Four student-athletes, Joe Trapani of Madison, Conn., Nick Vier of Franklin Lakes, N.J., Kyle Robbins of Falmouth, Maine and Marqus Blakely of Metuchen, N.J. will attend the University of Vermont and play basketball at the school. Vermont men’s basketball coach Mike Lonergan made the announcement today.“We are very excited about our recruiting class,†said Lonergan. “These four guys, plus the return of redshirt freshman Jason Green (Washington, D.C.), should help us address a number of our weaknesses. They will help improve our team’s athleticism and scoring ability. Some of these guys will have an immediate impact on the program and others will develop over time. With the addition of these student-athletes we also feel we have improved our depth at every position. The added depth gives us competition at every position and healthy competition makes all players better.â€
Trapani is a 6-foot-7 multi-skilled forward who was one of the top high school players in Connecticut at Daniel Hand High School. He was selected to the New Haven Register All-State Team the last two seasons and this past year he led Hand to the Southern Connecticut Conference Championship Game. Very talented offensively, he ranked fourth in the state in scoring averaging 25.5 points per game. A McDonald’s All-American nominee as a senior, Trapani also averaged 14 rebounds and three blocked shots per game. He is the son of former UVM standout Charlie Trapani ’78, who was a three-time captain of the Catamounts and the team’s Most Valuable Player in 1976.
“Joe has the talent, size and strength to make an immediate impact on our program,†said Lonergan. “He is a good athlete who is very competitive and tough. He is a very good shooter who has the potential to score in different ways.â€
An ultra-quick 6-foot-1 guard from Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, N.J., Vier (pronounced ‘veer’) was also a McDonald’s All-American nominee who averaged 15 points and 4.5 assists per game as a senior. Last winter he was named to the All-Bergen County and the Bergen Record All-North Jersey First Teams. He led the Crusaders to a 16-9 record in one of the top high school leagues in New Jersey. Vier also played for one of the East’s top AAU basketball programs, The Playaz.
“Nick has excellent quickness and is a good shooter,†said Lonergan. “He played for excellent high school and AAU programs so he is used to playing at a high level of competition. He has the potential to help our transition game right away.â€
Robbins is a 6-foot-10 frontcourt prospect from Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine. As a senior he averaged 10 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Stags who reached the semifinals of the Maine Class A Western Tournament. He was named to the Southern Maine Athletic Association All-Star Third Team and was an All-State Honorable Mention selection. His coach at Cheverus was Bob Brown, formerly the head coach at UVM’s America East rival Boston University from 1990 to 1994.
“Kyle has the size, potential and work ethic to help us at the post position, said Lonergan. “He played for Bob Brown, a legendary coach at all levels in Maine, so we know he is a fundamentally sound player. If he can keep improving at the rate he as the last two years he will have a fine career at Vermont.â€
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Blakely is a 6-foot-5 forward from Metuchen High School. He averaged 19.4 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior. An outstanding leaper, he also blocked just under five shots per game. He was named to the All-Middlesex County and the New Jersey All-Group One First Teams. Blakely was the MVP of the Middlesex County Senior All-Star Game and NJhoops.com named him to its All-Dunker and All-Rebounder teams. He played AAU basketball for the New Jersey Cyclones and last summer he was an All-Star at the Eastern Invitational Camp.
“Marqus is a tremendous athlete who will be our best leaper from day one,†said Lonergan. “With his long arms and athleticism he has the ability to be a very good defender. I think he has the mindset necessary to immediately compete for playing time.â€
Green, a 6-foot-1 combo guard, will join the four incoming freshmen in making their debut next season. He was a redshirt a year ago practicing and working out with the team. Prior to coming to Vermont, Green played at DeMatha Catholic High School, one of the nation’s top programs.
“Although he did not see game action last year, Jason knows our system well,†said Lonergan. “He is a tenacious defender who played for the most storied high school program in the nation. He is a hard worker who will contribute in many ways. He loves to win and understands what it takes to win.â€
Vermont (13-17, 7-9 America East) next season returns 12 letterwinners from a team that reached the America East Championship title game for the fourth straight year
May 18th, 2006
Just over one year ago, Josh Duell and Ryan Schneider, along with the rest of the University of Vermont basketball team, were celebrating their miraculous upset victory over Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Today, both players are looking forward to spending the rest of their careers at other schools.
