Trapani Follows Father's Path

Joe Trapani was dead set on carving his own identity rather than following his father and playing at Vermont. However, that changed once he laid eyes on the campus in Burlington, Vermont.

Joe Trapani didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of his father. That changed when he saw the Vermont campus.

Trapani, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound senior forward at Hand High (Conn.) whose father, Charlie, was the captain of the Catamounts basketball team back in the 1970’s, committed to Vermont on Wednesday.

``I didn't think I was actually going to go there, Trapani said. "I wanted to make my own legacy, but once I got there and saw the school, I loved it."

Trapani averaged 24 points and 13.6 boards per game as a junior and also received interest from the likes of Boston College, Providence, West Virginia, Holy Cross and Stanford. However, it came down at the end to Vermont and Fairfield.

``The new staff was the main reason I went with Vermont,” Trapani added. “They were great and really related with me. I know Coach (Mike) Lonergan’s track record as a great coach and that was important to me.”

Trapani is a skilled forward who can step out and knock down shots from the perimeter. He needs to work on his quickness, but he’s a good get for the Catamounts and will join guard Nick Vier as Lonergan’s two-man recruiting class in 2006.