A Vermont native walks on to a basketball team...

Another walk-on joins the Catamounts as the coaching staff continues to get creative and find low risk high reward players to fill out their roster. Vermont dipped into the junior college (JUCO) ranks for the first time since I have been a fan and grabbed 6’7” forward Nate Rohrer from West Valley College in California. The interesting twist is that Rohrer actually lived in Jericho, Vermont until 2009. He seems excited about the homecoming and it could be a nice fit for the Cats. JUCO players do not have to sit out a year when they transfer so he will be eligible for this season with 3 years remaining. He has the opportunity to help shore up a frontcourt that was left very thin by Zach McRoberts' unexpected departure. In watching Rohrer’s highlight video, he looks like he could be a great fit for Vermont. In fact he reminded me quite a bit of the aforementioned McRoberts. Rohrer looked very springy and finished well around the rim. He showed good timing both in rebounding and blocking shots. His footwork and post moves looked solid and he also had a nice touch from the outside. There were also several highlights of him getting steals and diving on the floor for loose balls. Seems like the type of player that maximizes his abilities and plays hard. This is another great find by the coaching staff and if Rohrer can get up to speed with his teammates and get ready physically for Division One basketball, he should be able to contribute right away. However, the impact of JUCO players is notoriously hard to predict. Albany has been recruiting JUCO players for several years and some have come right in and been great (Evans, Singletary, Sanders) and some have been awful (Shengalia, Haas). It is very hard to judge the level of competition they are playing against and how they fit into a D1 program. Some people look down on the practice of recruiting junior college players and make assumptions about the type of player that attends a JUCO. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a player attending a junior college in order to provide them with their best chance at playing Division One basketball. Any avenue that allows a player with a dream of playing basketball who may need to take a different route to get there is fine by me. I think Rohrer looks like a great fit and having him possibly be a member of the team for three years is a bonus. Getting a guy who wants to be on the team and who is working to earn a scholarship is a great situation for a team. I have a feeling that Rohrer is coming to Vermont to work very hard in an attempt to earn a scholarship. I would rather have a player who will be around for several years instead of trying to find a graduate transfer to fill a scholarship that will only be around for one. There is more investment from players and coaches when they know they are in it for the long haul. It seems like once again the coaching staff took their time and found a player who they feel fits their program. The fact the he is from Vermont already makes him a good fit in my book! I can’t wait for this season as this summer has felt like an eternity. October can’t come soon enough.

Zach McRoberts leaves Vermont

In a surprising and disappointing move, Zach McRoberts has left the Vermont basketball program. He has decided to enroll at Indiana University and take time off from the game of basketball. This is a big blow for Vermont, particularly for the upcoming season. The team was already thin and using a walk on graduate transfer from Middlebury to fill out its eligible roster. This puts Vermont at 10 scholarship players who are eligible for the upcoming season. That leaves any college program in a predicament when it comes to dealing with injuries. When you throw in that one of those scholarship players is Ernie Duncan, who is coming off what seems like a chronic back issue, and the season is going to require some luck to reach the heights that this program is accustomed to. In no way does this mean that McRoberts should make a different decision. He has to do what is best for him in his life and if basketball is no longer making him happy, he should pursue whatever will make him happy. The timing of his decision puts a huge burden on the coaching staff. It is going to be very hard to find a player who is available for the upcoming season. It is going to be even harder to find a player who is ready to contribute right away. On top of all that, Becker values fit and attitude (as well he should) more than anything and any player that is added this late in the game is a risky proposition. There is no limit to how one player can disrupt the chemistry of an entire team and sometimes when forced to make a quick decision, mistakes can be made. This situation reminds me of when Four McGlynn announced very late that he was going to leave Vermont. The coaching staff scrambled and found Trey Blue. On the court he was a decent contributor. I felt (and this is purely my opinion) that Trey really seemed to hurt the chemistry of the team and there were times where you could tell that the rest of the team was very frustrated with the way Trey played. Who knows how true that perception is but my point is most of the guys that are still available are available for a reason. The coaching staff certainly has their work cut out for them and it will be very interesting to see how they fill this scholarship.

