Long Beach State 78 Vermont 58
Did I say yesterday was rock bottom for offensive flow? I stand corrected.
Vermont was dominated yet again as their marathon road trip finally comes to a close with a loss to Long Beach State. The Cats were never in this game scoring one basket in the first 7 minutes and never recovering. There are not many positives to take away from the road trip. The schedule was not constructed well, the team is struggling mightily to connect, and now Nick Fiorillo's injury hangs in the air as another roadblock to success. Things are tough for Vermont right now. At this point it is basically a complete do over. Back in their own beds and then an "exhibition" game against NVU-Lyndon to hit the reset button and start the season over. The offense is completely broken. Almost every possession is a scramble ending in one on one isolations. There is no post offense at all and even the sure handed veterans are turning the ball over at an alarming clip. Vermont shot 35% from the field and committed 17 turnovers compared to only 9 assists. Back to the drawing board to find an offensive approach that fits the personnel on this team. The Vermont coaching staff has always done a great job of building their roster to fit the system they run. It feels like they misjudged or overreached to try and fill out the roster and are now struggling to make the pieces fit. This offseason certainly required more creativity than the coaching staff has ever had to do before, and as of right now, it doesn't look like it is going to be a traditional Vermont team. That doesn't mean they can't make it work, but the climb is much steeper. At the same time Bryant and UMass Lowell have burst out of the gates and are staking their claim to be the favorites going into conference play. If conference play started today, I am not even sure where to place Vermont based on how they have looked over the last two weeks. The month of December will be an opportunity to take a deep breath, reassess, and find a way to build some momentum.
I am a loyal and rabid Cats fan. That said we are so spoiled with Becker’s incredible run. I mean 6 straight MVPs!!! But now it is really difficult to watch VT. No lock down defense, no elite turnover to assist ratio (and so many turnovers), no reliable scorers and too many scoring droughts. It seems in the past few years, nobody fouled out.
ReplyDeleteHopefully rest, reset and practice time with coaching and some HOME games can start to turn the tide. A goal for conference play would maybe be that VT is a team others don’t want to face, but it is not looking like that now. BTW, I really look forward to your summary and analysis of each game. Are there any 2023 recruits worthy of mention or is it too early?
Thanks for reading! The two decades of success has spoiled us for sure and at some point every program has a down stretch. As of right now there is not 2023 recruiting info. I think a lot of recruiting will change to the spring due to the shuffling in the transfer portal.
DeleteTrying to find a silver lining. At least the subs are going to get more experience with Fiorillo out. I think Alamuto will be playing more and more as he has been looking better and better especially this last game and rebounds and defends.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think we have such trouble getting bigs as other less reputable teams seem to be able to. No knock on Fiorillo but he had no other offers , even from Maine.
Alamutu did look good in his minutes. I think we get bigs at a comparable rate. Perry Smith Jr was a big time recruit, he is just not as ready for a instant impact as the coaching staff had hoped. They did miss out on several bigs in the transfer portal and I think recruiting through the portal can be difficult. Big men are a premium in college basketball so everyone is in on every player.
DeleteIt’s difficult for such a successful program to adjust a system that has produced positive results for many years. However, it appears to be a moment in time which is crying out for a solution of some kind. Maybe introducing a three quarter court zone back to an active 1-3-1 zone with Duncan running the end line. It may help defend the boards and reduce fouling. Offensively there appears to be no easy solution other than finding the combination that can run the offense.
ReplyDeleteI still think the defense can still come together. I agree that making changes is a challenge but the offense really needs a kickstart.
DeleteLike many I have been following your blog and your comments are always insightful. One of the biggest and most infuriating inconsistencies has been the shooting up and down the lineup. all across the team Finn Deloney Kam TJ , have had good and bad stretches we got spoiled with Ernie Everett Anthony Ryan Steph and eventually Ben. And as I recall Ryan didn’t exactly electrify the crowd his first year. What makes this tougher is the prospect of having to play Bryant. I watched some of the Cuse game and Grasso ( and his team and I’m told their fans ) were totally classless Boeheim said Grassos’ apology was insincere I didn’t hear the exchange but saw the video. He seems as classless as his star Peter Kiss was last year. A very talented player but totally classless. I hope we regroup and give them a game 1/2/23.
ReplyDeleteYeah Ryan was downright bad his freshman year. It is hard to make the transition and tough to expect all of these young guys to come fight in and be ready to contribute on both sides of the ball. Bryant plays with a chip on their shoulder and the fan base has not always conducted themselves with class. They will certainly not shy away from confrontation.
DeleteI think this coaching staff needs to stick with what got them here, great defense, responsible with assignments, rebounding, taking care of the ball, making the right pass etc. If the players can’t execute that’s on them at this point. Once the coach loses his identity then we are really lost. And I think that’s what we’re seeing here. Constant subbing and changing combinations looking for something when in the end you’re getting incredibly inconsistent play with too many guys not knowing their roles. I think down the stretch here he should either stick with the veterans and expect they play uvm brand of basketball or play the younger guys a lot more like Sam, Ileri, TJ and Smith Jr at the expense of say veretto, kam and the other senior guards. Unfortunately when they constructed this roster there was no way to expect that the returning players would all perform so inconsistently and finding a way to incorporate Dylan would be so hard. If there is any chance at them competing in the AE deloney needs to play more and be a factor, Finn and robin have to contribute on the offensive end and cut down on all the turnovers, and whoever the bigs are they have to rebound the ball. I hope they figure this out because if the rest of the yr goes this way it’ll be depressing but I fear more than that it might set the program back. I can see guys transferring out, etc…
ReplyDeleteThe constant in and out and is not helping the chemistry development at all. The returning players struggling has been the most bizarre part of the early season struggles. The hope would be by conference play some consistent rotation would shake out. There is certainly a chance of the program taking a step back. Losing is tough and it can have lasting effects.
DeleteIt is important to remember that three big games against three strong programs, USC, Cal State F, and UNCW all were a bounce, basket, foul shot away from being victories. The question to ask is, "what did they do right in those games versus the colossal failures?"
ReplyDeleteI would say the CSF game was certainly a bounce or two and they played well against USC, but they collapsed in the UNCW game. I am right there with you as I always try to focus on the positive but there have not been very many to focus on early on. Hopefully December will provide some better moments!
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