T. J. Sorrentine

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
T. J. Sorrentine
Brown Bears
PositionAssociate head coach
League
Krka
As coach:
2008–2011Brown (assistant)
2011–presentBrown (associate HC)
Career highlights and awards

Thomas John "T. J." Sorrentine (born July 29, 1982) an American former basketball player and current associate head coach of

2005 NCAA tournament
for the school's first-ever tournament win.

Playing career

Sorrentine starred for St. Raphael Academy under his father, Thomas "Saar" Sorrentine, a legendary Rhode Island high school coach and New England Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.[2] Sorrentine was named the Rhode Island Player of the Year by both Gatorade and USA Today in 2000, after leading St. Raphael's to back-to-back state titles.

When Sorrentine arrived at Vermont to play for

Tom Brennan for the 2000–01 season, he made an immediate impact, leading the team in assists, and finishing second on the team in scoring, earning America East Rookie of the Year honors in the process. A year later in 2002, Sorrentine, along with Taylor Coppenrath and the late Trevor Gaines, helped guide UVM to its first-ever 20-win season and first America East Regular Season title in the process. Sorrentine scored 18.8 points per game and dished out four assists per game to win America East Player of the Year
honors, the first Catamount to do so since the 1991–92 season. Sorrentine also earned AP All-American Honorable Mention honors, as well.

With expectations at an all-time high in

2004 NCAA tournament
, where the Catamounts fell to eventual national champion Connecticut in the first round.

In 2004–05, Sorrentine helped Vermont to its most historic season in school history, as he along with Coppenrath and three other seniors helped Vermont post a school-record 25 wins, winning the America East regular season and conference titles for its third-straight NCAA appearance, just the third team in America East history to win three or more consecutive conference tournament titles.

As a 13-seed, the Catamounts drew Big East Champion Syracuse in the

2005 NCAA tournament in the Worcester region. Sorrentine scored 17 points, including five three-point field goals, one which will remain entrenched in NCAA Tournament lore, as Sorrentine nailed a deep three-pointer with 1:10 left in overtime to put Vermont ahead 59–55 in a 60–57 win. During the game, television commentator Gus Johnson
commented that "Sorrentine hit that one from the parking lot." The win over the Orange was the first postseason win in school history and UVM's first-ever over a ranked foe (Syracuse was ranked No. 11). Vermont eventually fell to Michigan State in the second round.

After graduation, Sorrentine earned

BC Krka
, before his career was halted due to injury.

On October 26, 2019, Sorrentine's number 11 jersey was retired by the University of Vermont, on the same night former teammate Taylor Coppenrath’s number 22 was also retired.[3]

Coaching career

In 2008, Sorrentine accepted a spot on Brown's staff, reuniting with Jesse Agel, his former assistant coach at Vermont. In 2011, Sorrentine was promoted to associate head coach, and a year later was named the interim head coach of the Bears after Agel was fired and a search for a new coach was conducted.[4][5] He remains on staff for the Bears under head coach Mike Martin.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "Brown". Brownbears.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  2. ^ "New England Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees - 2009". Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
  3. Burlington Free Press
    . Retrieved November 4, 2019.
  4. ^ "TJ Sorrentine Promoted To Associate Head Men's Basketball Coach". Brownbears.com. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Brown names Pawtucket's Sorrentine interim coach | the Pawtucket Times". Archived from the original on 8 September 2012.
  6. ^ "Men's Basketball Coaches". Brown University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  7. ^ "Brown hires former player and Penn assistant". Cbssports.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=T._J._Sorrentine&oldid=1215967065"