A lot can change over one season; especially in collegiate athletics. Players graduate, high school stars get recruited by some schools and then go elsewhere, coaches move on or retire.
Nowhere was this more apparent than in the off-season after the now legendary 2004-05 Catamount men’s basketball season. Along with the graduation of stars such as Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine, iconic coach Tom Brennan retired after 19 years. Virtually his entire staff left with him.
Enter the scene rookie coach Mike Lonergran, fresh out of an assistant coaching stint at Maryland along with a whole crew of supporting first year coaches. New coaches with a new attitudes; a whole new plan.
“The transition was a little difficult just because I had developed a two year relationship with the old staff through out the whole recruiting process and last year,†said Duell, a sophomore from Scotia, New York who is transferring to play for Siena College next year. “Coach Brennan is more laid back and has a ‘let them play’ type attitude. Coach Lonergan is a very good at the X’s and O’s of the game and likes to control things a little bit more.â€
Schneider, also a sophomore, from Yorktown Heights, New York, agreed. “There was a group of guys who had been recruited by Brennan and another group by Lonergan, and I had a real strong relationship with the previous coaching staff.â€
The transition to a new coaching staff, especially the retirement of Brennan, played a “significant part†in his decision to transfer. He will be playing for the Marist College Red Foxes for two seasons after sitting out one season as per NCAA regulations.
Both players were sad to see Tom Brennan retire after the 2005 run into the NCAA tournament. “He was really supportive throughout my first year, especially when there were a couple of times that I was struggling,†said Schneider.
Duell also holds the same feeling towards his old coach, “He’s the kind of person you don’t lose touch with. We ate lunch the other day.â€
Ryan Schneider and Josh Duell were key components to the Catamount basketball team this past season, averaging 24.7 and 22.4 minutes per game, respectively and starting in a combined 22 games as sophomores. Both exhibited good all-around skills; Scheider was third on the team in three-point attempts while also pulling down the third most rebounds. Duell averaged over seven points per game and held a field goal percentage over forty percent. Both aim to playing key roles on their future teams.
May 4th, 2006
Ryan Schneider, a forward from the University of Vermont  will transfer to Marist College this season and play for the men’s basketball team in the 2007-08 season.
Schneider, of Yorktown Heights, is 6-6 and weighs 200 pounds and was a member of the Catamounts team that won the America East championship in 2004 and then defeated Syracuse in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Due to NCAA regulations, Marist officials could not comment on the transfer until it is official.
“The program is certainly on the rise in terms of becoming a championship program,†Schneider said by phone Monday. “I’m just excited. It’s a great opportunity to continue my career.â€
Due to NCAA rules, Schneider, a graduate of Lakeland High School in Shrub Oak, will sit out this season due to his transfer, but is excited about what he will be able to contribute to coach Matt Brady’s team.
“I’m looking to a fresh start,†Schneider said. “It’s been a long time since Marist has won a championship. I have the experience of winning a championship at this level. I’m interested in contributing this season, even though I can’t play, as a practice player.â€
“Marist is a great fit. Coach Brady is a great guy,†said Schneider, who was a teammate of Marist guard Will Whittington on the Hudson Valley team at last year’s Empire State Games.
Schneider came off the bench, averaging 4.5 points per game under former Vermont coach Tom Brennan, who retired at the close of the 2004-05 season. In 2005-06, new coach Mike Lonergan used him primarily as a reserve.
When the Catamounts decided to hire Lonergan as opposed to Brennan’s associate coach, Jesse Agel, Schneider was initially disappointed.
