes of his tremendous athleticism and potential. He is going to be a tenacious rebounder. He is a little further behind in his adjustment to the college game and might need to get to conference play before he finds consistency. Michel Ndayishimiye got in the game, hit a three and didn't back down from anybody as he begins his redshirt season. 

Overall the Cats looked very good. The defense will be there this season and Davis will continue to give them a dynamic inside out presence. I also think they will be tough to press because they have so many ball handling options. The three point shooting will be the wild card. They have added some shooting but the key will be finding consistency. With the guys sitting out today the thin frontcourt rotation was glaring. After Powell and Davis they have no experienced proven frontcourt players. Murphy continues to have difficulty getting on the court and Vermont is going to have to play small often without him. In conference that is a little less of a concern but throughout the non-conference they are going to need one of the young guys to step up and take on the role of back up big man. 

I can't wait to see the exhibition games and see how the rotation plays out. There are a lot of minutes up in the air and some very interesting lineup combinations that Vermont can use. The Catamounts look like a team that has the pieces to make a run at another title.