Here we are again!
Another portal entry for the Catamounts, this time it is Shy Odom. It is unfortunate that his health never got right this season and he did not get the opportunity to showcase his skills. A healthy Odom would have been a fun player to watch in a Catamount uniform and I wish him well wherever he finds a home. This is going to be a crucial offseason for the Cats as they try to retool their roster to fill the departing defensive holes and get more dynamic on offense. To me the biggest portal needs are a post scorer and a player or two that can break the defense down off the dribble. The largest contributor to the choppy offense in my opinion was the difficulty in breaking defenses down off the dribble. If the Cats can find that more consistently, I think it will lift a lot of the other offensive areas as well. Losing Shamir Bogues, Ileri Ayo-Faleye, and Sam Alamutu leaves a pretty big hole on defense and they are going to have to address that this offseason as well. The entirety of the America East will be rebuilding this offseason as an insane amount of minutes across the league are leaving due to graduation or the portal. The league will be completely different next season. Full disclosure, I LOVE portal season. I know that the system as it currently sits needs some tweaks and it is a crazy headache for coaching staffs, but it is really fun as a fan to see who teams are going after. The chase and search for information is addicting. I am sure I will be posting again soon!
Can't we recruit from another country we have players over there why don't they let coach know about a potential player that's good !!!
ReplyDeleteIsn't Canada another country? Not the 51st state yet lol.
DeleteI find it all crazy to be honest. What does shy Odom offer another team? The same thing/hope we had in signing him? I know the coaches don’t need to address the guys leaving but as fans I would love to hear some of the reasons from the staff’s perspective. Did Becker talk to Odom and basically say we’re going to go in a different direction?, etc…. Joba I totally understand and Sam too(4 yrs on campus is a long time).
ReplyDeleteOdum has proven nothing, other than he is injury prone. Amongst all the Cats, he should have stayed and try to build a reputation. Goodbye.
DeleteLee- I too love the portal and all the activity and possibilities. My problem is Becker does not seem ready or prepared. Bryant does seem prepared, for whatever reason probably NIL fund. I am also an alum and fan of Georgetown so I follow their portal and HS recruiting- and it surprises me how often I see Bryant offering a highly recruited HS or portal player. They will leave us in the dust if the Cats don't figure it out.
DeleteOdom didn't contribute so no loss there. Same with Perriman. Alamutu is a loss. He was solid.
DeleteThe portal is out of control. New rosters each year is bad all around. There's no continuity. And it creates a disincentive to developing players.
Maybe it's fair the players get paid. But let's stop calling it Name Image and Likeness. Let's call it a salary and have them sign a contract.
Becoming less of a college basketball fan in this NIL and portal era. I may just tune out and do something else or maybe just watch D3 ball. It's not fun anymore. Many coaches want to leave across the country. Must be brutal trying to be a D1 college coach in this environment. It's no longer a game - it's a business. If I wanted to watch pros, I could watch the NBA.
ReplyDeleteOdom is what we used to call a "training room" athlete. Always injured and spends more time in the training room than on the court. Cats need to stay away from these types. Can't depend on them.
ReplyDeletecoming from a non-athlete talking about division 1 players… Okay pal
DeleteSt Francis PA just dropped from D1 to D3 due to the new landscape in college basketball. Could UVM be far behind?
ReplyDeleteI don’t see that happening but the university and athletic department need to really sit down and work together. Strong athletic departments do a lot for campus life and enrollment. When I went to uvm growing up in ny no one thought to ever go anywhere down south now tons of kids apply to sec, acc, big 12 etc to root for a team. Clearly uvm will never be in that boat but if they give up on the bb team with no football team i think the school will suffer drastically. They have too much going for them to not get this right. We have an incredible fan base that sells out every game and travels very well with fans always in the stands on the road. Vermont doesn’t have any professional sports teams and the nearest team to go watch a game is 4 hrs from Burlington. The first thing they need to do is get this arena built, and I think the state should pony up the difference with a deal where they participate in the revenue until it’s paid back. Then they need to work on NIL money. There is enough industry and money in the state of vt that it shouldn’t be impossible to at least be able to pay players. I think the athletic dept also needs to work on their social media engagement and use all of the success they’ve had to continue to build the program. As a fan who watches every game with my kids I feel like I’m left in the dark about everything other than what we communicate on here and a few other follows on x. All in all there is a lot that can be done to improve the program and make it a top tier mid major where people want to go. I can’t see other than geographic location why a player would not choose to play at uvm than most other schools in the northeast.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with every comment in this post!