“I was kind of thinking of leaving after last season because I was so disappointed that Coach Agel didn’t get the job,†Schneider said. “[Lonergan] took me out of the starting lineup and didn’t give me a good reason for why I was out of the starting lineup. Transferring happens all the time in college basketball.â€
“He’s probably the best player I’ve ever coached in 25 years,†Lakeland coach Henry Weltman said of Schneider, Lakeland’s all-time leading scorer and the first in his program’s history to earn a Division One scholarship. “To me, he’s a legit Division One ballplayer. He’s the hardest working kid and he’s a leader.â€
April 25th, 2006
Ron Everhart, who in his last two coaching stops reversed the fortunes of the men’s basketball programs at both McNeese State and Northeastern, has been named men’s basketball coach at Duquesne University.Â
Everhart, 44, reached an agreement with Duquesne on March 29. He becomes the 15th head coach in the 89-year history of Duquesne basketball.
“In Ron Everhart we’ve hired a head coach with a proven track record of turning programs around,†said Greg Amodio, director of athletics. “His ability as a teacher and passion for the game has enabled him to successfully rebuild programs at both McNeese State and Northeastern. His experience gives him a firm understanding of the task at hand. As someone who grew up in this area, Ron embodies the blue-collar work ethic which will be essential in his success as we move forward.â€
At the March 29 press conference introducing Everhart to the team and community, President Charles Dougherty expressed his pleasure at bringing Everhart on board.
“When I first met Ron, three things impressed me. One, his commitment to maintain high academic standards. You can’t have a coach at Duquesne University without that commitment. We want players to be students while they are here. We want them to graduate, and he has that commitment to build on that Duquesne tradition. Second important thing, high ethical standards. We don’t want to be just compliant with the rules; we want to be exemplary in terms of the program we run.
“Finally, and important for us, Ron has a passion for winning,†Dougherty said, “and that is something that we had to have in our new coach … someone who can return our program to its winning ways. Our fans deserve that, our players want it, and the whole Duquesne community has been looking forward to it.â€
“Maybe aside from the day my children were born, this is probably the happiest day of my life,†said Everhart, the father of 7-year-old twins. “It is not often a coach gets the opportunity to work at a University whose religious structures and values are those that I and my family try to live our lives by. A guy gets the job that he loves to do and he gets to do that in a place where he was born and raised. Today, I’m that very fortunate person.â€
Everhart, a native of nearby Fairmont, W.Va., grew up listening to Duquesne basketball on his transistor radio. He has compiled a 174-172 (.503) record in 12 seasons as a head coach at McNeese State and Northeastern, while engineering dramatic turnarounds at both schools.
At Northeastern, he inherited a program that averaged fewer than nine wins in the six seasons prior to his arrival and produced 19, 21 and 19 victories in each of the past three years. In his five seasons at the Boston, Mass. school, the Huskies averaged 16.4 wins.
His 2004-05 team, which finished second in the America East Conference with a 15-3 record (21-10 overall), advanced to the postseason conference tournament championship game where it lost to NCAA Tournament Cinderella Vermont. The `05 Huskies went on to earn an NIT bid–marking Northeastern’s first postseason appearance in 14 years.
April 12th, 2006
| What a ride University of Vermont freshman and Norwalk native Mike Trimboli had this basketball season. In addition to the No. 6 seeded Catamounts’ improbable run to the American East Conference championship game, Trimboli excelled on the court. He picked up numerous American East Player of the Week honors and was named the conference’s Rookie of the Year. “This was a really nice season,†Trimboli said Saturday afternoon after his team fell to the University of Albany Great Danes 80-67. “We’re a young team, and for us to come in and make it to the championship game as a young team is pretty impressive. Everybody’s returning next year, so we’re really looking forward to next year.†The Catamounts, who relied heavily last year on senior standouts Taylor Coppenrath and T.J. Sorrentine, were in a much different position this season and had to turn to Trimboli, a freshman. Trimboli didn’t disappoint, however. He was eighth in the conference in scoring, netting 420 points overall and averaging 14 points per game. He led the conference in assists with 166, averaging 5.53 per game, and made 107 of his 127 free throws. Behind the line Trimboli was dangerous as well, converting 53 of 151 shots. “I thought Mike had a great year,†said first-year Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan. “His Rookie of the Year [Award] was well-deserved, but he still needs to get a lot better to get us to the next level next year. The last month of the season he really struggled, and I think he needs to work on shot selection. When you’re not hot shooting the ball, you need to make sure that the guys that are are getting touches. He’s terrific, and I think he’ll be a four-year all-conference player.â€This year, Trimboli also was awarded American East All-Second Team honors. “It’s all good,†he said. “I am just happy that we got this far. A lot wasn’t just me, but it was my teammates hitting shots and everything. They got me all my assists, and it was a really fun year. I need to work on my whole game for next year. I think if I do that, I will be more aggressive offensively and I’ll open up a lot of teammates.â€
With the loss of Coppenrath and Sorrentine to graduation, Vermont, the winner of the past three American East tournaments, wasn’t expected to make it to the final game this year. However, after beating No. 3 seeded Boston University and No. 2 seeded Binghamton, Vermont found itself back in familiar territory.
