"Oh my goodness! Sorrentine hit that one from the parking lot!"
That was the call from CBS's Gus Johnson after T.J. Sorrentine hit a 28-foot three-pointer with 1:06 left in overtime of the first round of the 2005 NCAA tournament. The shot clinched 13th-ranked Vermont's upset victory over the heavily favored No. 4 Syracuse Orange, a team that featured NBA-bound forward Hakim Warrick.
"I don't remember much from the game itself," said Sorrentine, now entering his third year as assistant basketball coach for the Bears. "I do remember the locker room. It was the best locker room I've ever been in. Just the excitement and thrill of being with those guys, who I was so close to, and we had a great time for that half hour."
Jesse Agel and Ryan Schneider shared the same bench as they watched Sorrentine sink one of the most memorable shots in the history of Vermont basketball. Schneider, who was a freshman for the Catamounts, was suited up, whereas Agel, then assistant coach, simply wore a suit.
"There were a lot of things going on at the time, but there's a lot ... that comes flooding back," Agel said. "Just the elation of the great win, and the excitement of continuing to play in the greatest tournament that college sports has."
Six years later, the three have been reunited through Brown basketball, with Agel entering his fourth year as head coach. Sorrentine came on board after a stint playing professionally, which included stops in Slovenia, Portugal, Italy and the NBA Summer League. The two are joined this season by Schneider, who will be making his coaching debut with the Bears after being named an assistant coach by Agel earlier this month.
Agel helped Schneider get his start in his college days as well, recruiting him to Vermont and coaching him for a year before Schneider transferred to Marist College. After graduating from Marist in 2009 with more than 1,000 points and 500 rebounds to his name, Schneider played professionally in Portugal from 2009 to 2011, averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds, before deciding to return to the states to pursue a career in coaching.
"I was at a crossroads," Schneider said. "I just got done playing professionally, and I was trying to figure out what was next. I spent a lot of time thinking, and I decided that if the opportunity came up to get into coaching, I would jump at it, because it is so competitive to get into the business."
Agel said he is embracing Schneider's relative inexperience, allowing the new coach to connect with both the current players and potential recruits.
"He loves basketball, and he loves being around the guys," Agel said. "He's highly motivated, and I really feel like he has a chance to become a very good coach."
But Schneider said he is still making the transition from being on the court to watching from the sideline
"This time last year, I was in Portugal knocking down my first couple jump shots of the season, and today I have 100 guys to call and talk to," he said. "When you're a player, your mentality is different. ... You don't realize what your coaches are doing the second practice is over until the next day."
For Schneider, memories from his playing days — like the upset over Syracuse — motivate him as a coach.
"It's that moment that you want to carry with you for the rest of your life," he said. "Now, as you're in that chair and wearing a tie instead of having sneakers on, you want to get back to that feeling. You have that memory, and it's something that you ultimately want to achieve at this level."
But the Bears face an uphill battle if they are to become a potential bracket-buster. Schneider is not alone in his first year, as Bruno boasts a roster that features seven new names and no returning seniors.
Agel said he is constantly reminded of the historic game he was a part of, but for now his focus is on building a team that can make some noise of its own.
"I'm sure a day doesn't go by that somebody doesn't bring it up, and it's been six years," he said. "It's a wonderful moment, and it's something that we want to recreate here. We're building our program to a level where we can first get into the tournament, and then compete in it."
