Catching up with T.J. Sorrentine

I made a reference a couple of days ago to the last time Vermont played Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament. The moment I saw the draw go up, I knew I had to try to get in touch with T.J. Sorrentine, who hit perhaps the most famous three-pointers in Catamounts history.

Fortunately, I didn't have to look very far to find him. Sorrentine has been an assistant coach at Brown since 2008, but has been pretty far out of the spotlight because of the Bears' obscurity on the basketball landscape.

When I called Brown's media relations staff yesterday afternoon, I was told that I was the first person who requested to interview Sorrentine since the selection show. You would think that people would want to get a hold of him this week. We'll see if anyone else does, but for now, I get to say that I have the following interview exclusively.

Enoy it. And yes, I'm posting that video again.

What was your reaction when you saw the draw?

It was funny because I was actually in California and watching the selection show, and within five minutes I had 10 texts and calls. The first was from my boss, Jesse Agel at Brown, and he said, "You're going to get a lot of face time this week." It was great just to see Vermont back on the board. Those guys have done a great job [and] coach [Mike] Lonergan has done a great job.

Do you still remember that big three-pointer?

Like it was yesterday. I run into people all the time and everyone wants to know, still to this day, what I was thinking when i took that shot. So I'm reminded of it all the time, being in this game. And especially around March Madness. It's brought to my attention more often than not. It's one of those great opportunities that I'll never forget, and other people won't let me forget either.

Have you ever talked to Gus Johnson about it?

I haven't run into Gus. I would love to run into him and say what a great call that was, because that was a phenomenal call that he made. "From the parking lot!" It seems to be right there with the shot - even more important than the shot at times, because the call was such a great call.

The matchup just had to be Syracuse, didn't it?

The committee has a funny way of doing things... My old Sports Information guy said, "You know the committe had to do that so [Jim] Boeheim could even his record against Vermont." That was the only time Vermont and Syracuse ever played.

Are you going to the game in Buffalo?

I don't know. I'm up in the air right now. If I can get out of work, if my boss lets me go, I might go. It's a long trip. but I'm stil up in the air. The guy from the Syracuse news stadion emailed me today and asked if I was going. He wanted to get my thoughts on the game. So I don't know. I'm talking to a few people now. I would like to be there. I hope I can make it beacuse it would be great to be there. It will bring back a lot of memories.

I know Jesse Agel somewhat, so allow me to say it: Let T.J. go to the game. For all of our sakes.