Beginning Monday, June 21st, 2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the opening day of the 2004-05 Season.

Bookmark the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back each day to see which team is previewed next.

#123 Vermont Catamounts

America East

 2003-04: 22-9, 15-3, 2^nd  

2003-04 postseason: NCAA

By Joel Welser

The Catamounts are trying to make it three NCAA appearances in a row.  Tom Brennan has the players and experience to play deep into March again.  Vermont finished 15-3 in the America East conference on the shoulders of Taylor Coppenrath.  Vermont had some quality wins last year including handing Boston U their only loss of the regular season.  The other big man on campus is T.J. Sorrentine who scored 14.8 points and dished out 4.6 assists per game.  Coppenrath and Sorrentine alone were 59% of the Vermont offense last year.  It’s great to return those two, but another scoring threat would be helpful.

Who’s Out: Vermont doesn’t lose any major impact players this season.  Scotty Jones was a starter and made an appearance in just about every game.  He only scored 5.9 points per game, but was second on the team in rebounding with 6.3.  Jack Phelan, Corey Sullivan and Matt Sheftic have all run out of eligibility but none of them saw significant minutes. 

Who’s In: Nobody sticks out in the class of 2004-2005 class, but it is a very solid group of forwards.  Josh Duell is the biggest of the bunch at 6-8, 220.  Arnold Henry will become the first player from the island nation of St. Lucia to play Division I men’s basketball.  Ryan Schneider is a 6-7 swingman with a surprisingly good outside shot.  Vermont native Kyle Cieplicki was redshirted last year and will make his debut in 2004-2005. 

Who to Watch: Taylor Coppenrath had a gallant season last year, struggling with injuries and still putting up incredible numbers.  His return in the conference tournament final saw him put up a season high 43 points against Maine.  The 6-9 senior is rarely in foul trouble either for a man his size.  He played all 40 minutes in 10 of the 24 games he saw action in.  Vermont proved that they can play without Coppenrath, but they only lost one conference game with him in the lineup.  He is a force to be reckoned with and causes all sorts of match-up trouble for the America East opposition. 

Projected Conference Rank: Vermont will have another solid season and will cause lots of problems in the America East.  The Catamounts will just slip by Northeastern to finish 2^nd in the conference.

Projected Post-season Tournament: none

« Team #124 , Team #122   »

Email Joel Welser: jwelser_chn@ameritech.net

Chat About CHN's Top #144 Ranking: http://pub14.ezboard.com/fcollegehoopsnetfrm8

Return to the 144 Teams in 144 Days home page