Vermont Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Vermont hasn’t won the past two America East titles, but, somehow, the road to that crown always seems to have to go through Burlington.

It also has to go through Marqus Blakely.

Yes, the 6-5 (and that may be a stretch) giant, is back, again. He’s a two-time conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. He will be missing sidekick Mike Trimboli and useful part Colin McIntosh, but this is a team that again has to be mentioned in the mix for the conference title.

Mike Lonergan begins his fifth season as the Catamounts’ coach and he’s 76-49 in the first four. Vermont went 24-9 last year, when the Cats lost to host Albany in the first round of the conference tournament and then went 1-1 in the inaugural CBI Tournament.

Vermont won at Wisconsin-Green Bay and then lost, by a point, in overtime at Oregon State.

Now, another run?

“We want to try to get better each day and hopefully at the end of the season we’ll be in good position to try to make a run at the America East championship,” Lonergan said.

They just might.

NOTES, QUOTES

• F Marqus Blakely was named in a pair of ESPN offerings, with Jay Bilas tabbing him as the No. 10 rebounder in the country and Fran Frascilla mentioning him in his piece about defenders. Blakely averaged 16.1 points and 9.0 rebounds last year, whole blocking 2.7 shots and adding 2.0 steals per game.

• F Marquis Blakely shot just 56 percent from the foul line last year and his free throw shooting was a key in the league tournament loss to Albany. He said he spent the summer working on that part of his game. “I need to definitely improve on foul shooting,” he said. “I left a lot of points at the line last year and we had a lot of close games, a lot of games (six) that went into overtime where I feel the loss was partly on me. I’ve been practicing in the offseason to get better.”

• The Catamounts were 1-5 in those overtime games last season.

• Vermont recorded its sixth 20-win season in the last eight years, after having none in the first 101 years of basketball at the school.

Last Year:   24-9 overall, 13-3 in America East, tied for first

Head Coach:   Mike Lonergan (career 329-137); fifth year at Vermont (78-49).

Quote To Note:   “We just need to get Marqus the ball. Our strength really is Marqus and just the experience we bring back.”—Vermont coach Mike Lonergan

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   The Catamounts have brought in four freshmen, and one of them has a famous last name. Guard Simeon Marsalis is the son of jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. UMass transfer Matt Glass should help off the bench.

Key Early-season Games:   The Catamounts don’t have a killer out-of-conference schedule but do visit Big East foes Rutgers and Providence and play their first 10 games on the road. Vermont goes to Rutgers on Nov. 22 for the start of the four-game Legends Classic that also includes games against Drexel, Cornell and Toledo, Nov. 27-29. The Providence game is Nov. 24, and UVM has only two non-league home games before the league schedule starts.

Program Direction:   Solid. Sure, the loss of Marqus Blakely after this year will set things back, but as long as Mike Lonergan is around, you have the feeling things will be fine in Burlington.

Probable Starting Lineup:   PG Nick Vier, SG Maurice Joseph, G Garvey Young, PF Marqus Blakely, C Evan Fjeld.

Roster Report:  

• G Maurice Joseph, the Canadian import from Montreal, averaged 8.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game as a junior transfer last year. He shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range in league play. He also shot 88.5 percent from the foul line for the year.

• G Nick Vier had 97 assists and 74 turnovers last year, starting 29 games in the same backcourt as Mike Trimboli, who had 153 assists and 87 turnovers.