Vermont dominated from start to finish en route to their 5th straight win. The offense was humming all afternoon with the Cats shooting 60.7% from the field and knocking down 13 threes. Albany put up little defensive resistance and the Great Danes early season drubbing of UMass Lowell is a distant memory. The defense was locked in for the first half before trading buckets in a second half where the Cats were up by 30 for much of it. So far road games in the America East have produced some wild results making every game even more important. Vermont has solidified their identity and has been coming out with purpose and intention during this win streak. Players have grown into their roles and the coaching staff is finding the right combinations. On the offensive and defensive ends the movements are fluid and the trust and togetherness that was a work in progress earlier in the season, is finally on solid ground. All of the games the rest of the way are crucial but this week is particularly important. The road game at Maine is always tough and the Black Bears are proving to be a dangerous team, fresh off dominating UMBC. Can't fall into the trap with the big home showdown with UMass Lowell looming one week from today. The Cats have put themselves in a great position with the first half of the conference season behind them. Now it is a matter of continuing to build the momentum.
Dylan Penn was great in the game today. He scored 17 points on 7-8 shooting and had 5 assists for the second consecutive game. Throw in 3 steals and he has fully integrated himself into the Vermont system. Penn is finding the holes in the defense and is making the extra pass when the defense collapses. He is such a unique weapon and is finding ways to make an impact without scoring. Finn Sullivan poured it on in the second half, finishing with 19 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. He is making himself more of a threat on offense and he is the key in making the Vermont offense explosive. Matt Veretto continues to surprise and exceed expectations with another strong performance. He finished with 16 points on 4-6 shooting from three. After three years away from college basketball, Veretto has gotten up to speed much faster than anticipated. He opens things up for the Cats offense with his shooting ability. Kam Gibson had another strong effort with 13 points. He is providing a nice blend of perimeter shooting and creating his own shot off the dribble. Aaron Deloney had 14 points off the bench, attacking the basket and bringing energy. Robin Duncan once again made it all happen with 4 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds in a team high 31 minutes. Albany forced him to be more of a distributor and he responded with a season high 8 assists.
The grind of the second half of conference play is upon the Cats and playing teams the second time through is always a different challenge. Taking it one game at a time and staying mentally tough down the stretch are the keys for the rest of the season.
P.S. I wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who was involved in putting together the National Girls & Women in sports day at Patrick Gym this afternoon. My daughter had a blast and the whole event was really great to see. The crowd was incredible and the Cats got a big win to top it all off!
The way they are playing on both sides of the ball, the #1 seed isn’t so far fetched as it was when they were 2-2 after 2 bad losses. Important next 2 games coming up. Bryant and UML are potentially so explosive on offense, I wouldn’t want the Cats go there during the tournament. It’s great to hear how Robin could be considered in the POY conversation. He could hang that on his brothers for all eternity!
ReplyDeleteHome court will be the deciding factor this year. There have been times in years past where road wins in the tourney seemed possible. This year it feels like whoever ends up hosting the most games has a more significant advantage than usual.
DeleteThankfully, the OOC is a distant memory. However, I think Becker and his staff need to rethink their OOC scheduling. There was too much traveling in so short a span. This often causes injury and fatigue. OOC should be a time for building confidence. Too many losses, due to a tough schedule, can some times be detriment to this goal.
ReplyDeleteBecker has said that it was too much. Scheduling is a major challenge for Vermont and sometimes they don't have much of a choice. Teams flat out refuse to schedule the Cats at Patrick. Despite all of the struggles I do think that in the end it has had a positive effect on the team as they are not taking anything for granted and are not going to shy away from any big challenges down the stretch.
Deletethis team owes its success to Robin / he is the confidence, the desire, that this team has needed from the start of the season / all of the Duncan’s have been very special to the UVM program but i consider Robin the best / just ask his teammates /
ReplyDeleteRobin has been the center of getting this team to believe and play with toughness and intensity. I think it is hard to pick a favorite Duncan. They all have meant so much to this program.
DeleteCoach Becker and his staff have done a great job this year as they have for many years /I hurt for the kids that are at every practice working hard / I have coached all kind of sports for many years and have always found time for every ball player Tobe on the floor especially when the team is up 20 plus points with 5 minutes to go in the game / Come on coach ; these kids deserve to play ! Not just the last 60 seconds / give them a chance /
ReplyDeleteI think being a young player on a college team, sitting the bench is part of the deal. I think the players understand to be ready when their number is called and there are certainly many examples of player improvement in the Vermont program after sitting out.
DeleteI agree with both sides. The only caveats are godforbid one of the 8 get hurt up 30 with 5 to play or someone like Perry smith jr gets discouraged and transfers and never gets a chance to develop. He in particular seems to be the one that they should be playing more. We’re going to need him next year and he’s been sitting on the bench every game without his warmup suit on itching to get on the floor.
DeleteI agree in the case of Smith. I think at the D1 level the coaches still have to consider player development at all times. It’s a balancing act that UVM has been decent at walking. There have been a few transfers that I wish we would not have lost like Tripani to BC for example.
DeleteImagine Trapani and Blakley together for 4 years!
DeleteUltimately Smith just isn't ready. He would play more if he was. He has really struggled with the speed of the college game and is still not up to speed on the defensive rotations. It is one of the challenges with always being expected to win. It is hard to let guys figure it out when you need to win games. That is certainly a factor in transfers some times and it is difficult to prevent. If Smith buys in and sticks around he will develop into a good player but there is always a possibility that it isn't a good fit. The Trapani situation was more about Lonergan's coaching style and demeanor rather than purely a playing time issue.
DeleteI agree Lee. It’s a D1 sport. The players have to earn the time and that comes with practice. Middle school, high school, or AAU is a different matter. The success the coaching staff has achieved over the years is not the product of happenstance but calculated…
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteI have been thinking about Smith recently also and his increasing lack of playing time. It's got to be discouraging and I wonder if we might have another Kpedi situation i.e. highly rated but not working out. I hope not.
ReplyDeleteYou really never know. Some guys get to work in the offseason and come back ready to seize the opportunity and some struggle to fit. His attitude seems positive and winning always helps.
DeleteKpedi was highly rated?
ReplyDeleteTrapani got injured and missed a lot of games. If that doesn't happen, he might not transfer. Winning is fun!
Kpedi was highly rated and has actually developed into a very good player for IPFW over the last two seasons.
DeleteMay be wrong but going by memory Kpedi was highly rated.
ReplyDeleteYour memory is correct!
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