Exhibition: Vermont vs St. Michael's

Vermont 80 St. Michael's 55

Vermont swarmed the shorthanded Purple Knights from the opening tip and kept their foot on the gas, cruising to a win in the exhibition finale. The Cats clearly were not going to let the game turn out like the last one and played with more purpose and energy throughout. The players and coaches do an excellent job of using losses or inefficient games as fuel. Early on the defense was intense as Vermont held St. Mike's to only two made field goals in the first 10 minutes. The offense was firing on all cylinders with quick cuts and the perimeter shooters finding success. In the second half, the Cats played more in the halfcourt and were trying different looks and finding different combinations. Vermont really dominated the boards throughout the game and played with a fire and intensity in the paint. Night and day from the first exhibition and a great way to go into the prep for Monday's opener against UAB. 

What was the big difference? Well for starters Shamir Bogues was back. It was great to see him out on the court and he made an immediate impact as he always does. His energy is infections and just like last season the on/off court splits for Bogues are incredible. His teammates seem to feed off of his intensity and there is an electricity to his minutes (unfortunately the box score has disappeared so there will not be exact stats for this write up). Bogues looked really good and it is awesome to see him ramping back up into game shape. Sam Alamutu continues to impress and looks reborn so far this season. Finally getting a chance to play his natural guard position, he is flourishing. He was a rebound shy of a double double and impacted every aspect of the game (ignore the free throws). His defense was absolutely smothering to start the game and his energy off the charts. Flying all over the court including some nice dunks. Seeing how he carves out a role this year is going to be so fun. Sean Blake was electric once again. The improvement over the course of this last calendar year from his final high school season to now has been astronomical. He truly has gone from a possible redshirt to a player who could carve out a nice scoring role off the bench. That is a testament to his hard work. His ability to burst through the gaps and rise to the rim are special (again, ignore the free throws).  The post player crew bounced back in a big way. Nick Fiorillo led the Cats with 12 points and jumpstarted the offense with a couple threes early. He is a tone setter for this group and handling a larger shooting role from the perimeter is crucial to the Cats success this season. Seth Joba showed flashes of his potential throughout the game. He too knocked down a couple threes and had a beautiful pull up jumper off the dribble. He battled for rebounds underneath and played with more aggression. Shy Odom flashed his potential in this one too with some nice offensive rebounds and played with more purpose. Everyone that played in the game scored in a really well rounded team effort.

Now on to the real thing. I am super excited for the game against UAB on Monday. I hopped on a UAB podcast to talk about the matchup and you can join the Patreon($) if you would like to listen. Click here for the link. My Vermont season preview will be posted in the next few days so be on the lookout. Regular season here we come!