BURLINGTON, Vt. - Cioffi Men's Basketball Head Coach John Becker has selected his leadership group for the 2020-21 season. Seniors Bailey Patella, Ben Shungu, and Stef Smith will serve as team captains for the upcoming campaign. The announcement was made on Tuesday.
 
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Patella was one of four Catamounts to appear in every game a year ago. He ranked third on the team with a 51.7% field-goal percentage, the second-best mark among key reserves, and had the fourth-most blocks (13) and steals (27) on the team. He netted a season-high 10 points against conference foe UMass Lowell plus a near double-double with seven points and 10 boards versus Binghamton at home.
 
Shungu was named America East Defensive Player of the Year and was an All-Defensive Team pick as a redshirt junior. The local product from South Burlington finished second on the squad with 5.0 rebounds per game. The 6-2 guard had eight double-digit scoring efforts, including a season-high 16 points and nine boards at Stony Brook. Shungu also had two 12-point outings at Binghamton and against New Hampshire. As a floor general, he logged 10 games with at least three assists.
 
Smith was an America East All-Conference First Team performer in 2019-20. He made the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District I Second Team after boasting a 14.2 scoring average and led the league with a 42.3% overall three-point percentage, including a 49.4% clip in conference play. The Ajax, Ontario native paced the Green and Gold with 85 assists and 35 steals. He drained at least one triple in 32 of his 33 games played and recorded seven 20-point games.
 
Vermont posted a 26-7 record in 2019-20, the third-most wins in school history. The Catamounts were awarded their third America East Championship crown in the last four years by rule as the highest remaining seed after the title game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UVM has won the last four regular-season outright conference championships – a first in the history of America East. Becker also became the first coach in league history to earn four consecutive America East Coach of the Year awards.
 
Key Motors of South Burlington is the presenting sponsor of the 2020-21 Vermont men's basketball season