Sorrentine Still Joining Elite Company
The elite company that T.J. Sorrentine is in hasn’t quite dawned on him yet.
When Sorrentine won the America East Player of the Year award in 2002, he joined elite company in two respects. He became just the third player, following the late Reggie Lewis and Craig Claxton, to win the award as a sophomore, and he was just the second (following Lewis) to win the award one year after winning the conference Rookie of the Year award. He was also the school’s first America East scoring leader (18.8 points) since Eddie Benton led in 1995.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet,” Sorrentine says. “I think when I’m done playing, I’ll look back on it, and then have some idea.”
Less than a year later, Sorrentine was struggling. Injuries to both wrists in an early practice kept him out of the first month of games, then the coaching staff made a hard decision: they would redshirt Sorrentine and allow his right (shooting) wrist to fully heal, as the left wrist was okay by then.
“I was frustrated and disappointed,” Sorrentine says of that time. “You work so hard in the summer, then have it taken away like that.”
But Sorrentine didn’t waste away last season. He was able to practice for a good portion of the season to keep in shape and in flow for this season, and he was also one of the biggest cheerleaders as the Catamounts made their first trip to the NCAA Tournament with a big upset of Boston University in the championship game. Going to the NCAA Tournament helped make it easier for him, as well as the camaraderie that is clearly evident among the players and listening to head coach Tom Brennan talk about the team.
He has come back in fine form this year, finishing the regular season sixth in the conference in scoring and third in assists. He ran the offense with star classmate Taylor Coppenrath, who was the nation’s fourth-leading scorer before being felled by a season-ending wrist injury. With Coppenrath out, Sorrentine is again the primary scorer, and Brennan can feel confident knowing he has a proven go-to guy out there – not a luxury most teams in a conference like America East usually have. Sorrentine he has good help from steady combo guard David Hehn and athletic wing Germain Njila, both juniors, to seniors Scotty Jones and Matt Sheftic and improving Martin Klimes in the frontcourt.
“This is a blessed time at the University of Vermont,” Brennan reflected after an earlier game this season. “These times will never be matched, I don’t think. I really don’t. This junior class is something very special.”
The son of a coach, Sorrentine was the Rhode Island Player of the Year as a senior at powerful St. Raphael’s Academy in Pawtucket. Brennan calls him “the most driven athlete I have ever coached,” and it’s something that goes to his upbringing. Sorrentine says that his father really helped him as a player because he was relentless with him.
“He helped me to become tough-minded, because he was always on my case,” Sorrentine says. “He was on me more than the next guy, partly because he didn’t want people to think he was easier on me since I’m his son. It helped mold my work ethic.”
Sorrentine committed early to Vermont, never considering any other schools. He said that associate coach Jesse Agel was always there and had a vested interest in him, and he liked the campus and area on his visit. Like many who have gone to Vermont, Sorrentine also speaks glowingly about the community, especially with the recent success they have had.
“Vermont’s a nice place and the people treat you well,” he says. “The community has really embraced this team.”
The junior Sociology major would like to follow his dad’s footsteps as a coach when he’s done playing basketball. Since coming to Vermont, he’s learned about all the aspects of coaching from the staff, and his dad has been a primary inspiration. He also likes the player-coach relationships, no doubt drawing on those at Vermont.
