Quick Scope: 802 Teams of Intrigue D4: Danville + Mid-VT Christ.
Welcome to the Quick Scope series! Here’s the last installment, wrapping up with two teams out of D4 that’ll likely be battling at the Barre Auditorium come late February and March. Let’s get to it! First Up: Danville Danville finished…
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Continue ReadingWelcome to the Quick Scope series! Here’s the last installment, wrapping up with two teams out of D4 that’ll likely be battling at the Barre Auditorium come late February and March. Let’s get to it!
First Up: Danville
Danville finished as the 3 seed last year and had a semifinals finish, falling to the eventual D4 Champs in Rivendell. They return four starters from that group, two now seniors and two now juniors. The player who’ll likely carry this squad is 5’9 junior G Andrew Joncas. He’s a feisty 2025 who plays his guts out on both ends. Joncas’ work on primary ballhandlers leaves little to be desired as he’s highly anticipatory and disrupts offensive flow. Moreover, his knack for finishing at the cup or from deep off the catch will be necessary in bolstering the offense. And now that he’ll likely facilitate the offense, he’ll have the ability to shine his light as a creator and distributor. His running mate in the backcourt is 5’9 senior G Anthoni Guinard, a solid player who’ll take care of the ball, knock down the open look, and play tough defense. In the frontcourt we have 6’2 F Anthony Raymond, a senior who can finish from the high or low post and works hard to protect the rim. 6’1 junior W/F Arius Andrews fills out the core four, and he’s a hustle guy who works the glass, gets second chance points, and can defend 3-5. These guys will have to figure out where all the scoring will come from as the leading scorer from last year has graduated. But they play tough defense, and I think Joncas is ready to take the lead.
Games to Watch:
Danville’s early season schedule looks to toughen them up. They scrimmage D3 powerhouse Hazen and D2 Lyndon Institute in the first week of the season. Then the Bears head to Vergennes today, Dec. 8th; this should be a good early season test against a solid D3 team on the come up. Danville looks to power through the bulk of their schedule and prepare for Barre.
Second Squad: Mid-VT Christian Academy
This team stormed to the Finals last year, taking down the #1 seed in the process, due in large part to the work of 2024 6’1 swiss army knife Abel Goodwin. One of the top players in D4, Abel is someone who’ll orchestrate the offense, attack from the wings, knock down oen looks, and dive into the post off ball to operate from there. Moreover, he’s a defensive stopper with his long frame and versatility, covering 1-3 and the occasional 4. Alongside Abel are 2025’s, both 6’2, W/Fs Carson Meloon and Jadon Goeppner. These are two versatile hustle guys who do most of their work off ball. They’re good cutters and screen setters, both important to helping Goodwin find open looks and will relieve pressure by diving to the basket when help comes. I’ll be interested to see how much Meloon and Goeppner have improved, and what Abel has added to his bag. Surely these guys seek to get back to the promise land.
Games to Watch:
Mid-VT seems to play a schedule, or in a league, purely of Christian schools which I have no knowledge of. It won’t be until these guys get to Barre, if they do, that I see them.