On Saturday in Albany, the No. 1 seeded Great Danes came out firing and built an 18-6 lead with 11 minutes, 53 seconds to play in the first half. Trimboli did his best, but was unable to find the basket.
After unsuccessfully draining his first six shot attempts, Trimboli scored his first points in a championship game with 6:04 remaining in the half. Trimboli cut through the lane for the running layup, which was good, and he was fouled on the play. After making the foul shot, the Catamounts cut the lead to 31-19.
Trimboli didn’t connect on another shot until the 14:41 mark of the second, when he nailed a top-of-the-key three-pointer.
Although he finished the game going four for 14 from the field and one for six from behind the line, Trimboli was seven for eight at the charity strip and led the team with 16 points.
The Great Danes, Trimboli said, “came out hot right away and had their fans all over the place, but we had our fans here too, and they were pretty loud, considering it was in Albany. They came out strong and put us on our heels right away. It’s easy to make shots when you’re up by 20.
I had a couple of good looks [at the basket], and they were still pressuring me, but I think that if a couple of them dropped earlier in the game, then it could have been a much different ballgame.â€
Lonergan said he knew the game would be a tough one. “Albany played well, but I am disappointed in the way that we came out. The game was over in the first five minutes. We didn’t look good early, and they were ready. You can’t make a run when you don’t make open shots. I’ve said all year that Albany’s the best team in the conference. Today we didn’t play well. We needed our ‘A’ game, and that definitely wasn’t our ‘A’ game.â€
Lonergan, however, believes that the loss may ultimately have a positive effect on the Cat-amounts, particularly Trimboli.
“It was tough for us, but I am so happy that we played the game because to me it’s a process and these games will do nothing but help us,†said Lonergan. The 61-60 double-overtime loss to the Binghamton Bearcats on Jan. 25 “helped us win last weekend against them, and hopefully getting our rear ends beaten today will help us for next year,†he said.
The Catamounts finished the season with a record of 7-9 in the conference and 13-17 overall.
Trimboli also is optimistic about next year. “I love my teammates,†he said. “We have such a bond and especially going into next year. We’ve got everybody returning and two new kids coming in that will be important to our success. They’ll fit right in, and we’ll do well next year. We want to become the No. 1 seed and win the regular season. We want to be in the American East championship again, but this time we want to be the school that’s hosting the finals.â€
What impresses Longeran about Trimboli is that despite being a freshman, he’s been taking on a leadership role, both on and off the court.
“I have been hard on him all year, and he’s responded well,†said Longeran. “I told him that I hope that he’s one of our captains next year, whether there are two or three, because we need one of the younger guys to step up in that leadership role. He has a great work ethic, is a good guy; he’s a student of the game and has great potential. He’s a freshman, and it was hard for him, but I think that this year will really help Mike because he got to go through a lot of good experiences with this team. We’ll surround him with better players, which will make his job a little easier.â€
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March 31st, 2006
This was an all-too-familiar scene for the Vermont basketball team and its faithful: A comfortable second-half lead, victory in sight, then four minutes of gut-wrenching chaos.
The difference, this time, was the outcome.
