America East basketball is now in full swing. Every team has already shown their worth and they are ready to battle through their conference games for the number one spot at the end of the season.
It’s still too early to tell who exactly is going to be the next America East champ. However, with the help of watching every single America East game this year, it’s starting to become more clear who are the top dogs of the conference and who are the weak puppies.
So, lets now talk about which America East teams are good and which teams are terrible; so far this season.
The Good:
Vermont (4-0)
The Catamounts, the current reigning America East champions, are coming off an incredible season. They went 16-0 in America East play and swished their way to a 29-6 overall record. Last season, Vermont showcased one of the strongest rosters in the America East; including players like Trae Ball-Haynes and Anthony Lamb. The 2016-2017 roster not only won the America East Championship, but also gave Vermont University their sixth NCAA tournament appearance.
This season, Vermont is starting to have deja vu already. They are currently 4-0 in America East play. Ball-Haynes and Lamb are both averaging 13+ PPG, which is not far off from the other averages on the team.
Vermont has had smooth sailing so far because of their easy schedule outside of their first game against Kentucky, of course. They have a tough conference schedule coming up next month, so that will be the time to watch the Catamounts.
Albany (2-3)
Don’t let their current record finalize your opinion, the Great Danes of Albany are coming off of a successful America East season that ended with a dramatic upset at the hands of Vermont during the America East Championship Game in Burlington, Vermont. Coach Will Brown definitely wasn’t the happiest person in their last conference game of the year, but that did not deter him from starting over again and coming back even stronger the next season.
That is exactly what Brown is doing. He brought in three freakishly huge freshmen from Australia, who still haven’t seen any court time yet this year, but seem to be a good addition to upcoming seasons. Brown, with the help of assistant coaches, even got his three best starters to show their full potential this year: Joe Cremo, Travis Charles, David Nichoals.
With an overall record of 14-6 and a conference record of 2-3, the Danes are showing some muscle, but are not fully showing what they are capable of. It might just be the hard hump that every team goes through at the beginning of conference play, or it could be an upcoming nightmare situation.
They are doing good though, showing strong teamwork abilities, high three-point shot percentages, and even proving that they have the kings of the paint with their impressive rebound numbers.
Give the Albany Great Danes a few weeks to adjust and then they will be at the top of the America East leaderboard.
Vermont and Albany are both huge contenders for the conference trophy this year. America East fans just need to give it a month until these two teams start going full speed.
The Bad:
Maine (1-4)
Poor Maine… they haven’t had a decent season in years. Not to bad mouth them or anything, but they suck. They went 3-13 in the America East last year. This season doesn’t seem to be any different as they already are off to a 1-4 conference record. Besides having one great player every season, the Black Bears just simply don’t seem to know how to win.
Yes, there will be die-hard Maine fans who are gonna say “Hey Dean, in 1998 we were unstoppable… nobody could touch us.” And I bet you’re right; but I’m talking about the past five seasons. So, please email me if there is anything you can counter argue with.
UMass Lowell (0-4)
Their story isn’t too different from Maine. Last season, the River Hawks finished with a 5-11 record in the conference, which was only three spots ahead of the Black Bears. Having such a bad previous season can really affect the next roster coming in.
That is not far from the true, last season still seems to be on the minds of the current roster. Their current conference record of 0-4 is the result of awful three-point shooting, shameful rebounding, and poor ball movement.
These negative things are plaguing the River Hawks’ season and nobody on the staff, or even on the court, seem to be doing anything about it. That is pretty sad to think about, and its starting to show how bad it’s becoming, with cheap ticket sales and “ghost-town like” game attendance.
So could these two poor teams turn it around this season? Probably not. But hey, every sport needs a team to make fun of, right?
The next installment of “The Good and The Bad” will be coming in two weeks!
All fans are welcome!