Sunset, Sunrise

For the first time in a while the reflections of the season include a bit of uncertainty and goals that were left unachieved. This season was a true test for the Vermont program as adversity was plentiful and the forward progress was slowed. It is easy to look at the past season and pick apart the things that went wrong and the disappointments that were endured. The season was a roller coaster full of ups and downs and certainly puts more pressure on the offseason than in past years. However, the fact that the Vermont program has reached a point where a 21 win season that fell short of a championship is a "down year", should provide some solace for how strong this program has become. The grit and mental toughness that this group demonstrated down the stretch was incredibly fun to watch and inspiring.

I think back to the season opening win against UAB and that win maintained its worth the whole season through. It showed where Vermont could have been if they had been able to field a consistently healthy team throughout the season. Nobody wants to make excuses, but the fact is that the roster was ever changing and it made finding that classic Vermont program continuity and chemistry that much harder. Despite those challenges this team was still able to rattle off a 10 game win streak and was playing their best basketball of the season until the Shamir Bogues injury was one too many. In a weird way, this season was a herculean effort by the players and staff to take this group and overcome their flaws to put themselves in a position to compete for a title. 

The main culprit this season was the difficulty in finding consistent offense. It was the worst offensive performance by a Becker team after a somewhat difficult offensive year the season before. Roster building is always a complicated process and the new NIL/portal era of recruiting has thrown a major wrench in the offseason. Finding pieces that fit and filling team weaknesses has never been both easier and more complicated at the same time. There are more options available but more competition for available players. There will assuredly be a concerted effort this offseason to give the Cats more balanced offensive options in an effort to get back the offensive efficiency that started this run of success. 

I will miss the incredible defensive intensity and excitement that Shamir and Ileri brought to every game and it will be weird to see the team without Nick after a half dozen years at Vermont. It will be exciting to see the TJ and TJ show (health permitting) one more time. The America East has been decimated by graduation and the portal so far with I believe only TJ Hurley returning from the all conference teams. The rosters across the league are barren and the league will be wide open. Despite Vermont's own roster needs, they are the only team returning an all conference player and if TJ Long comes back healthy they would return two. 

On a personal note, as you know I stopped responding to the comments during this season. Don't worry!

Ultimately this was for a good reason as I have gone back to school part time to get my Masters degree in Sports and Performance Psychology. With the extra time devoted to school I had to make some time cuts somewhere and I wanted to make sure I could continue writing the blog. I think I will be able to return to answering comments over the summer as the recruiting picks up. I am very excited for the potential of a midlife career change and have been really enjoying the classes thus far. 

Speaking of recruiting, NIL has finally come to the Green Mountain State! In honor of the late Barry Stone, a celebrated former player, alum, and Catamount superfan, the Cats now have an NIL fund that we the fans can directly contribute to. This will help Vermont Men's and Women's teams compete for players, particularly with other mid-major programs who have already dove in to the NIL deep end. With University resources being squeezed across the country, this is the best way that Catamount country can directly contribute to the success of the program. 

Here is the link if you would like to donate: Barry Stone Fund

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Once again thank you for reading and reaching out. This blog continues to be an amazing experience that has created community connections and given me a wonderful opportunity to share my love for basketball and Vermont.