[tizzy]

Concussion and not his first.

Geez. Hoping he doesn't have any more of them. Odom apparently had to be held back, in part, due to multiple concussions, per NCAA protocols.

 

[UNHFan]

Geez. Hoping he doesn't have any more of them. Odom apparently had to be held back, in part, due to multiple concussions, per NCAA protocols.

I agree. I'm shocked that he is continuing to play as I thought he would graduate and move on but maybe he's healthy.

 

[Tom Sorrenrath]

26-28 minutes, 6-8 points, 3-4 rebounds isn't exactly filling the stat sheet. More like just a guy. But as others have said he has experience and probably won't hurt you while he's out there. Probably won't win you a lot of games either. Depth piece. If he's playing more than 15 minutes per games next season then we're not very good.

We need some wings who can lock down. His defense will decide how much he plays. Blake, Hurley, and Long are all offensive players. Wish list is a starting SF multi year guy and senior PG who both can score and play D.

Id love to see a bench of Blake, Long, and Woodyard for perimeter players.

 

[Alumni96]

 

[Catamanica]

26-28 minutes, 6-8 points, 3-4 rebounds isn't exactly filling the stat sheet. More like just a guy. But as others have said he has experience and probably won't hurt you while he's out there. Probably won't win you a lot of games either. Depth piece. If he's playing more than 15 minutes per games next season then we're not very good.

I have two words for you: Finn Sullivan.

If that's not enough, here are another two: Clancy Rugg.

He was at UNH for three seasons, so Becker has scouted him and must have a good idea of what he's getting. Ultimately, we'll see what happens.

 

[ProfessorDavid]

Hopefully not these two words: Gavin Perryman

( no offense to Gavin and I wish him well. But he was not a good fit)

 

[Catamanica]

Hopefully not these two words: Gavin Perryman

( no offense to Gavin and I wish him well. But he was not a good fit)

I didn't feel like going negative. My take is that Becker wasn't as familiar with Perryman and took more of a chance after Young threw everything into disarray. Another thing to consider, perhaps things would've turned differently with him if we had more of an inside game.

Again, anything can happen.

And BTW, playing 20 plus minutes, average 8pg at the AEast level is no small feat. And he can shoot pretty well. I vauguely recall him doing that quite nicely against us.

At this level, Becker must ID undervalued (and often underutilized) talent and nurture it into something significant, hopefully. IAF is an example. When he transferred, he was in demand. You can't teach size/length. Getting Ben and Gus was a coup.

 

[Alumni96]

It should be a signal that there may not be enough NIL funds for 5 higher dollar signees.

 

[GreenMountainHooper]

small sample size but i think the 3 apg is the stat that stands out most. this system works best when there are five good passers on the floor together.

not a sexy signing, but last year should be a good reminder about the importance of depth.

 

[c00per]

It should be a signal that there may not be enough NIL funds for 5 higher dollar signees.

If Moneyball taught us anything, teams like the Catamounts will need to focus less on spending money on quality players and more on analytics and developing the farm system.

 

[catpower]

It should be a signal that there may not be enough NIL funds for 5 higher dollar signees.

I think, as of right now, this is a pretty big speculative leap. I'm of the mind Woodyard likely did not cost them much, if anything. What exactly did he even have to demand? Sure, he was a decent enough AE player, and has potential to help be a rotational piece for UVM, but I really don't think anyone was banging down doors for this guy.

Now, this is subject to change if they do not land anyone else that has a higher profile than Woodyard...but it's April 20th, the portal closes in 3 days (no more entries unless grad student/coaching change, but players can commit at any time after), and basically another 2 months of recruiting with plenty of uncommitted talent out there before the first session of summer school starts where they begin offseason workouts. If UVM blew some of the budget on this guy (which is going to be hard for any of us to confirm) plus he's thrust into a major role and doesn't provide good ROI, then yeah I hope people remember this moment and call out the budget mismanagement, but I don't think we can be at that point yet.

Also, regarding Perryman. That move reeked of desperation on the coaching staff and Perryman. I think the staff didn't want to get out there and really look through the market (portal and JC ranks) when they still had a decent amount of time left, plus I kinda think Perryman may have recruited himself to UVM...and while I cannot confirm it, part of me feels like there was maybe some feeling that Perryman getting a scholarship would me a donation from a family member. Again, I don't know if that's true, it's not unusual in the game, but maybe I'm just trying to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt for taking on a guy who would struggle to be a D3 player.

 

[catpower]

If Moneyball taught us anything, teams like the Catamounts will need to focus less on spending money on quality players and more on analytics and developing the farm system.

Money Ball

An image tagged money ball

imgflip.com

 

[Tom Sorrenrath]

It should be a signal that there may not be enough NIL funds for 5 higher dollar signees.

I would never expect to get high dollar signees across the board. I’d like to see every dollar getting bang for the buck and the majority of the money to go towards stars. We need 5 cheap to free players every year.

 

[Alumni96]

I think, as of right now, this is a pretty big speculative leap. I'm of the mind Woodyard likely did not cost them much, if anything. What exactly did he even have to demand? Sure, he was a decent enough AE player, and has potential to help be a rotational piece for UVM, but I really don't think anyone was banging down doors for this guy.

