skeptical

Given:

1) Fresh off a broken wrist that sidelined him for seven games, Vermont's Taylor Coppenrath scored 43 points (going 14 for 19 from the floor and 14 for 15 from the line) in last season's America East Conference championship against Maine, propelling the Catamounts into the NCAA Tournament.

2) Against UCLA last fall, Coppenrath torched the Bruins for 38 points without committing a single turnover. After the game, Ben Howland praised Taylor's play: "Coppenrath we just had no answer for. The guy's a hell of a player. He's going to make money playing basketball someday."

3) This past summer, playing in China on the National Invitational Tournament All-Star team, Taylor shined. Averaging 10.9 points per game over a seven-game tour, Coppenrath established himself as a skilled post player against many of China's frontcourt stars.

Also Given:

4) Taylor's performance against Connecticut last spring (via John O’Keefe's April 14, 2004 piece for Sports Illustrated):

Taylor Coppenrath, Vermont’s 6’9” star junior forward, who was coming off a 43-point performance in the America East championship game, hit a three-pointer and made two free throws in the opening minutes, and the Catamounts took a 7-0 lead. If Vermont had visions of an upset, reality came quickly, in the 6’10” form of All-American Okafor. Calhoun had started the 6’10” freshman Josh Boone on Coppenrath, but after Vermont’s early flourish, the coach went to the national defensive player of the year. With Okafor hawking him, Coppenrath, a burly 250-pounder, would score only two more points in the rest of the half…Vermont would never threaten again and Coppenrath, who came into the game averaging 24.7 points, would finish with just 12. “He moves his feet really well for a big guy,” said Coppenrath about Okafor. “I was rushing my shot, and it had a lot to do with him.”

(Therefore) Not Entirely Given:

5) The accuracy of Mike DeCourcy's analysis of Taylor Coppenrath and his suggestion that Vermont's star is a potential lottery pick. Coppenrath's lack of experience against big-time college forwards and centers, along with his ho-hum game against Connecticut (granting that few players would succeed against Okafor), suggests he is far from a sure pick for first-round NBA money. At 6'9" he does not fall into the "you can't teach height" school of draft analysis. As an American with four years of college under his belt, he's worked himself out of the (silly) "potential" or "upside" school of thought. Even with a stellar senior season and a third trip to the NCAA Tournament, the jury's out on Coppenrath's NBA future.