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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network Article |
| Wednesday, 31 December 2008 |
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There’s a tradition that Charlie Trapani and his son, Joe, have had for years.
No matter how far apart they may have been, whether Charlie was traveling for business or Joe was up at school in Vermont, they would always make sure to get together to watch one of college basketball’s greatest rivalries.
“It was kind of a tradition, no matter where we were in our lives, that we’d watch the Duke-North Carolina game,” Charlie said. “We’d come together and watch that game.”
It grew out of their love for college basketball and, more specifically, their love of North Carolina basketball. Charlie has long been a huge Tar Heel fan, since playing against them while a standout forward at the University of Vermont in the mid-1970s, and he passed that love on to his son.
Over the next few years, however, neither Charlie nor Joe will be rooting for the Tar Heels. They are now the opposition.
Joe Trapani, the Madison resident and Hand High graduate, is now a sophomore at Boston College. He had to sit out last season after transferring from Vermont — yup, dad’s alma mater — but has picked up right where he left off in his first 10 games at BC. Trapani is currently averaging 13.5 points, second only to first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference guard Tyrese Rice on the Eagles, and his 7 rebounds per game lead the team.
Soon, however, BC (8-2) will veer off from the relative comforts of non-conference play and into the dangerous terrain of the ACC. And that, of course, means a date with North Carolina.
On Jan. 4, the Eagles will kick off conference play down at Chapel Hill against the consensus No. 1 team in the land. Naturally, Joe Trapani can’t wait.
“It’s a dream of mine,” he admitted.
Like his father did more than 30 years earlier against UNC legends Bobby Jones and Walter Davis, Trapani will be bodying up against Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson and the rest of the stacked Tar Heels.
“There’s going to be some nerves, obviously,” Trapani said. “It’s going to be crazy being able to play there. I’m going to have to go in there and keep my composure.”
But then, that’s never been a problem for Joe Trapani on the basketball court. And anyway, this is one of the reasons he decided to transfer to Boston College from Vermont — the toughest decision he’s had to make in his young life.
‘I Kind of Felt Trapped’
Although he was a two-time Register Player of the Year and an All-Stater, a 6-foot-8 forward with good springs and an even better outside shot, Trapani didn’t attract a lot of attention from major programs while at Hand — partly because he never got too involved in the AAU circuit.
UConn assistant coach Patrick Sellers saw Trapani play and liked him, but not enough for the Huskies to offer him a scholarship.
“I was curious about that,” Charlie said. “Like a lot of big-time college programs, they recruit globally for players. Sometimes they miss underneath their nose what was there. But I don’t know if that would have been a good mix for Joe. He wanted to move out of Connecticut.”
Davidson coach Bob McKillop came to visit Trapani and offered him a scholarship, as did Fairfield and Vermont. Boston College and West Virginia also liked him, but both wanted Trapani to play a year of prep school first.
Vermont coach Mike Lonergan told Trapani he would play right away, however, so Trapani was bound for Burlington.
“They had an excellent tradition after (Taylor) Coppenrath and (T.J.) Sorrentine,” Trapani said. “One of the main reasons I wanted to go there was to keep up the tradition. And my dad, obviously, was in dream land. He loved going back to his old stomping grounds.”
At first, it seemed like a pleasant dream for Joe. He scored 20 points in his collegiate debut against New Orleans and was the Catamounts’ leading scorer through their first 16 games. Then things started to unravel.
Trapani broke his foot during a game against Maine in mid-January and missed Vermont’s next nine games. When he returned, Trapani was out of the starting lineup — and, essentially, out of the loop.
“I couldn’t get my groove again,” he recalled. “I kind of felt out of place, playing spot minutes here and there. Coach really tried to have confidence in me and put me in. He always could trust me in the beginning of the season and was hopeful I could get back to form, but it was really frustrating to me. I had never felt like that on the court, never played like that, scoring two, four points. It was terrible.”
Worse, it put into focus that he wasn’t very happy at UVM off the court, as well.
“I kind of felt trapped,” Trapani said. “Just the scene in Vermont wasn’t really for me. If I had basketball, it was OK, but when I had basketball taken away, it wasn’t my scene. It’s way up in Burlington. I’m not an outdoorsy kind of guy. I needed somewhere where there’s more commotion going on, like in a city.”
CLICK HERE for complete article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network News Feed |
| Thursday, 09 October 2008 |
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Thursday, October 9
BENNINGTON — Southern Vermont College has not let too many weeks go by in the fall season without a student-athlete receiving honors from the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). This week was no different, as another honor came when freshman cross-country runner Nick Murray earned Rookie of the Week for XC in the NECC.
Murray placed 22nd overall and was the Mountaineers' top finisher in the Vermont State Championships this past weekend, with a career-best time of 30:56.6 for the tough terrain 8K course against NCAA D-I, D-II and D-III schools. Southern Vermont finished ninth as a team with 221 points.
