The Vermont Catamounts have been led by a fearless guard for the past two seasons.  Junior Mike Trimboli had a great freshman season and only improved on that last season by receiving numerous awards and honors as he led the team to an amazing 25-8 record, losing a heartbreaker in the championship and then giving Kansas State a run for their money in the NIT tournament.  Mike is a fierce competitor and is expected to once again be a top player in the conference this season.  VT Sports Network was able to catch up with the rising star for a few questions.

VTSN: You're headed into your third season as a Catamount.  How has your experience been so far?  What have you learned?
MT:  My experience at UVM has been great. I’ve had my ups and downs throughout, which makes me stronger both physically as well as mentally. But with all the support from the fans it has made every second of my college career enjoyable. I’ve learned that there is no such thing as a mulligan. Every game is just as big as the next especially when you got a target on your back like we do.

VTSN:  What has been the best moment for you?  How did you feel when Coach Lonergan made you a captain last season?
MT:  The best moment for me was when we beat BC last year as a team. It was no fluke. From tip-off until the end buzzer we controlled the game. I had mixed feelings about being a captain and not because of the responsibilities it took on because I was already doing the responsibilities of a captain. It was because I wanted to give the title of captain to Chris Holm because he was such a big part of our success and since it was his last chance to be a captain of a team. But all in all I was excited that I could be in the sophomore captain club of teammate Kyle Cieplicki.

VTSN:  I know all of us fans could feel your emotion and pain after the team lost a nail-biter against Albany in the Championship.  What happened in that final sequence (if you don't mind sharing your take)?

MT:  Well I know that it happened faster than I thought it would and not quite the way in which I wanted it to happen either. The play was for me to catch it in the corner and take my man but the time ran low and Kyle wanted to put the ball in my hands for the last shot.  I unexpectedly found myself with the ball at the top of the circle and tried to get to the basket fast and hopefully get fouled. But Albany made a huge defensive play and pressured hard and we couldn’t get a shot off in time. It happened so fast that I had to watch it on camera to actually see what happened.

VTSN:  What have you been doing this summer to prepare for the upcoming season?
MT:  I have been working out every day on different aspects of my game that I really need to improve on. I would play pickup with some high athletes in the area and would take the moves and different things that I was working on in practice and incorporate them into my pick-up games. A lot of teams are keying on me so I thought I needed to bring different elements to my game to throw them off.

VTSN:  How does the team look?  What will you guys do to fill in for the void left by Chris (Holm) and Martin (Klimes)?
MT:  I think that are big guys now will do an excellent job in filling the void. Tim is very athletic and can run the floor well. Ryan has a lot of skill around the basket to go with his mind for the game. With all of our incoming freshman as well, we are going to be in pretty good shape. We all just need to pride ourselves on defense and rebounding because if we do that then we will be effective. We will be small, but we will be a lot quicker of a team which will give us an advantage over the bigger teams we face.

VTSN:  How will MoJo fit into the mix in the 2008-09 season?
MT:  In the words of Ace Ventura, “Like a glove.”  We played together a little over the summer and some in the Fall and he is such a threat that working with him in the future will be something special.

VTSN:  You have developed a reputation by Vermont fans as very passionate and consistent on the basketball court.  What things do you think you do really well on the court, and what things have you been working on improving?
MT:  Well I get the passion from my mom, that’s for sure. I always need to work on all aspects of my game but some of the things that I do well on the court is my leadership and making sure we never take a possession off, my court awareness – knowing where the person will be and knowing what the person does well. Basically setting my teammates up for success, like passing to Chris Holm for threes (joke… maybe not). I think of myself as a shooter as well so I believe I am pretty good at that as well. Now I’ve built myself up pretty nicely. Some areas that I need work on is being more consistent with end of game situations and being able to make better decisions when I am tired.

VTSN:  How do you feel about facing the Florida Gators down in Tampa this season?  How will the team stack up?
MT:  I believe that we will have a good chance to show people what we are made of by going down there and competing with the two time champs. We will have good practice with our previously scheduled games of UVA and George Mason to get us ready for Florida. We will be athletic and versatile at all positions and I believe we will give them a handful.

VTSN:  The floor is yours if you'd like to share anything else or give a shout out.
MT:  Why thank you! I would like to thank all the fans for their support. I hope everyone is excited as I am for this season. We need to make Patrick gym the loudest place anyone has ever been into. It is a perfect setting for teams to come in and expect nothing but madness from the crowd. We have the best crowd. Lets pick it up this season and have some fun. Thanks for everything I hope my next two years are even better than the first two… CHAMPS!!!