Dylan Penn injury thoughts

Yesterday John Goodman broke the news that Vermont's star transfer Dylan Penn broke a bone in his hand and is looking at a 4-6 week recovery timeline. Tough news for one of the most exciting new players on this year's Catamounts. Four weeks from today is November 5th and six weeks is November 19th. If there is any silver lining to this news it is that if he recovers within this timeline he will only miss 5 or 6 games at the most and has the potential to return for the Bahamas tournament. Certainly the missed practice time is tough but as a veteran player who strikes me as someone who will approach his rehab with intensity and commitment, the rest of season outlook should be fine. Another interesting thing to keep in mind is the Vermont program has an established history of not really skipping a beat when players go down. It speaks to the program's "next man up" philosophy and the player's commitment to each other and to winning. The Cats do have depth and experience at the guard position which will certainly help. From a playmaking perspective Finn Sullivan and Robin Duncan are very comfortable running the show and impacting the game on both sides of the ball. Aaron Deloney and impressive freshman TJ Hurley will be asked to provide a little more scoring punch. Maybe I am overly optimistic (who am I kidding, optimism is my middle name) but I think back to the opener last season on the road against a tough Northern Iowa squad. No Ryan Davis? No problem. Vermont was able to dominate that game from start to finish. The California trip will certainly test Vermont's resolve without Penn, but history suggests that the Cats are up to the task. I wish Dylan a speedy recovery and can't wait to see him out there on the court.