Vermont lands Middlebury transfer Dylan Sinnickson

Just before summer practices start Vermont was able to finalize their roster for the upcoming season. Dylan Sinnickson a 6-5/195 small forward who has been playing his college ball down the road at Middlebury will join the team as a walk on. As a graduate transfer Sinnickson will be able to play in the upcoming season. By using the open scholarships on transfers who will be eligible starting in the 2016-2017 season, Vermont was left with a thin roster. As demonstrated with the glut of injuries at the beginning of last season, having depth is very important. With no scholarships to fill that last spot on the roster, the coaching staff had to get creative. This move is a clear home run in my book (I had to work in a baseball reference as Sinnickson was  also a star baseball player at Middlebury). This move is the epitome of low-risk, high reward. Getting a walk on who has already played several years at any level of college basketball is a huge plus. Throw in that Sinnickson is very good and an exceptional athlete who played two college sports, and Vermont has themselves a solid insurance plan. At minimum, Sinnickson will be able to push the young guys hard in practice. If called upon due to injury he should give those valuable 6 to 8 minutes and at best he becomes a solid back end rotation player. The only possible downside would be that he steals some minutes from a few of the young guys and they get frustrated with a lack of playing time. What it boils down to is that this late in the game getting a player with this much experience and potential without having to use a scholarship is an impressive move by the coaching staff. As far as possible on the court impact, Sinnickson is a very tough, gritty player who is an exceptional rebounder. He will have to adjust to being undersized but he is a max effort player who will still have an impact on the glass. He is also a decent enough shooter that he can't be left open. I watched several Middlebury games this past season where he demonstrated a relentless motor and a nose for the ball. If he does see the court I could see some parts of his game translating purely due to the fact that he outworks everyone on the court. This off season is going to be difficult as November seems so far away.......

Another Tulane transfer commits to Vermont

Vermont landed a 6-8 transfer from Tulane....stop me if you have heard this before.

In a somewhat surprising move Payton Henson a 6-8 215 pound forward committed to the Vermont basketball team as a transfer. I say it is surprising because I think it is somewhat rare for two players from the same school transfer together to another school. It seems even more unlikely that those two players would also play the same position. This certainly helps to further solidify the frontcourt after Ethan O'Day graduates. As for a impact, time will tell. I stated in my last post that judging a transfer's ability to contribute is nearly impossible. Henson actually played the 5th most minutes on the Tulane team last year despite coming off the bench in every game. He posted modest averages of 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18 mpg. If you believe in advanced statistical projections, that puts him at 13/8 per 40 minutes. So he was a productive member of the team and a regular rotation player. As of right now all that means is that he has significant game experience. After watching his high school highlights he looks to have decent skills. He handles the ball fairly well and finishes around the rim. Looks to have a serviceable outside shot and plays with his head up. At Tulane he really struggled to shoot the ball and it seems like that limited his minutes. He looked a little slow and methodical in the highlights and that was against high school competition. This does again look like the type of player that could find success in the America East. This makes the 2016-2017 team makeup very interesting. The frontcourt goes from looking very thin to having several bodies battling for playing time. Time will tell if this will lead to a winning team on the court. 

Vermont lands transfer Josh Hearlihy

Finally some news!!! First off I would like to apologize for my poor blogging at the end of the season. My schedule was very out of whack and as a result I did not blog to my fullest potential. Now on to some news.

