Taylor Coppenrath, from West Barnet, Vermont grew up in true small town Vermont style. Attending St. Johnsbury Academy and being held to junior varsity until his junior year in high school, he went on to be recruited by the University of Vermont and was red shirted his freshmen year, after which he went on to be named player of the year for three consecutive years for leading UVM to three straight America East Conference titles. Reggie Lewis is the only other player in America East history to gain player of the year honors three years in a row. Coppenrath now plays professionally for AEK Greece and splits his time between Greece and Vermont.
Growing up in West Barnet, Vermont what made you decide to go to UVM?
It was one of the only schools that recruited me, also staying close to home and having my family be able to watch the [basketball] games.
How was your experience going to school in your home state?
It was a great experience, I felt like I went from a small town to having a whole family in Burlington, the community was great.
After you finish up your pro career would you want to come back to Vermont to settle down?
I would like to have a place in Vermont somewhere, somewhere near a lake, with mountains and trees. It [Vermont] is where I grew up I would definitely like to have my kids grow up there.
What type of career would you like to pursue after basketball?
Coaching, teaching, tutoring in math. You know helping kids out.
What type of things are you doing for Vermont students now?
Well I’d like to hold a couple different basketball camps throughout all of Vermont, right now we have a camp set up in Burlington, but I’d like to spread it out throughout the state, and help students that way, and like teaching and coaching, I’d like to help them out that way also.
What type of outdoor activities do you enjoy in Vermont?
I like to go tubing, swimming, you know, go out hit a baseball, play other sports, my brothers and I and some of our other family used to do a lot of that when we were growing up, riding bikes and whatnot. You have to pretty much make your own fun because you know there wasn’t a whole lot of stuff where I grew up. We only had a three cinema theater and that was 15 minutes away.