As far as Murray is concerned, the program is heading into a direction he is excited about. "It's nice to see that the program is getting recognition," Murray said. "And it's nice to be a part of something that is moving forward and improving each week."
Southern Vermont College Athletic Director Ben Kozik credited the freshman for being an integral part of the program.
"Nick had a great week this week," Kozik said. "It just goes to show that if you keep focused and remain dedicated, which Nick has, the sky's the limit. If he continues to remain committed, he will have a great career here at SVC."
CLICK HERE for complete article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network News Feed |
| Wednesday, 03 September 2008 |
 It was a Labor Day weekend Middlebury College graduate Steve Hauschka won't ever forget. Hauschka thought he was a placekicker in the Minnesota Vikings' future on Saturday morning and by Saturday night he was in Baltimore as a member of the Ravens.
Rutland's Steve Wolf, Hauschka's personal kicking coach, said Hauschka phoned him Saturday after meeting with Vikings' management about being relegated to the practice squad.
"They told him that they were impressed with him and that they felt he had a good chance of being part of their future.
"But when they put you on the practice squad, you have to clear waivers and the Ravens claimed him."
It wasn't surprising that the team seizing that opportunity was the Ravens. Before the NFL draft in April, the two teams most interested in Hauschka were the Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.
"I think they are looking for him to do kickoffs and possibly long field goals," Wolf said.
"During the preseason games, the teams returned the ball only to the 21-yard line on average, which is 6 or 7 yards better for a kicker than the average return. He has been hitting his kickoffs real well. His hang time has been 4.2 seconds and sometimes 4.4 or 4.5, which is unheard of. Kicking it to the 5-yard line with a 4.2 hang time is very good."
Wolf developed a relationship with Hauschka when he helped coach him at Middlebury College and has been in touch with him almost daily since.
CLICK HERE for complete article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network News Feed |
| Sunday, 29 June 2008 |
 Over the past week, American officials have questioned why a Serbian student at Binghamton University was allowed to flee the country, while he charged with beating up another student into a coma. Today, the Serbian Consul General Slobodan Nenedovic tells the Post, "I will think about resigning, absolutely."
On May 4, Miladin Kovacevic (pictured), a basketball player at 6' 9" and 260 pounds, allegedly beat up Bryan Steinhauer (5'6" and 135 pounds), thinking Steinhauer groped a friend's girlfriend at a bar. Though the girlfriend said she wasn't touched, Kovacevic reportedly attacked and Steinhauer, a Brooklyn resident, suffered shattered cheeks and a fractured skull and remains in critical condition.
Serbian vice consul general Igor Milosevic put up $100,000 cash bail (upstate law enforcement says they thought it was a big amount for upstate) for Kovacevic in early June, and the 20-year-old fled the country with an emergency passport, since he had already surrendered his regular one. Senator Charles Schumer has asked that Kovacevic be extradited, noting the U.S.'s extradition treaty with Serbia and how the "federal law enforcement must now step in and do everything in its power to bring justice to the Steinhauer family as quickly as possible."
However, there's confusion about whether Serbian officials want to extradite Kovacevic; consul general Nenecovic said to the Post, "I'm not quite sure if Serbia has an extradition policy, but I am sure that Kovacevic will be faced with prosecution in Serbia." The Daily News' Michael Daly suggests cutting off Serbian funding if their officials don't send the accused back to face charges upstate.
Kovacevic's parents spoke to the Post and his father said, "We feel he is a victim of small-town values ganging up against a foreigner. He was targeted because he was Serb and a very large man." And a family friend told the Daily News Kovacevic was defending himself. In the meantime, Steinhauer's mother says her son is "slowing emerging from his coma."
CLICK HERE for Gothamist article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network News Feed |
| Friday, 20 June 2008 |
There's nothing about this story to like. The America Least Blog has been covering the tale of now former Binghamton University Bearcat player Minja Kovacevic reportedly beating a fellow student to near death. Kovacevic had bail posted. Despite reportedly surrendering his passport, the Serbian native apparently got back to Serbia. Now it turns out that the Serbian Consulate in New York had posted his bail.
Don't bother looking for answers about that yet, the Consulate has none.
Serbian Consul General Slobodan Nenadovic said Monday his office is aware of the incident. But the consulate official who handled Kovacevic's bail is out of the New York City office for two weeks. Nenadovic said Monday he was unable to comment until he knows more about the case.
"I don't know what else I can tell you," Nenadovic said.
That's convenient.
So how did a 6-9 man with no passport manage to leave the country? Homeland Security and Immigration have no idea.
"This is not a case that Immigration and Custom Enforcement was involved in at any point," said Michael W. Gilhooley, a spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of Homeland Security.
Yet, they can confirm he left the country. No, nothing about this stinks. Nothing at all.
