Albany 75 Vermont 71
Vermont fought hard and played tough on the road but ultimately could not do enough to win. In the first half Vermont absolutely shot the lights out. This was mostly due to Ernie Duncan's career night. Their defense around the rim was great and they forced Albany to take contested perimeter shots. Vermont went into the locker room with a 10 point lead. Out of the gates Albany tightened up their defense and started to relentlessly take the ball at the rim. Vermont was pushed back on their heels and it looked like they were going to get run out of the building. Albany stormed all the way back and took a seven point lead. Things were looking bleak as Vermont could not hit anything from the perimeter. Then shots started to fall and Vermont clawed their way back into the game and took a one point lead at 71-70. Albany made enough free throws down the stretch and Vermont was unable to cash in on any more perimeter shots which resulted in the final margin. There were many good things and many bad things about this game. On the positive side of things, Vermont continues to play well on the road and has improved many of their weaknesses from earlier in the season. This game was Albany's Big Purple Growl event and there was a crowd of over 5,000 in attendance. Vermont not only took a big first half lead, but then fought back and almost pulled out the victory. Vermont's interior defense was much better. Individually Ernie Duncan and Cam Ward were tremendous. It was by far the best game of Duncan's young career. The live stats are not working so I do not have exact numbers but I believe he finished with a career high 23 points. He looked decisive and confident while looking a step quicker than he has been recently. It seems as though he is much more comfortable playing on the road as he continues to have more success away from Patrick Gym. Drew Urquhart also looked very good and is making the same kind of late season run he did last season. On the negative side of things, the Cats perimeter defense in the second half was atrocious. They could not and did not stop any dribble penetration and let Evan Singletary and Peter Hooley completely take over the game. Albany lives and dies at the free throw line as much as any team in the nation and this game was no different. Albany finished the game +15 at the free throw line and it was 100% the reason they won the game. Most of those free throws were the result of Vermont's perimeter defenders not moving their feet. I do not think I have seen Dre Wills play a worse game. I realize he is banged up but he had no effect on either end of the floor. This game was very much about a senior laden, experienced team knowing what to do to win. Singletary and Hooley are both clutch players who are at their best when their team needs them. Tonight was another example of what a veteran presence can do for a team. The game was leaps and bounds better than the first meeting with Albany and gives hope that Vermont can continue to improve so they are playing their best basketball a month from now. They have to shake off this game and focus on getting revenge against UMass Lowell. This season is now focused solely on securing the third seed. In order to do that they need to go at least 5-1 the rest of the way. At this point in the season as a player you have to have a short memory because there is no more time to make up for an off game. Every game from here on out is the season. Vermont needs to bounce back and take care of business at UMass Lowell on Monday.
Saturday, February 6, 2016
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Maine at Vermont 2/3/16
Vermont 85 Maine 68
Happy birthday Darren Payen!!!
Vermont pulled away from Maine in the second half by dominating in the paint. At the center of it all was Payen putting in his best effort as a Catamount. Payen finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds and made several other hustle plays on both ends of the floor. After losing his starting job and looking entirely lost for the month of January, it was starting to look like Payen wasn't going to contribute in the way the coaching staff had hoped. This is only one game but he is slowly looking like he may be figuring things out. His offensive skills have been strong all year but he has been unable to stay on the court due to his defensive deficiencies. Maine doesn't exactly have an imposing frontcourt but Payen had been struggling no matter the opponent. It is nice to see him have a good game and hopefully this will boost his confidence and springboard him to a strong finish. His counterpart Ethan O'Day also had a great game and is really putting it all together. O'Day led Vermont with 23 points and contributed all around by adding 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. In conference play he is averaging 16.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and leads the conference at 2.4 bpg. He is stepping up in a big way and trying to finish his career on a high note. Trae Bell-Haynes had a nice game with 11 points and a season high 8 assists. Drew Urquhart and Dre Wills both hit double figures off the bench and played great during the run that put the game away. Wills knows how to step up in the big moments and gives this team a finisher. He still doesn't look fully healthy and at this point is seems as though it is going to linger for the rest of the season. Speaking of health, I think Ernie Duncan has hit the proverbial "freshman wall". He is really struggling to contribute positively on the court now that his outside shot has stopped falling. The rigors of a full season after sitting out for so long seem to be taking their toll. Maine still looked weak to me but I kept telling myself "this team beat Albany?!?" Maine just couldn't stop anyone around the rim as Vermont shot 20-23 (87%) from inside the three point line in the second half. Now the Cats have a brutal Saturday/Monday road trip from Albany to UMass Lowell. Two teams that beat Vermont handily and two very tough road games. They have to at least split the two games if they have any hope at earning a home playoff game. All the games are important down the stretch but this is the weekend that will determine a lot about how the rest of the season will play out for Vermont.
Happy birthday Darren Payen!!!
Vermont pulled away from Maine in the second half by dominating in the paint. At the center of it all was Payen putting in his best effort as a Catamount. Payen finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds and made several other hustle plays on both ends of the floor. After losing his starting job and looking entirely lost for the month of January, it was starting to look like Payen wasn't going to contribute in the way the coaching staff had hoped. This is only one game but he is slowly looking like he may be figuring things out. His offensive skills have been strong all year but he has been unable to stay on the court due to his defensive deficiencies. Maine doesn't exactly have an imposing frontcourt but Payen had been struggling no matter the opponent. It is nice to see him have a good game and hopefully this will boost his confidence and springboard him to a strong finish. His counterpart Ethan O'Day also had a great game and is really putting it all together. O'Day led Vermont with 23 points and contributed all around by adding 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks. In conference play he is averaging 16.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, and leads the conference at 2.4 bpg. He is stepping up in a big way and trying to finish his career on a high note. Trae Bell-Haynes had a nice game with 11 points and a season high 8 assists. Drew Urquhart and Dre Wills both hit double figures off the bench and played great during the run that put the game away. Wills knows how to step up in the big moments and gives this team a finisher. He still doesn't look fully healthy and at this point is seems as though it is going to linger for the rest of the season. Speaking of health, I think Ernie Duncan has hit the proverbial "freshman wall". He is really struggling to contribute positively on the court now that his outside shot has stopped falling. The rigors of a full season after sitting out for so long seem to be taking their toll. Maine still looked weak to me but I kept telling myself "this team beat Albany?!?" Maine just couldn't stop anyone around the rim as Vermont shot 20-23 (87%) from inside the three point line in the second half. Now the Cats have a brutal Saturday/Monday road trip from Albany to UMass Lowell. Two teams that beat Vermont handily and two very tough road games. They have to at least split the two games if they have any hope at earning a home playoff game. All the games are important down the stretch but this is the weekend that will determine a lot about how the rest of the season will play out for Vermont.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Stony Brook at Vermont 1/30/16
Stony Brook 72 Vermont 61
It was great to see Josh Speidel in Patrick Gym. He is such and important piece to the program. His hard work and determination during his recovery are a tremendous inspiration. Today was a great reminder about life beyond basketball. As fans it is sometimes easy to overlook that all of the players are ultimately young adults going to college and finding their place in the world. No matter what happens on the court these young men are growing and becoming a family. That is the atmosphere that Coach Becker has cultivated and today was one of those moments where you see the importance of all the non-basketball related parts of building a great program. Now on to the game.
Vermont played a tough, hard fought game but struggled to make plays when they needed to in the second half. Much of that was due to Stony Brook turning up the pressure on defense. Stony Brook is a very strong team and should win the title in the America East. Anything less than that and it will be a major failure. The Seawolves are the best team in the league with the best player in the league. Jameel Warney is very good and Stony Brook finally has the supporting cast around him to win the league. Ahmad Walker is very versatile and does all of the little things to help a team win. In the first half Vermont did a great job on the boards and didn't let Stony Brook push them around. The Seawolves came out in the second half and locked down on defense. This caused a 6 minute scoring drought for Vermont to start the second half and from there Vermont could never quite hit the big shots they needed. One of the positives is that the defense is back for the Cats. They played very tough and got plenty of stops. Unfortunately on the offensive side of the ball, Vermont struggled to make shots. The Cats are very dependent on Ernie Duncan and Kurt Steidl hitting threes. Today they could not get the crucial shots to go down and finished a combined 3-11 from the arc. A portion of the difficulties in the game today was the mistakes for Vermont were poorly timed. They only finished with 8 turnovers for the entire game which is tremendous but they were turnovers that led to baskets and turnovers when Vermont really needed a score. Overall it was a good effort by Vermont and they need to shake it off and attack the second half of the conference schedule with the same defensive tenacity they have shown over the past few games. Ethan O'Day in particular played very well in the game today. He finished with a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. O'Day also played tough defense without fouling and finished with three blocks. One of the events of the game that made it hard for Vermont to fight back was yet another Dre Wills injury. He called to the bench after what looked like a injury to this thigh. After stretching it out and trying to play through he sat for most of the second half, only playing 6 minutes. Wills is probably the most crucial player on Vermont because he changes both sides of the ball so drastically. I hope that it is nothing serious but it is rapidly turning into a lost season for Wills. Now a game against a Maine team that has been playing very well of late. When I watched Vermont play Maine on the road, the Black Bears looked very weak, especially defensively. Then they beat Albany and are now sitting at 4-4 in the league. With the current struggles at home for the Cats there are no cakewalks. They will have to be focused and ready to do battle for each and every game during the run to March.
It was great to see Josh Speidel in Patrick Gym. He is such and important piece to the program. His hard work and determination during his recovery are a tremendous inspiration. Today was a great reminder about life beyond basketball. As fans it is sometimes easy to overlook that all of the players are ultimately young adults going to college and finding their place in the world. No matter what happens on the court these young men are growing and becoming a family. That is the atmosphere that Coach Becker has cultivated and today was one of those moments where you see the importance of all the non-basketball related parts of building a great program. Now on to the game.
Vermont played a tough, hard fought game but struggled to make plays when they needed to in the second half. Much of that was due to Stony Brook turning up the pressure on defense. Stony Brook is a very strong team and should win the title in the America East. Anything less than that and it will be a major failure. The Seawolves are the best team in the league with the best player in the league. Jameel Warney is very good and Stony Brook finally has the supporting cast around him to win the league. Ahmad Walker is very versatile and does all of the little things to help a team win. In the first half Vermont did a great job on the boards and didn't let Stony Brook push them around. The Seawolves came out in the second half and locked down on defense. This caused a 6 minute scoring drought for Vermont to start the second half and from there Vermont could never quite hit the big shots they needed. One of the positives is that the defense is back for the Cats. They played very tough and got plenty of stops. Unfortunately on the offensive side of the ball, Vermont struggled to make shots. The Cats are very dependent on Ernie Duncan and Kurt Steidl hitting threes. Today they could not get the crucial shots to go down and finished a combined 3-11 from the arc. A portion of the difficulties in the game today was the mistakes for Vermont were poorly timed. They only finished with 8 turnovers for the entire game which is tremendous but they were turnovers that led to baskets and turnovers when Vermont really needed a score. Overall it was a good effort by Vermont and they need to shake it off and attack the second half of the conference schedule with the same defensive tenacity they have shown over the past few games. Ethan O'Day in particular played very well in the game today. He finished with a double double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. O'Day also played tough defense without fouling and finished with three blocks. One of the events of the game that made it hard for Vermont to fight back was yet another Dre Wills injury. He called to the bench after what looked like a injury to this thigh. After stretching it out and trying to play through he sat for most of the second half, only playing 6 minutes. Wills is probably the most crucial player on Vermont because he changes both sides of the ball so drastically. I hope that it is nothing serious but it is rapidly turning into a lost season for Wills. Now a game against a Maine team that has been playing very well of late. When I watched Vermont play Maine on the road, the Black Bears looked very weak, especially defensively. Then they beat Albany and are now sitting at 4-4 in the league. With the current struggles at home for the Cats there are no cakewalks. They will have to be focused and ready to do battle for each and every game during the run to March.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Vermont at UNH 1/27/16
Vermont 66 UNH 50
Welcome back Vermont basketball.
The Cats finally put it all together for a full 40 minutes and got a huge win on the road. Getting back to playing the tough defense that Coach Becker loves, Vermont dominated the game from start to finish, holding UNH to 23% shooting from the field. The Cats played tough and didn't allow UNH to get any open looks from the perimeter. Tonight was the 100th career win for Becker and I am sure it makes him proud to see the game won in the fashion he is known for. Preseason this was one of the games I had penciled in as a loss. UNH is one of the tougher road games in the America East and the Cats have now won both of the road games that typically trip them up. Now it is time to figure things out on their home floor. Right in the center of the win were the two veteran leaders, Ethan O'Day and Kurt Steidl. O'Day was a BEAST in the game scoring 19 points on 8-12 shooting. He also blocked 3 shots while anchoring the tough defense underneath. Steidl continued his strong play scoring 13 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Vermont received contributions from across the board and when they needed a big play they got it. Each time UNH tried to mount a run, Vermont maintained their composure and executed. In the game tonight the Cats finally looked like the Vermont teams that have had so much success. It is no accident that this strong performance coincided with Vermont finally having their full team. With everyone back into the fold the different lineups are more cohesive and the minutes can be more evenly distributed. The Cats are righting the ship at a crucial time as I detailed in my last post. They have some tough games ahead, none bigger than Saturday's battle with Stony Brook. It is going to be an uphill battle for sure as Stony Brook has looked every bit the heavy favorite they were expected to be. Vermont can go into the game confident and playing their best basketball of the season.
Welcome back Vermont basketball.
The Cats finally put it all together for a full 40 minutes and got a huge win on the road. Getting back to playing the tough defense that Coach Becker loves, Vermont dominated the game from start to finish, holding UNH to 23% shooting from the field. The Cats played tough and didn't allow UNH to get any open looks from the perimeter. Tonight was the 100th career win for Becker and I am sure it makes him proud to see the game won in the fashion he is known for. Preseason this was one of the games I had penciled in as a loss. UNH is one of the tougher road games in the America East and the Cats have now won both of the road games that typically trip them up. Now it is time to figure things out on their home floor. Right in the center of the win were the two veteran leaders, Ethan O'Day and Kurt Steidl. O'Day was a BEAST in the game scoring 19 points on 8-12 shooting. He also blocked 3 shots while anchoring the tough defense underneath. Steidl continued his strong play scoring 13 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. Vermont received contributions from across the board and when they needed a big play they got it. Each time UNH tried to mount a run, Vermont maintained their composure and executed. In the game tonight the Cats finally looked like the Vermont teams that have had so much success. It is no accident that this strong performance coincided with Vermont finally having their full team. With everyone back into the fold the different lineups are more cohesive and the minutes can be more evenly distributed. The Cats are righting the ship at a crucial time as I detailed in my last post. They have some tough games ahead, none bigger than Saturday's battle with Stony Brook. It is going to be an uphill battle for sure as Stony Brook has looked every bit the heavy favorite they were expected to be. Vermont can go into the game confident and playing their best basketball of the season.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
UMBC at Vermont 1/24/16
Vermont 79 UMBC 72
Just when it looked like Vermont was going to let another home game slip away.....the Cats dug deep and came through in the clutch. Vermont finally showed some moxie, getting tough when the game was on the line and making big plays. It has been a long time coming to see Vermont recover from some crucial mistakes and not fold. Vermont took its largest lead of the second half at 63-55 on an Ethan O'Day dunk. Then, much like it has all season, the ball bounced the way of the other team. While trying to break the press the referee stood directly in front of Cam Ward which prevented Ward from catching a pass. The ball bounced off the referee, right to a UMBC player for a layup. Bad luck. Then, clearly shook by the mistake, Ernie Duncan again turned the ball over for a fast break layup. These mistakes, like they have all year, put Vermont back on their heels and swung the momentum very quickly. UMBC continued to attack and capitalized on Vermont's lack of focus. Jairus Lyles hit 3-4 free throws and UMBC took a 66-63 lead with 4:40 to go. The Cats looked dejected and it felt as though the game was going to slip away. Enter Kurt Steidl. I said in my last post that Steidl could step up and take control of this team. He did just that in the game today by immediately tying the game with his fifth three pointer of the game. That one shot lifted the spirits of not only the team but the fans. With Patrick Gym rocking, Vermont got the stops it needed on defense and two crucial offensive rebounds at the other end of the floor. The first offensive rebound by O'Day resulted in an Ernie Duncan basket and the second offensive rebound was snatched by Nate Rohrer and put back for two. Throw in a Dre Wills layup and Vermont quickly built a 72-67 lead. UMBC was not about to go away with Jairus Lyles scoring at will, but Cam Ward converted a three point play to seal the game for Vermont. The comeback was very encouraging because so many different players stepped up and made big plays. It was a true team effort as every player on the floor at the end of the game contributed for Vermont. One note about Jairus Lyles: he is really really good and if UMBC could ever win enough games he has player of the year written all over him. What a talent. Back to Vermont. Kurt Steidl led Vermont in scoring for a second consecutive game with 17 points on 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc. He is really stepping up and I have to imagine he is going to be integral in leading this team and making them play up to their fullest potential. Getting Dre Wills back is a tremendous lift. He does everything well and brings a tremendous amount of toughness and grit. Wills put in another great all around effort with 11 points 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Ernie Duncan finally played the type of game he showed flashes of last year. Duncan's beautiful passing had all but disappeared this year and it finally returned against UMBC. Duncan finished with 7 assists and had several exciting feeds for easy buckets. He also scored 15 points which included a few nice mid-range buckets, which is great to see. The UMBC press was what brought them back into the game. The press was very effective and it was the point in the game where it was very clear how much they miss Trae Bell-Haynes. He is so good in the open court it prevents teams from pressing for long stretches of the game. I hope that the idea was to get him some rest to prepare for the upcoming schedule as he is crucial to Vermont's success. Vermont is going to need him as they enter a very tough stretch. The Next 5 games are: at UNH, Stony Brook, Maine, at Albany, and at UMass Lowell. That is a very tough stretch where Vermont could easily lose 4 out of 5. They have to play their best basketball of the season in order to come out of this stretch intact. The Cats need to focus on UNH and not start looking ahead to the big match-up with Stony Brook. Playing on the road at UNH is very difficult and the Wildcats are playing very well right now. Vermont has played better over the last two games and needs to continue improving each game in order to get some tough wins.
Just when it looked like Vermont was going to let another home game slip away.....the Cats dug deep and came through in the clutch. Vermont finally showed some moxie, getting tough when the game was on the line and making big plays. It has been a long time coming to see Vermont recover from some crucial mistakes and not fold. Vermont took its largest lead of the second half at 63-55 on an Ethan O'Day dunk. Then, much like it has all season, the ball bounced the way of the other team. While trying to break the press the referee stood directly in front of Cam Ward which prevented Ward from catching a pass. The ball bounced off the referee, right to a UMBC player for a layup. Bad luck. Then, clearly shook by the mistake, Ernie Duncan again turned the ball over for a fast break layup. These mistakes, like they have all year, put Vermont back on their heels and swung the momentum very quickly. UMBC continued to attack and capitalized on Vermont's lack of focus. Jairus Lyles hit 3-4 free throws and UMBC took a 66-63 lead with 4:40 to go. The Cats looked dejected and it felt as though the game was going to slip away. Enter Kurt Steidl. I said in my last post that Steidl could step up and take control of this team. He did just that in the game today by immediately tying the game with his fifth three pointer of the game. That one shot lifted the spirits of not only the team but the fans. With Patrick Gym rocking, Vermont got the stops it needed on defense and two crucial offensive rebounds at the other end of the floor. The first offensive rebound by O'Day resulted in an Ernie Duncan basket and the second offensive rebound was snatched by Nate Rohrer and put back for two. Throw in a Dre Wills layup and Vermont quickly built a 72-67 lead. UMBC was not about to go away with Jairus Lyles scoring at will, but Cam Ward converted a three point play to seal the game for Vermont. The comeback was very encouraging because so many different players stepped up and made big plays. It was a true team effort as every player on the floor at the end of the game contributed for Vermont. One note about Jairus Lyles: he is really really good and if UMBC could ever win enough games he has player of the year written all over him. What a talent. Back to Vermont. Kurt Steidl led Vermont in scoring for a second consecutive game with 17 points on 5-9 shooting from beyond the arc. He is really stepping up and I have to imagine he is going to be integral in leading this team and making them play up to their fullest potential. Getting Dre Wills back is a tremendous lift. He does everything well and brings a tremendous amount of toughness and grit. Wills put in another great all around effort with 11 points 10 rebounds and 6 assists. Ernie Duncan finally played the type of game he showed flashes of last year. Duncan's beautiful passing had all but disappeared this year and it finally returned against UMBC. Duncan finished with 7 assists and had several exciting feeds for easy buckets. He also scored 15 points which included a few nice mid-range buckets, which is great to see. The UMBC press was what brought them back into the game. The press was very effective and it was the point in the game where it was very clear how much they miss Trae Bell-Haynes. He is so good in the open court it prevents teams from pressing for long stretches of the game. I hope that the idea was to get him some rest to prepare for the upcoming schedule as he is crucial to Vermont's success. Vermont is going to need him as they enter a very tough stretch. The Next 5 games are: at UNH, Stony Brook, Maine, at Albany, and at UMass Lowell. That is a very tough stretch where Vermont could easily lose 4 out of 5. They have to play their best basketball of the season in order to come out of this stretch intact. The Cats need to focus on UNH and not start looking ahead to the big match-up with Stony Brook. Playing on the road at UNH is very difficult and the Wildcats are playing very well right now. Vermont has played better over the last two games and needs to continue improving each game in order to get some tough wins.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Vermont at Binghamton 1/21/16
Vermont 61 Binghamton 52
I don't care how poor of a team Binghamton has, winning down in Vestal for the Cats is a big game. Year after year the Bearcats trip up Vermont on the road. The memory of the winless Bearcats beating the Cats a few years back still gives me nightmares. This game was important for Vermont and they responded with a good performance. Playing a poor offensive team like Binghamton is a nice way to work some kinks out on defense. The defense looked better and the team for most of the game looked more cohesive. There were still frustrating stretches of too many turnovers and poor rotations on defense, but the overall effort was better. Offensively Vermont was able to get more open shots on the perimeter and used their defense to force turnovers and get shots in transition. When a team is struggling one of the leaders needs to step up and Kurt Steidl responded with a great game. Steidl shot 3-5 from three and scored 16 points to lead Vermont. He also added 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Steidl is the type of player that can take control and be the steady leader on this team. Dre Wills returning is a huge boost for Vermont. He looked very good against UMass Lowell and came up big for the Cats against Binghamton. He is one of those players who steps up when the team needs him. When Binghamton was making a run at the end of the game Wills came up with two key steals that turned the entire momentum back to Vermont. He finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals in his typical stat stuffing fashion. Vermont got nice contributions across the board and would have put the game away far earlier if they were not so dreadful at the line. At one point they were 1-10 from the line and finished a terrible 7-17. Just awful. Now it is time to go back home which is suddenly the source of all the Cats problems. The next game is important to show that Vermont can begin to play with some consistency.
I don't care how poor of a team Binghamton has, winning down in Vestal for the Cats is a big game. Year after year the Bearcats trip up Vermont on the road. The memory of the winless Bearcats beating the Cats a few years back still gives me nightmares. This game was important for Vermont and they responded with a good performance. Playing a poor offensive team like Binghamton is a nice way to work some kinks out on defense. The defense looked better and the team for most of the game looked more cohesive. There were still frustrating stretches of too many turnovers and poor rotations on defense, but the overall effort was better. Offensively Vermont was able to get more open shots on the perimeter and used their defense to force turnovers and get shots in transition. When a team is struggling one of the leaders needs to step up and Kurt Steidl responded with a great game. Steidl shot 3-5 from three and scored 16 points to lead Vermont. He also added 6 rebounds and 4 steals. Steidl is the type of player that can take control and be the steady leader on this team. Dre Wills returning is a huge boost for Vermont. He looked very good against UMass Lowell and came up big for the Cats against Binghamton. He is one of those players who steps up when the team needs him. When Binghamton was making a run at the end of the game Wills came up with two key steals that turned the entire momentum back to Vermont. He finished with 8 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals in his typical stat stuffing fashion. Vermont got nice contributions across the board and would have put the game away far earlier if they were not so dreadful at the line. At one point they were 1-10 from the line and finished a terrible 7-17. Just awful. Now it is time to go back home which is suddenly the source of all the Cats problems. The next game is important to show that Vermont can begin to play with some consistency.
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Rice star Ben Shungu commits to Vermont
Vermont added another piece to the program with Ben Shungu's verbal commitment. Shungu plays at Rice Memorial High School in Burlington, VT and is in the midst of a very impressive senior season. It is always good to get the top talent from Vermont to go to UVM and Shungu is giving himself a great opportunity. He is going to walk on, redshirt next year and be ready to play in the fall of 2017. His hope is to earn a scholarship and it is a win win for both Shungu and Vermont. Shungu gets a chance to play Division I basketball close to friends and family. Vermont takes a chance on a player and does not have to commit a scholarship while waiting to see if he will develop. I have seen Shungu play a few times in person and seen numerous highlights on the local news. The thing about him that has always jumped out for me is his strength. He is a big guard with a very strong frame and uses his size and physicality to his advantage. He gets to the rim and finishes through contact very well. During his transition to college basketball he will need to become a more consistent shooter and improve his quickness. The speed of the college game will be a large transition as the night in night out competition in Vermont high school basketball is lacking. When Rice went to a New York tournament over Christmas break, Shungu played very well against a significantly higher level of competition. He seems to have a knack for coming up big in big games and has played winning basketball for his entire career. Having the chance to sit back and learn for a year is going to be a big help to his chances at making an impact in college. Vermont players at UVM have enjoyed a fairly consistent amount of success over the last 13 years. Matt Sheftic, Taylor Coppenrath, Kyle Ceplicki, Chad Powlovich, Matt Glass, Pat Bergman, Candon Rusin, and Clancy Rugg all had varying degrees of success at Vermont. Hopefully Shungu can improve and find a way to positively contribute to the Vermont program.
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