Vermont, the youngest team in Division I college basketball, survived another homestretch meltdown Saturday, hanging on for a 64-61 victory over third-seeded Boston University that eliminated the Terriers from the America East Conference tournament and set up a noon semifinal matchup today between Vermont and Binghamton.
Vermont, the three-time defending tournament champions and No. 6 seed, advanced to the semifinals for the fifth straight year. It has 10 straight tournament victories.
Now comes second-seeded Binghamton, which won both regular-season meetings between the teams this season - the first at the Events Center in double-overtime, 61-60, and the most recent on Feb.26 when it erased an 11-point deficit in the closing minutes and stunned Vermont on its home floor, 67-62.
This time, the Bearcats may not have star forward Sebastian Hermenier, who didn’t play in Saturday’s victory over Maine because of a foot injury and will be a game-time decision today.
“We’re not exactly looking forward to playing the host team,†Vermont coach Mike Lonergan said. “We’ll look at it that Hermenier is going to play unless someone tells me different.â€
In the Bearcats’ double-overtime victory over Vermont on Jan. 25, Hermenier scored 17 points - all from the free-throw line.
To get to today’s game, Lonergan’s young Catamounts had to survive another harrowing finish. There are 14 players on the University of Vermont basketball roster: 12 of them are either freshman or sophomores. And like any young team, they have had a penchant for throwing away games they’ve had in the bag.
They had lost both regular-season games to the Terriers this season - 43-41 at Boston in late January after leading, and 69-64 in overtime on Feb. 23.
Saturday, they almost lost again despite holding a 55-45 lead with 4:39 to play.
“We had seen this many times this year,†Lonergan said. “This time, we were able to keep our composure, get some rebounds and knock down some free throws.â€
After a layup by junior Martin Klimes put Vermont up by 10 - its largest lead of the game - Boston turned up the defensive pressure and forced Vermont to turn the ball over three times.
From there, 6-foot-4 freshman Corey Hassan rallied Boston, scoring nine of his game-high 21 points in the final 4:16, including two three-pointers.
With nine seconds left, the Terriers had whittled the lead to 61-59 and had a chance to tie the game with freshman Marques Johnson at the free-throw line. But Johnson missed the second of his two shots and Ryan Schneider ripped down the rebound, got fouled, and sank both free throws for a 63-60 lead.
Boston had one last chance to tie, but Lonergan told his team to foul, rather than give the Terriers an opportunity to hoist a game-tying three-pointer.
“I’ve never done that in that situation, but I didn’t feel confident going into overtime,†Lonergan said
March 6th, 2006
Mike Gordon keyed a late charge as Binghamton came from behind to top Boston University next Saturday, March 4 at 2:30pm at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. The host Bearcats, the second seed, play seventh-seeded Maine in the quarterfinal opener at noon.
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“I’m proud of our effort but it was a very frustrating ending,†said Vermont coach Mike Lonergan. “The guys are trying very hard but we can’t seem to make the right decisions at the right time. The number of turnovers we make is mindboggling. I hope we can pick it up this week and play looser and with more confidence in the tournament.â€
Binghamton shot poorly for the game (38%) but forced 22 UVM turnovers, 13 in the deciding second half, while committing just seven. The Catamounts also outrebounded the Bearcats, 41-28.
Vermont held Binghamton to 24% from the floor in the first half en route to a 29-18 lead at the break. At one point the Bearcats missed 15 straight shots over a nine and a half minute span but closed out the period with a 7-0 run.
Binghamton opened the second half with another good run, outscoring the Cats, 13-5, to tie the game at 34-34 four minutes into the stanza. Vermont righted itself and led by as many as 15 points midway through the second half and had a 61-52 advantage with 3:23 to go.
On three straight Binghamton possessions, Gordon hit a layup off a steal, a three-pointer and a 10-foot jumper to cut the deficit to 61-59 with 1:27 left. Troy Hailey made a pair of free throws to tie the game and Chris Holm (Henderson, Nevada) hit one of two from the line to nudge the Cats ahead by one with 55 seconds left. On the next trip, Andre Heard hit a driving runner on the baseline with 38 seconds to go to give put the Bearcats back up. A layup bid by Martin Klimes (Prague, Czech Republic) was off the mark with four seconds left and Binghamton then closed out the game with four straight free throws.