CLICK HERE for complete article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network Article |
| Saturday, 19 April 2008 |
Source: Middlebury Athletics
Amherst scored a pair of late runs for an 8-7 come-from-behind win over Middlebury in game one, while pounding out 21 hits in game two for a 14-8 win. The Jeffs take the season series 2-1 after a 14-8 Middlebury win on Friday.
With the game tied at one, Middlebury scored a pair of unearned runs in the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Panthers struck for two more in the third to grab a 5-1 advantage. A two-run double by Donald McKillop drove in John Lanahan and Mark Shimrock in the fourth to give the Panthers a 7-1 lead.
Middlebury starter Nick Angstman worked into the fifth inning, before being relieved by Justin Wright, who was seeing his first action of the season. Amherst plated five runs on four hits in the inning, taking advantage of three Middlebury errors.
Trailing 7-6 in the seventh and final inning, Amherst rallied as Evan Bruno singled up the Middlebury, as McKillop came on in relief of Wright. A SAC bunt moved Bruno to second before Jose Espinosa was hit by a pitch. One out later, a walk to Brian Merrigan loaded the bases for Brendan Powers, who ripped a two-run single up the middle to give Amherst its first lead of the game.
CLICK HERE for complete article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by Preston Junger |
| Friday, 15 February 2008 |
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Source: Star News Online
It's that time again, February Foolishness. Everyone's an expert on the NCAA men's basketball tournament, even me.
A year ago, I picked 12 of the real top 16 seeds, including three in their correct seed and site (UNC and Georgetown in Winston-
Salem, Florida in New Orleans). Not the best, but just as good as the guys who get paid to do it year-round. Now that's a cool job.
This year, I've asked for and
received the help of ESPN analyst Tom Brennan, the former coach at Vermont. Brennan knows a thing or two about the tournament (sorry, Boeheim backers, but T.J. Sorrentine killed you guys), and Brennan knows more about it now that's he's out of coaching.
"Before, I really didn't give a damn what Purdue or Indiana did," Brennan said Thursday. "I really got away from being a fan as much as a coach. I just hoped to see them in the tournament."
Brennan's watching far more basketball, which means that A) he won't be in Wilmington to see his old school take on UNCW in the BracketBusters game on Feb. 23 and B) the guy has seen more good basketball this season than all ECU fans combined.
Brennan's projected No. 1 seeds may surprise you, but here they are: Memphis, Tennessee, Kansas and North Carolina.
CLICK HERE for complete article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by Preston Junger |
| Saturday, 18 August 2007 |
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Source: MASSLive.com
AMHERST - Growing up in Underhill Center, Vt., Matt Glass sometimes found his biggest basketball challenge was finding competition.
"We had 12 or 13 on the team, but only four or five who called basketball their main sport," said Glass, a 6-foot-7 guard on this year's University of Massachusetts men's basketball squad.
"I started playing basketball in the seventh grade," Glass said. "Then I had to push myself, because in a small town, there isn't always someone else in the gym."
CLICK HERE for complete article.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network Article |
| Friday, 27 July 2007 |
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Wake Forest Head Coach Suffers Heart Attack, Dies
Source: Scout.com
By Michael Jennings
DeaconSports.com
Posted Jul 27, 2007
 DeaconSports' Michael Jennings reflects on the life of Skip Prosser -- and what Coach Prosser brought to so many others in his life and the Wake Forest University community.
As the news filtered out yesterday that Skip Prosser had succumbed to a heart attack, my mind drifted back to the many times I had the pleasure to talk with him over the past several years.
Knowing the passion he held for his family, his friends, his players, and his job, I was somewhat comforted by the fact that he leaves behind thousands who cared and respected him. Whether it was on a basketball court, in a classroom, or just talking with you (or others,) you always got the impression that you were the most important person in Skip Prosser’s life at that moment. His persona was that of a man interested in what you had to say and ready and willing to learn something from you.
You see, most of all Skip Prosser was a teacher and a learner who valued people and what they thought in a way few ever do. His insatiable quest for more knowledge and understanding of the human species knew no limit and followed no ironclad course. He was always willing to learn new methods, words, or ways to benefit his standing in his chosen profession and indeed in his daily life.
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| Vermont College Sports |
| Written by VT Sports Network Article |
| Saturday, 28 April 2007 |
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Source: Rutland Herald
MIDDLEBURY – A fire late Thursday night gutted a local sporting goods store.
Fire Chief Rick Cole said Vermont Field Sports at 1458 Route 7 experienced significant fire damage to the single-level, 5,000-square-foot sporting goods shop.
The fire was reported at 10:30 p.m. and upon arrival, the store was fully involved, he said. Fire crews had the fire pretty well out by 12:30 a.m. but remained on the scene until 7:30 a.m. today to monitor the building for smoldering hot spots, Cole said.
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