photo credit: Brian Jenkins
Catamounts Prep For Holy Cross On Thursday: Game Notes in PDF
University of Vermont men’s basketball standout Taylor Coppenrath (West Barnet, Vt.) was named to the ESPN.com National Mid-Season ‘All-Tough’ Team by Jay Bilas, a college basketball analyst for ESPN and a regular contributor to ESPN.com.

The nation’s second leading scorer averaging 25.9 ppg, earlier this month he was named to the Wooden Award Watch list highlighting top candidates for the National Player of the Year. He is one of seven players recognized by Bilas on his mid-season All-Tough team that singles out players who are the toughest, mentally and physically, in the nation as teams head into conference action after January 1st.

Coppenrath leads the Catamounts (4-3, 1-0 America East) back into action on Thursday night when they play at Patriot League power Holy Cross (6-3) at 7:00pm at the Hart Center in Worcester, Mass. (Radio: WXZO 96.7 FM, WEAV 960 AM, WCVR 102.1 FM; Internet: www.sportsjuice.com). Vermont, behind 34 points from Coppenrath, won its first road game of the season Tuesday overwhelming Siena, 77-52, in Albany.

After Thursday’s game, UVM returns to America East play hosting Hartford on Sunday at 1:00pm at Patrick Gym. A limited number of tickets (less than 300) are available for Sunday’s game and can be ordered on-line at www.uvmathletics.com. If any remain, they will go on sale at the Patrick Gym lobby starting Sunday at noon.

Below is the complete ‘All-Tough Team’ selected by Jay Bilas on ESPN.com’s College Basketball Insider page. Note that this website is for subscribers to ESPN.com Insider only.

ESPN.com ‘Pre-Conference’ All-Tough Team
"This team is for the toughest players, mentally and physically, in the nation thus far. This may be a harder team to make than the All-America team, and command more respect among coaches."

All-Tough Team:
Aaron Miles, Kansas; Pressures the ball, never gets screened and always wins. The Joe Montana of college basketball.
Carl Krauser, Pittsburgh; He would throw his grandmomma to the floor to get a loose ball, but he'd pick her back up ... after he scored.
Travis Diener, Marquette: Nobody works harder than Diener, and nobody gives more of himself. A great teammate, and he will find a place in the NBA. He's a winner.
P.J. Tucker, Texas: I don't care where you play him, or how big he is, I want this guy on my team. Period.
Curtis Withers, Charlotte: A terrific offensive rebounder, Withers plays hard, and doesn't need the ball to play.
Chuck Hayes, Kentucky: I watched him play in Indianapolis this summer, and while people talked about his shortcomings, his team won every game. This kid is a winner.
Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont: Good hands, good feet, good demeanor. Coppenrath will play in the NBA.