Talk about a tough job. Imagine having to be Mike Lonergan next season.
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| Tom Brennan is set to hand over the reins to Mike Lonergan. (Getty Images) |
Brennan is calling it a career after 19 seasons at the helm for the Catamounts, who arguably provided the most excitement in the first round of this year's tournament with their stunning 70-67 overtime victory against No. 4 seed Syracuse on Friday. They were eliminated Sunday by fifth-seeded Michigan State, 72-61.
Lonergan was watching the Friday game on television from his Maryland home with his wife and two young children.
"I've watched them play about four times this season, but it was always against America East teams," Lonergan said. "I knew they were a good team and that they had two great players in (Taylor) Coppenrath and (T.J.) Sorrentine, but I didn't realize how good defensively (David) Hehn was and how good Germain (Mopa Njila) is."
"The pace of the game was really good for Vermont," Lonergan added. "Gerry McNamara was really struggling and Hakim Warrick was really the only guy that Syracuse was able to rely on. Martin Klimes did a real good job for Vermont. It was an impressive win."
It's more than just unfair to expect Lonergan to pick up where Brennan -- who has led Vermont to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances -- is leaving off. It's downright unreasonable. At least not right away.
Not only are their personalities different, but it's safe to say that Vermont will never, ever have another Coppenrath, a homegrown kid who might have played his way into a first-round pick.
The Catamounts might also never get another Sorrentine, the heady floor leader from Rhode Island who hit the biggest shot of his life, a 26-foot 3-pointer in overtime that sealed the win.
Vermont will also lose Hehn and Njila, so Lonergan will have just one starter coming back -- Klimes, a 6-foot-8 sophomore.
"I feel terrible for him," Klimes said of the expectations that face his future coach.
While it'll be unrealistic to expect that Lonergan can duplicate Brennan's recent success, the Maryland native has a proven track record. He led Catholic University, a Division III school, to seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a national title in 2001.
Lonergan was 251-88 with a .740 winning percentage in his 12-year tenure and was the only coach in any division to win a regular-season conference title every year from 1998 to 2004.
