Vermont gets another big commitment

The offseason reload continues for Vermont with a commitment from San Diego transfer David Simon. He is a 6'11 F/C from Windsor, Canada who will have 3 years of eligibility remaining. This is a high upside commitment for the Cats who have completely remade their frontcourt this offseason. Simon was the Canadian player of the year in 2023 after a big senior season at Royal Crown Academy (same school that Sean Blake attended, different years). Simon had a medical redshirt year at San Diego before averaging 4.9 points last season. He is already an accomplished shotblocker and rim runner. With a 7'4" wingspan he makes a huge impact defensively and can be a big time lob threat at the rim. Last season he showed flashes of adding a perimeter element to his game, shooting 15/48 (31%) from three. Simon has incredible upside and potential and is a perfect compliment to frontcourt pieces that Vermont has already added. He is going to be an all court wrecker at Patrick and is a highlight waiting to happen. The coaching staff will be able to mix and match lineups and have possibly their most deep and versatile frontcourt. Vermont has hit on all cylinders this offseason, checking off the most significant team needs and then some. The fact that they were able to both rebuild their frontcourt AND reload with perimeter shooters is some serious portal work. This potential fit of the pieces that the coaching staff has assembled this offseason is huge. One more scholarship to go and I would imagine the only need left on the checklist is adding a point guard to compliment Sean Blake. This team has a chance to be electric. 

Two posts in an hour! Chris Kuzemka commits to the Cats

I am back so soon! Did you miss me?

Vermont gets their second commit of the last hour with Chris Kuzemka joining the Catamounts after four years at Loyola (MD). Kuzemka is a 6'0 guard who has had a challenging college career so far. He didn't play much as a freshman and then had a very strong sophomore year, averaging 6.5 points per game and knocking down 45 threes at a 39% clip. Since the 22-23 season he has only played in 17 total games as his junior year was cut short by injury and his senior year was cut short by illness. This commitment kind of reminds me of Matt Veretto where the coaching staff took a chance on a player who has only really had one full season of college basketball. Kuzemka has two years of eligibility remaining and will fit like a glove in the Vermont system. Crafty, quick, and moves well without the ball. A career 38% shooter from three, I can double down on what I wrote about  in the post about Ben Johnson's commitment and the Cats will certainly not lack shooters this season. During his sophomore and shortened junior season he rated as Loyola's best player by Evan Miya's metrics (evanmiya.com) and was their best defender both years as well. Getting two four year college players to join the Cats is a huge bonus in a year where teams are getting younger. 

*EDIT* Kuzemka is joining as a walk-on so still two more scholarships to go and it is time to get excited about next year's team!

Ben Johnson commits to the Catamounts

The 2025-2026 Catamounts continue to take shape with a commitment from Bellarmine transfer Ben Johnson. He is a 6'3 guard who has spent the last 4 years on the Knights roster. He was teammates with previous Bellarmine to Vermont transfer Dylan Penn during the 21-22 season (redshirt year). Since that redshirt year Johnson has put up some big numbers. He made the Atlantic Sun all freshman team in 22-23 and now sits at 937 career points and 175 made threes (at a 37% clip) in 77 career games.  This is after a prolific high school career in Kentucky where he was named Mr. Basketball in 2021. He is a flat out bucket. In the gym range and loves to play off two feet when he gets into the paint. A low turnover leader on the floor, Johnson will be able to give that Cats a big boost at both guard sports. He has also demonstrated a knack for clutch shots during his college career. Between Johnson and the TJ's, the Cats will have some lethal shooting options from deep. By the end of the season, the Cats will likely have three 1,000 point scorers at the guard position (Long: 1,070, 205 career threes at 36%, TJ Hurley: 877, 141 career threes at 38%, and Johnson). The message with this year's Catamount recruiting class is clear: the offense will be improved. This may come at the expense of some defense as that is not the strongest part of the new Catamounts' game, but the coaches are clearly prioritizing making improvements on that end of the floor. I think back to when this decade of dominance started and the quote from Becker was that he decided to "get offensive minded players and teach them how to play defense". The coaching staff is clearly leaning back into that strategy as they craft next season's roster. A really strong addition and the current roster is one that puts the Cats right back in the drivers seat for a run at a title. They still have two scholarships available and it will be interesting to see what the coaching staff does as the rotational minutes are looking pretty solid.

Jackson Skipper is back!!!!

In transfer portal terms, Vermont got a "Marfo" commitment today from Jackson Skipper. Skipper returns to Vermont after a year at Oral Roberts. I love Skipper's game and am very excited to see him back in the green and gold. He is one of those players who has a nose for the ball and plays with excitement and joy. At Oral Roberts, he averaged 4.9 points per game and shot 36% from three in 16 minutes a game (including 11 starts). He gives the Cats a versatile option as a player that knows the system and the program. His shooting ability will be a particularly nice addition. The Cats have really used the portal to add positional size and length. Skipper has two years remaining and continues the trend of Vermont signing players with multiple years remaining. This is a strong portal strategy as it serves two significant purposes. It gives the Cats a chance at continuity and a potential to retain players for more than one year. It also gives the players entering the program who are looking to increase their value and improve their earning potential motivation to buy in and work hard to expand their game. Goal 1a can be to develop and retain players and goal 1b can be to pitch prospective players on your developmental successes. It reflects strongly on the program for a player to return (particularly after they transferred to their hometown). So happy for Skipper to be back! Vermont has three more scholarships to fill and the last major need is at point guard with Sean Blake being the only true point guard on the roster.