Now, this is subject to change if they do not land anyone else that has a higher profile than Woodyard...but it's April 20th, the portal closes in 3 days (no more entries unless grad student/coaching change, but players can commit at any time after), and basically another 2 months of recruiting with plenty of uncommitted talent out there before the first session of summer school starts where they begin offseason workouts. If UVM blew some of the budget on this guy (which is going to be hard for any of us to confirm) plus he's thrust into a major role and doesn't provide good ROI, then yeah I hope people remember this moment and call out the budget mismanagement, but I don't think we can be at that point yet.

Also, regarding Perryman. That move reeked of desperation on the coaching staff and Perryman. I think the staff didn't want to get out there and really look through the market (portal and JC ranks) when they still had a decent amount of time left, plus I kinda think Perryman may have recruited himself to UVM...and while I cannot confirm it, part of me feels like there was maybe some feeling that Perryman getting a scholarship would me a donation from a family member. Again, I don't know if that's true, it's not unusual in the game, but maybe I'm just trying to give the coaches the benefit of the doubt for taking on a guy who would struggle to be a D3 player.

I don't think it's that big of a leap. Normally a signing like Woodyard takes place at the end of the cycle. It's because he probably cost little and is a known quantity. The fact that his injury history makes him a risky signing only makes it more questionable at this point. I suspect they have significant sum promised to Ward and are waiting on his decision. Add that outlay with the fact that they still had 4 other significant positional roster holes to fill.... I think they are being conservative with what they have left, nothing wrong with that. The pg situation needs to be addressed while they still have some cash left. Athleticism in the back court is also still a big concern as they have no defensive stopper without Shamir, Sam, or Jace. Neither of those things is going to come cheap. If they don't or can't address this, it won't matter how many points better the offense is.

 

[catpower]

I don't think it's that big of a leap. Normally a signing like Woodyard takes place at the end of the cycle. It's because he probably cost little and is a known quantity. The fact that his injury history makes him a risky signing only makes it more questionable at this point. I suspect they have significant sum promised to Ward and are waiting on his decision. Add that outlay with the fact that they still had 4 other significant positional roster holes to fill.... I think they are being conservative with what they have left, nothing wrong with that. The pg situation needs to be addressed while they still have some cash left. Athleticism in the back court is also still a big concern as they have no defensive stopper without Shamir, Sam, or Jace. Neither of those things is going to come cheap. If they don't or can't address this, it won't matter how many points better the offense is.

Sure, but at the same time, I could argue that getting a guy (likely for nothing) now as depth, low-risk/high-reward signing out of the way means you're not left scrapping around at the Perrymans of the bunch down the road. I think putting too much analysis into the order in which guys commit, especially when there are lots of roster spots to fill doesn't really tell us much, certainly not in April. Jace Roquemore committed to UVM before Shamir Bogues did...that doesn't mean the staff prioritized him over Bogues.

I also think trying to determine how liberal/conservative they're being with NIL funds without knowing what they have, or the specific dollar amounts they've given it to, is challenging to evaluate until we actually see how a roster fleshes out. Add that we'll never know that number because NIL transparency isn't a thing.

 

[VT Cats Fan]

I mean...I'll probably just not spend too much energy critiquing the recruits until the roster is actually done and I've seen how the pieces fit together or don't, but I guess that's just me...

🤷‍♂️

 

[Tom Sorrenrath]

small sample size but i think the 3 apg is the stat that stands out most. this system works best when there are five good passers on the floor together.

not a sexy signing, but last year should be a good reminder about the importance of depth.

Agree. Those stats say doesn’t create his own shot or shoot much but is efficient. Average rebounding and plus passing. If he can play D he will be a good glue guy to have in the rotation.

 

[UVM Hoop Cat]

Not sure how anyone can say with a straight face they know what Michaels, Gus Bus, and Woodyard are gonna do next year and what their ROI is going to be.

Michaels seems like the most project-able on paper ie I feel pretty good about saying he’s going to start at F, but the most productive newbie next season could just as likely be someone we haven’t signed yet and costs us $0.

 

[Catamanica]

Not sure how anyone can say with a straight face they know what Michaels, Gus Bus, and Woodyard are gonna do next year and what their ROI is going to be.

Michaels seems like the most project-able on paper ie I feel pretty good about saying he’s going to start at F, but the most productive newbie next season could just as likely be someone we haven’t signed yet and costs us $0.

Yes, no one knows.

Woodyard didn't play last season Will he break out in his swan song season? Or...

Gus played very little, but it was in the Big East. How many Big East transfers has Vermont gotten? I can't think of any. Will Gus be rejuvenated and find his groove in the AEast? I belive that he's been on Vermont's radar for a while. They probably even recruited him out of hs, but bowed out when they saw he was going higher.

Michaels played the most of the three, averaging more than 20 min a game. It would be very surprising if he doesn't start. If the season started tomorrow, I think Gus probably starts too. However, I'm concerned about his defense, something I know nothing about.

 

[Tom Sorrenrath]

Not sure how anyone can say with a straight face they know what Michaels, Gus Bus, and Woodyard are gonna do next year and what their ROI is going to be.

Michaels seems like the most project-able on paper ie I feel pretty good about saying he’s going to start at F, but the most productive newbie next season could just as likely be someone we haven’t signed yet and costs us $0.

I think woodyard is pretty established on what he is at this level. His playing time will def be based on defense and who else we can add so overall stats should reflect that but what he brings will be what’s expected. Michaels def looks like a guy who going to fill the stat sheet most and likely start. His production at a higher level and lack of competition at the forward spot. I think he will be our Face up 4 at this point.