BURLINGTON, Vt. – Maurice Joseph (Montreal, Quebec/Champlain St. Lambert) has announced his decision to transfer from the Michigan State men's basketball program to Vermont. Under NCAA rules, Joseph will have to sit out the 2007-08 season, but will have two years left to play for the Catamounts. Vermont head coach Mike Lonergan made the announcement today.

“We are very excited about Maurice joining our program,” said Lonergan. “He is a very talented young man who is a great fit for the University of Vermont. MoJo is a true student-athlete who embodies everything we look for in a recruit.”

“He played the last two seasons at Michigan State for a future hall of fame coach in Tom Izzo, in arguably one of the top five college programs in the nation. Maurice also played for an excellent high school coach in John Dangelas at Champlain St. Lambert College in Montreal. I think Maurice has made a great decision and we are all looking forward to having him become a member of the UVM basketball family.”

Joseph appeared in 31 games for Michigan State last season, averaging 16.8 minutes per game. He averaged 5.9 points and 1.7 rebounds, while connecting on 42-of-116 3-point field goal attempts. In Big Ten Conference games, he averaged 4.8 points in 15.6 minutes per contest.

“My goal was to be somewhere I can be more of a focal point,” said Joseph. “I believe that can be true at Vermont. They are a good program and have been to the NCAA Tournament two of the last four years. It also doesn't hurt that the school is less than two hours from home. The fans are passionate about basketball and I look forward to starting the next part of my basketball career there."

Coming out of high school he was named the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association National Player of the Year and was earned MVP honors at the adidas All-Canadian All-Star Game in 2005. Joseph averaged 24 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals as a senior, leading Champlain-St. Lambert to the Provincial finals. He ranked among the top guards at the 2004 Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J. by recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons as well.