Vermont University

Vermont forward heading to Marist

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.”

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.”

“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.”

“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.”

April 25th, 2006