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Heard led all scorers with 22 points but shot nine-of-22 from the floor. Gordon (5-for-15) added 13 and Hailey (3-for-10) chipped in with 12. The win was Binghamton’s first ever at Patrick Gym.
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Holm had his third double-double of the season with 14 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Mike Trimboli (Norwalk, Conn.) added 14 points and five assists for the Catamounts, who lost for the fourth straight time.
February 27th, 2006
Vermont travels to Boston, Mass. for its final regular season road trip of the year to take on Boston University in its lone game of the week. The Catamounts stand at 8-15 overall and 4-9 in America East. UVM has dropped seven of its last eight games and is coming off a 65-62 loss to Albany at Patrick Gym on Saturday. Boston University sits in a tie for second place in the league standings with a record of 15-8 overall and 8-4 in the conference. The Terriers are coming off a 72-64 win over Stony Brook, who they are tied with in the standings, on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00pm on Wednesday night and can be heard on WVMT-620 AM and on the Internet at SportsJuice.com.
February 21st, 2006
Albany’s Sheri Mikus scored eight of her career-high 23 points in the final 2:30 of the game to help the Great Danes hold off Vermont and come away with a 65-62 victory at Patrick Gymnasium. It is the first win for Albany over Vermont in the all-time series, ruining UVM’s perfect 9-0 record.With the win Albany earns its second conference victory to improve to 2-10 in league play and 6-17 overall. Vermont falls to 8-15 overall and 4-9 in America East.
The game was tightly contested in the opening 20 minutes, featuring seven ties and just a five-point advantage for Albany. The Great Danes shot 50% from the field, while Vermont hit 34.3% of its field goals in the first half, allowing Albany to take a 29-27 lead at the break.
In the second half, Albany put together an 13-2 run spanning three minutes to take a 14-point lead, 49-35, with 11:01 remaining in the game. Vermont responded with a 15-3 run of its own and a three-pointer by Ashleigh Cuncic (Carlisle, Ontario) cut the Albany lead to two, 52-50, with 4:32 on the clock. Vermont would get as close as one, 53-52, with 2:46 left, but could not overtake the Great Danes. Albany held on for the win by going 7-for-12 from the line, aided by Mikus’ 4-for-4 individual effort.
Mikus added seven rebounds, five assists and six steals in a solid all-around performance. Amanda Ward chipped in 18 points, matching her career-high, and six rebounds. Albany shot 57.1% from the field in the second half and 53.2% for the game. The Great Danes were 13-for-24 from the foul line in the game.
Alexis Castro (Chula Vista, Calif.) led Vermont with her fourth double-double of the season, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Senior Ashleigh Cuncic (Carlisle, Ontario) added 14 points, including four three-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds. The Catamounts shot 32.4% in the second half and 33% from the field in the game.
Vermont returns to action on Wednesday, February 22 when it makes its final road trip of the regular season to Boston. The Catamounts face Boston University at 7:00pm at Case Gymnasium. The game can be heard on WVMT-620 AM and on the Internet at SportsJuice.com.
February 20th, 2006
The University of Vermont swept Maine in a pair of basketball games on Wednesday evening. The UVM men’s team used a balanced attack to roll past the Black Bears, 79-48, at Patrick Gymnasium in the America East Game of the Week. In women’s action, senior Chrissy Battram scored 14 of her season-high 19 points in the second half, including the go-ahead layup with 61 seconds left to lift Vermont to a 68-65 comeback victory in Orono.The men’s team improves to 11-12 overall and 7-6 in America East and sits in a tie for third place with Hartford in the league standings. The women snapped a six-game losing streak with the win to move to 8-14 overall and 4-8 in the standings.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, February 18. The men travel to former America East foe Drexel in the ESPN Bracket Buster game (5:00pm), while the women host Albany at 1:00pm at Patrick Gym. The first 1,000 fans to the women’s game will receive a free set of trading cards courtesy of L. Brown & Sons.
February 17th, 2006
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