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!
Starting to feel a lot better about this upcoming season. Added size, shooting, and experience. This years portal pickups seem much more deliberate than in past years where it seems like we flung everything at the wall and see what sticks
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Fit has been prioritized for sure.
DeleteReally good stuff. Could be a deep team as well. Can’t wait to see that ball around with those shooters and size
ReplyDeleteThanks Lee! It is a “wait and see” time of year but we appreciate your notices. UVM does very little of sports updates and “”where are they now”. It could be so easy if coach’s were asked to submit monthly updates to a central person.
ReplyDeleteYour are appreciated!!!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DowBooeXrbvgEKb1kDaTrL1frHpGRitc6rXvGrLyO2o/mobilebasic
ReplyDeleteSounds like a tough kid with great attitude. If he can play also will be motivating and awesome.
Awesome story, it sounds like that kid doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit. Hopefully he can have a couple healthy seasons to finish out his career. He deserves it
DeleteAmazing story. Guy like that brings a lot of intangibles and heart.
DeleteKudos to the coaching staff for pulling in some talent. Once the sum of the parts finds its role in the lineup, this team will be one to reckon with.
ReplyDelete6 feet. I don't see a lot of assists. Is he a shooting guard? Walk on so I guess nothing to lose having him on the roster but I don't see much here. A cool personal story overcoming serious health issues. It will be an incredible story if he has a successful season.
ReplyDeleteLook for videos of his play. Very quick, decisive, creates space well for his shot, etc. This can only be construed as a win, with him coming off the cancer tx and being given walk-on status. Best of luck to him.
DeleteNeed guys like this to fill out roster. Guys looking for a shot, high character, hard working. This offseason is all about fit.
DeleteI am impressed with Becker and his staff, as well as this Kuzemka kid. But I am also impressed with Lee. Thank you for the posts!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete