San Francisco 72 Vermont 61
Vermont 73 Sonoma State 61
A weekend split and now a much needed two week break. Hopefully by the time Vermont steps on the court against Quinnipiac on December 15, they will be a much healthier team. There are two key things I believe that need to get worked out over the time off.
Kurt Steidl needs more playing time. I was happy to see that the coaching staff gave him the start against Sonoma State. He did not disappoint scoring 19 points on 6-11 shooting to lead the team. This could be the beginning of something special. The kid is a flat out assassin from behind the arc. He is currently shooting 52% (13-25) from three. The Cats need that kind of shooting in the worst way. Candon Rusin has been struggling mightily all year and something needs to change. I was glad to see him shoot well in the Sonoma state game but looking more closely at his career numbers those games likely to be the exception rather than the rule. Since coming to Vermont Rusin is shooting 31% from behind the arc. Unfortunately, it is time to accept that Rusin is who he is: an inconsistent shooter. He is not suddenly going to become a dependable perimeter scoring option. Maybe the key will be for him to come off the bench but at any rate, Steidl is a better player. He has been showing poise beyond his years and his defense is slowly improving. He has star written all over him.
Vermont better be shooting free throws for two weeks straight. The Cats have been downright atrocious from the line and the timing of the misses has also been extremely poor. For some, there is hope. For others...well lets just hope they keep practicing. Luke Apfeld and Sandro Carissimo are career 80% free throw shooters. Apfeld is currently shooting 69% and Carissimo is at 70%. I would have to believe that these number will rise before the season ends. Their drop in free throw percentage is certainly quite unexpected and a significant contributor to the poor team percentage. They both helped offset the poor free throw shooting in the past. Hector Harold, Candon Rusin, and Brial Voelkel are all poor free throw shooters and unfortunately that might not change. Voelkel did shoot much better during conference play last year so there is that to hold on to. Here is where I put in another plug for Steidl. He is an automatic free throw shooter at 92% (12-13) on the year.
Those are the two main points that need addressing besides getting healthy, which is by far the most important piece. I know some might look at the Cats defense as weak so far but if you look around college basketball the rule changes are working and scoring is up. One needs to look no further than Vermont and Stony Brook's numbers. Last year both teams gave up about 58 points per game. This year so far Vermont is giving up 75 points per game and Stony Brook is giving up 79. Teams are still figuring out how to play defense under the new rules and I would expect Vermont's defense to improve.
Lastly, I just want to recognize Brian Voelkel for tying T.J. Sorrentine on the all time assists list. That is a big name to be associated with and there are going to be many major accomplishments for Voelkel this season. Congratulations.
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