I have been waiting and obsessively searching the web for recruiting news ever since Brendan Kilpatrick's scholarship opened up. I wish good luck to Brendan and hope that he will find a way to stay healthy. The long and arduous wait has finally come to a close today with Vermont landing 6-8 forward Josh Hearlihy, a transfer from Tulane. Josh will have two years of eligibility left when he joins the team for the 2016-2017 season. Josh's basketball story is quite unique. Before his senior season of high school basketball in California, he committed to play basketball for Utah in the Pac-12. During his senior season he was dealing with health issues stemming from a rapid growth spurt. His health issues combined with a very poor season for Utah caused the Utes to reconsider their scholarship offer. This resulted in Utah asking Josh to release THEM from their scholarship obligation. I have never heard of this happening and I sure hope it doesn't happen very often. What a terrible thing to do. So he decides to prep at Northfield Mount Hermon before attending Tulane. While at Tulane he barely played and scored a whopping 43 points in two years. Now he comes to Vermont to try and solidify a patchwork frontcourt that will be replacing Ethan O'Day. In watching his highlights from NMH, he handles the ball very well for a big man. He showed some good court presence and a nice lefty jumper. He seems like like the type of smart, tough player that finds success at Vermont. He is not very athletic and a little on the thin side but his game is very reminiscent of Matt Glass. I have stopped really trying to judge a transfer's impact as it seems like a futile endeavor. Until they step on the court and play in meaningful games, judging their team fit is impossible. Ryan Pierson put up decent numbers at Northeastern and never produced for Vermont. So what does this mean for Vermont? Becker is clearly comfortable with the team he is going to have for this season. A few weeks ago when asked about recruiting, Becker said he wanted kids he "loved" not just liked. I completely agree with this line of thinking and this move tells me that there were very few 2015 big men available late that Becker felt would fit. More than many other college coaches, Becker focuses on the players fit on the team as a whole. He believes chemistry on and off the court is important and wants every player to contribute to the "family atmosphere" Becker emphasizes. This does however put some significant pressure on Drew Urquhart and Darren Payen. Drew U looked very good at the end of last season and if he can build on that success it will go a long way to solidifying the frontcourt. The wildcard in all this is Darren Payen, the 6-8 transfer from Hofstra who sat out this past season. If he can make an immediate impact the frontcourt may even be stronger than last year. Payen is the key to next years team. Accepting this transfer signals to me that Becker feels that Payen can make an impact. It is going to be a very long wait for the upcoming season. At least Vermont offered several prospects for 2016 and beyond this week to jumpstart the recruit watch all over again.

CBI first round: Vermont at Hofstra 3/18/15

Vermont 85 Hofstra 81

Sorry for the long layoff. I never got around to recapping the Stony Brook game but I am back!

Vermont played tough on the road against a very good Hofstra team and got a win in the first round of the CBI. No matter what level of postseason play, it is a great experience for this young team to be playing this time of year. To win the way that Vermont won is even more impressive. Vermont led the entire game and each time Hofstra made it close, Vermont was able to respond. They forced Hofstra to take contested threes all night and had their way on the offensive end. Vermont again struggled at the free throw line which made it interesting down the stretch, but they were able to come up with enough plays to win. Becker played this game to win but at the same time let the young guys play more minutes and tinkered with some different lineups. The bench mob stepped up in a big way and looked confident on the court. Drew Urquhart continues to improve and I believe he will be the player that makes a significant sophomore jump next season. Zach McRoberts also played a very good game, setting a new career high with 13 points. It is tough to remain focused after a week off and Vermont came out strong from the opening tip. The most impressive aspect of the game for Vermont was the quick and decisive ball movement. I don't know if it was a product of Hofstra's poor defense or the 30 second shot clock (or both), but it was the best I have seen the Cats move the ball all year. Vermont passed the ball efficiently and seemed to be in attack mode for the full 40 minutes. They didn't settle for threes and really pounded the ball inside.  Now they await their next opponent and there is a chance that they might host the game. It would be great to see them make a bit of a run in this tournament because it would give them a great boost going into next season.

America East Quarterfinals vs UMBC

Vermont 66 UMBC 39

Vermont took care of business by systematically demolishing UMBC. On the defensive side of the ball, Vermont extended their defense 30 feet from the hoop and made UMBC scramble on every possession. That type of defensive intensity is a must during the tournament. On the offensive side of the ball Hector Harold broke out of a shooting slump and knocked down 4/5 threes. It is key for Harold to hit his first shot as it lifts his confidence and he is more willing to take shots for the rest of the game. He needed a confidence booster as Vermont will need his shooting against Stony Brook on Sunday. The other take away from the UMBC game is the strong late season play of Drew Urquhart. He has now played double digit minutes in three consecutive games. During his minutes he has looked more confident and is avoiding making the glaring metal mistakes that resulted in him getting buried on the bench every game. Drew U has a wealth of talent and he is peaking at the right time.

The Stony Brook game will be a tough, hard fought playoff game. It is very difficult to beat a team three times in a season and the Seawolves are going to be very motivated to exact some revenge. Vermont has to stay focused on executing each possession and maintaining the even keeled approach that has served them well this year. The keys to the game will be rebounding and the three point line. Vermont has to hold their own on the boards and knock down open perimeter looks. Vermont has also done a very good job at not letting the role players beat them in either Stony Brook game. This is important because it allows Jameel Warney to "get his" without it affecting the overall defensive strategy. Coming out with energy and going on that first run in important against a good team at home.