DeleteSince the NIL is changing the landscape of the game and the beneficiaries are the power conferences, makes one wonder how it affects mid-major coaches such as Becker - I imagine he and other successful mid-major coaches will be tempted/drawn to the money & the prestige, and follow the big name recruits & programs
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of coaching, I see Phil Martelli JR is headed to VCU, taking a lot of the coaching staff with him. So not only does Bryant lose a lot of players, they are also losing their coach!
ReplyDeleteThe coach he is replacing is Ryan Odom, remember him?
Case in point
DeleteIf Becker has a tough time recruiting in this term, we could be seeing his coming swan song
ReplyDeleteSwan song? If the refs don't gift a foul call to Bryant. Cats are league champs again this season. That said, they must do better this offseason. No Young repeat!
ReplyDeleteDo you think Becker wouldn't be tempted to greener pastures should he get lack-luster recruits this term?
ReplyDeleteThe Opportunity may no longer be there?
DeleteCan someone explain the mechanics of NIL payments? Do players have their own accounts, or, does their school have an account, and then distributes as they see fit? Anyone know the average payout?
ReplyDeleteI personally think all 3 Portal players are making a mistake. Odom has zero value out there. None. He has at least been around UVM and has a pathway to minutes. Like the poster above, maybe in end of season interviews Becker told him that he doesnt have a role?
ReplyDeleteSammy - No other team will value his swiss army knife style then UVM. Pencil him in for 30-35 minutes a game next year. He could have been an all conference player and league leader in rebounds. I see a Deloney situation here? Maybe he comes back after seeing what is out there?
Joba - maybe just not a match? But where else could he be looking at a pathway to minutes on a good team? Other than Barnett, there are no big men here. He is leaving a chance to be the player we all thought he could be. Another offseason working with the staff here. He immediately fill the Nick F role.
I think Joba is done and feels slighted. Something that is beyond repair which is fine. It just didn’t work out and the coaches probably feel he’s replaceable. If you remember Ryan Davis played a decent amount freshman yr and put in a ton of work to become the player he was. They probably didn’t see that in Joba..
DeleteMaybe he didn’t leave because of minutes? There is much more that goes into a player leaving a program.
DeleteSitting quietly in the wings is 6’8” 225lb Drew Bessette. We have see little of him to date on the floor. I wonder if we could have an emerging diamond in the rough there.
DeletePG - Blake
ReplyDeleteWing - Long
Wing - Hurley
Big - Sammy
Big - Barnett
If Sammy comes back, a decent starting 5 in the watered down AE. Chance to add portal players and freshmen. Can't wait to get Lee's updates the next month.
Sammy is a good player, but he's undersized for the position he plays, and he can't shoot. I'm curious about what level he's going for? I doubt D2. America East is the right level for him. Since he walked on Senior Day, his portal entry was probably not a surprise to the coaching staff.
ReplyDeleteIt’s disappointing to see so many assumptions being made about Shy, Sam, Seth, and Gavin. The truth is, we don’t know the real reasons why Gavin left or why Shy, Sam, and Seth transferred out. Instead of jumping to conclusions and questioning their character, maybe it’s time to step back and recognize that not everything is for personal gain.
ReplyDeleteHere at Vermont, we recruit good kids with strong character. Every player who rocks the UVM jersey represents that. If you’ve followed this program, you know the type of people we bring in. Let’s show some respect for the decisions these guys have made and remember that they’ll always be a part of the Catamount family.
#GoUVM
Gavin was kicked off the team for not going to classes. Heard from very credible source
Deletewell said
ReplyDeleteWho mentioned character?
ReplyDeleteGavin left because he wasn't playing, and he didn't want to waste his eligibility. Seth seemed to never quite gel for whatever reason. Shy was injured, so he must've been very frustrated. Sammy has made strides every year. I hope they all find success.
You missed the whole point of my comment… I can assure you the reason for these 4 departures have nothing to do with what you just said
DeleteSo a couple of thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHow will the new president from Boise Idaho support sports? I looked into her record at boise but it's inconclusive. Maybe she'll support a new arena?
Non-bb affects but didn't Becker get married this past year? Isn't his wife from out of state? Not sure if there is an influence there but something that could be a factor on beckers future.
Backer’s fiancé is up here, apparently living with him, is now a UVM employee and they are planning their marriage sometime this summer, I understand.
ReplyDeleteCats signed an Ex-WI Badger, Gus Yalden! Big News!
ReplyDelete