Vermont Catamounts
2021-2022 Overall Rank: #112
Conference Rank: #2 America East
Vermont has absolutely dominated the America East. Dating back to the 2008-2009 campaign, the Catamounts have finished either first or second in the conference every single year with the exception of a disappointing third place finish in 2015-2016. The success of Vermont and Coach John Becker is not going to end this year.
2020-21 Record: 10-5, 10-4
2020-21 Postseason: None
Coach: John Becker
Coach Record: 229-96 at Vermont, 229-96 overall
Key Departed Players:
Stef Smith, Guard, 13.6 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Ryan Davis, Senior, Forward, 18.5 ppg
Ben Shungu, Senior, Guard, 10.8 ppg
Justin Mazzulla, Senior, Guard, 8.3 ppg
Isaiah Powell, Senior, Forward, 7.6 ppg
Tomas Murphy, Senior, Forward, 6.6 ppg
Bailey Patella, Senior, Forward, 4.9 ppg
Nick Fiorillo, Junior, Forward, 3.7 ppg
Eric Beckett, Junior, Guard, 2.1 ppg
Robin Duncan, Senior, Guard, 1.8 ppg
Aaron Deloney, Junior, Guard, 1.6 ppg
Duncan Demuth, Senior, Forward, 1.0 ppg
Deng Adiang, Junior, Guard, 0.0 ppg
Key New Players:
Evan Guillory, Freshman, Guard
Sam Alamutu, Freshman, Guard
Kameron Gibson, Senior, Guard, Transfer from Western Carolina
Finn Sullivan, Senior, Guard, Transfer from San Diego
Michael Ndayishimiye, Freshman, Guard
Georges Lefebvre, RS Freshman, Forward
Projection:
Four starters are back, led by senior forward Ryan Davis. Davis really stepped up during the limited 2020-2021 season, leading the team with 18.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. The 6-8 forward can stretch the defense with his outside shooting and is a very tough matchup for most opposing defenders in the America East. Isaiah Powell is a 6-6 forward who is always tough on the glass. With Tomas Murphy providing some much-needed size and Bailey Patella attacking from the wing, the Catamounts have plenty of frontcourt experience and options. The backcourt needs to replace Stef Smith, who transferred to St. John’s. Point guard Ben Shungu will still be the leader of the backcourt and can increase his scoring output after tallying 10.8 points per game last year and adding 3.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds. Justin Mazzula can handle the ball and do some scoring too, but he is not a shooter. In an effort to replace the shooting of Smith, Coach Becker picked up Western Carolina transfer Kameron Gibson. The 6-3 senior has seen his production decrease over the last two seasons, but as a freshman back in 2018-2019, Gibson averaged 13.6 points and knocked down 78 three-pointers at a 40.4 percent clip. Finn Sullivan is a capable shooter as well and the San Diego transfer should be able to provide a nice spark off the bench and give Vermont the options they need to compete for yet another conference title.
Projected Postseason Tournament: CBI/CIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.0 (120th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.4 (24, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.3 (60, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.7 (35, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.7 (120, 2)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.4 (137, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 78.0 (17, 1)
Rebound Margin: 3.8 (60, 1)
Assists Per Game: 14.1 (102, 1)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.2 (102, 3)
