Who is the best high school boys basketball player to hail from Vermont?
It’s time to make your vote count.
With the 250th anniversary of our country approaching this summer, USA TODAY Sports is celebrating the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. To supplement the national honors, USA TODAY Network is also recognizing athletes and sports figures in states and communities across the United States, and that includes right here in Vermont.
In Vermont, the Burlington Free Press has selected 12 boys basketball players — a dream dozen — who defined the Green Mountain State from their high school careers and on. We might be small, but our history is rich. The 12 players are listed in alphabetical order. The criteria for our list is simple: A player must have played at a Vermont high school and continued to excel at the college level or beyond.
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Read about each player and cast your vote in the poll below.
Print readers can vote at burlingtonfreepress.
You will also have the ability to vote for any player who didn’t make our list with a write-in on the ballot.
Bernie Cieplicki, Rice Memorial High School
Bernie Cieplicki was named the inaugural Burlington Free Press’ Mr. Basketball in 1991.
Bernie Cieplicki was a standout player at Rice Memorial and named the inaugural Burlington Free Press’ Mr. Basketball in 1991. He was also the Gatorade state award winner that winter when he averaged 30.0 points per game. Cieplicki, a member of Vermont’s most well-known basketball family, graduated from Rice with over 2,000 points and began his college career at Fairfield. Cieplicki later transferred to the University of Vermont, where he starred for the Catamounts and became a 1,000th-point scorer. His 228 made three-pointers rank sixth-most in Vermont history. Cieplicki was inducted into the Vermont Principals’ Association Hall of Fame in 2024.
Keith Cieplicki, Rice Memorial High School
Rice’s Keith Cieplicki, seen here in this 1980 Burlington Free Press print edition.
Playing for his father, Bernie Cieplicki, Sr., at Rice Memorial, Keith Cieplicki was a four-year star who became the first Vermonter to reach 2,000 career points (despite no 3-point line). Keith Cieplicki led Rice to back-to-back Division I title games, including winning it all in 1980, and was named the most valuable player in the 1981 Alhambra Vermont-New Hampshire senior all-star game. After Rice, Cieplicki excelled at William & Mary (1981-85), where he was a two-time first team all-ECAC South guard who graduated fourth all-time in scoring (1,812). The seventh-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985, Cieplicki was inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Taylor Coppenrath, St. Johnsbury Academy
Tom Brennan presents Taylor Coppenrath with a basketball commemorating his 2,000th-point during the 2004-05 season.
A late bloomer, Taylor Coppenrath played varsity in only his junior and senior years at St. Johnsbury. As a senior, Coppenrath averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds per game, earning the Free Press’ Mr. Basketball title and the Gatorade state honor. After redshirting his freshman year at the University of Vermont, Coopenrath’s ascension went into unthinkable heights. He was the 2002 America East rookie of the year when the Catamounts won their first regular-season conference title. Over the next three seasons, the 6-foot-9 Coopenrath led UVM to three straight NCAA tournaments, capped by the first-round win over Syracuse. Coppenrath, who finished with 2,442 career points, had his number No. 22 jersey retired by UVM in 2019, and he was inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
Henry Dalrymple, St. Johnsbury Academy
After scoring a then state record 2,477 career points, Henry Dalrymple was a star at Georgia Tech.
Born in Manhattan, Henry “Bruce” Dalrymple left the big city for Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom and St. Johnsbury for his high school career. Over four years at SJA, Dalrymple produced an All-American career with a pair of D-I state titles and 2,479 career points, which he set in 1983 and remained the state’s standard mark until 2014. As a senior, Dalrymple averaged about 38 points and 22 rebounds per game. At Georgia Tech, Dalrymple started every game of his four-year career, averaging 12.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He was the ACC rookie of the year in 1984 and helped the Yellow Jackets reach the Elite Eight in 1985 and the Sweet 16 in 1986. He was drafted in the second round (46th overall) of the 1987 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns.
Matt Johnson, BFA-St. Albans
BFA’s Matt Johnson goes for a layup against Rice during the 1985 Division I state championship game at Patrick Gymnasium.
Sharpshooter Matt Johnson piled up 2,121 points, then No. 2 all-time in Vermont high school history, during his star-studded BFA-St. Albans career from 1983-1987. Johnson steered the Bobwhites to one of the state’s great Cinderella runs as a sophomore in 1985, reaching the D-I title game as a No. 16 seed, and a state championship as a senior in 1987. After BFA, Johnson shined at the University of Vermont, where he became the program’s first conference player of the year in 1991 when he averaged a league-high 20.7 points per game. He finished his career 10th in scoring (1,264) and first in 3-pointers (192).
Larry Killick, Burlington High School
Larry Killick, seen in this December 1942 print edition of the Burlington Free Press.
Larry Killick is the first and only Vermonter to be drafted in the first round by an NBA team when he was selected 10th overall by the Baltimore Bullets in 1947. Killick was a star at Burlington High School, playing on at least one Seahorses squad that reached the state title game, before he took a prep year at Kimball Union Academy in New Hampshire. Following Kimball, Killick started his collegiate career at the University of Vermont in 1941 before joining the Marine Corps for World War II. He also played for Dartmouth and then returned to UVM for the 1946-47 season when he was the Catamounts’ captain, leading them to a then school-record 19 wins. His 735 career points was a program record at the time. Killick was an inaugural member of UVM Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1969 and was inducted in the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2018.
Jim McCaffrey, Rutland High School
Rutland’s Jim McCaffrey, seen here in this 1981 Burlington Free Press edition when he scored a memorable 48 points in the state semifinals.
Jim McCaffrey is a rare type of scorer who tallied over 1,000 points in two seasons at three different school prior to the 3-point line. McCaffrey only played two years of varsity basketball at Rutland, scoring 1,111 points while guiding Rutland to the 1980 and 1981 Division I title games. McCaffrey was an all-state selection as a senior while averaging 30 points per game. He started his collegiate career at St. Michael’s before transferring to Holy Cross for his junior and senior seasons. At Holy Cross, McCaffrey was a two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference first-team selection and the 1986 MAAC Tournament MVP. He scored 1,178 points at Holy Cross and the Phoenix Suns drafted McCaffrey in the sixth round of the 1986 NBA Draft. McCaffrey was inducted to the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.
Tony Orciari, St. Johnsbury Academy
Tony Orciari starred at St. Johnsbury Academy and the University of Vermont.
A two-time Burlington Free Press’ Mr. Basketball winner, Tony Orciari starred for the St. Johnsbury Hilltoppers. Orciari scored over 1,700 points in his high school career and helped St. Johnsbury reach three straight Division I titles and capture the 1997 state crown as a senior. Orciari opted to stay close to home, playing college basketball at the University of Vermont, where he led the Catamounts in scoring during his final three seasons. During his four-year career, Orciari scored 1,743 points and was named America East rookie of the year in 1998. Orciari became the second Catamount to earn all-conference honors all four years and was inducted into the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame in 2011. He was inducted to the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.
Todd Roberts, Fair Haven Union High School
Todd Roberts shined at Fair Haven before a memorable career at St. Michael’s College.
A St. Michael’s College and Northeast-10 Hall of Famer, Todd Roberts burst on the scene at Fair Haven. Roberts capped off his senior year winning the 1997 Division II title and graduated with 1,786 career points. Roberts is the first Vermont native to score 1,000 points at St. Michael’s. Roberts was named the Northeast-10 player of the year as a senior and was recognized as a D-II All-American. He finished his college career with 1,816 points (third all-time) while helping St. Michael’s put together an 88-35 record with two NCAA tournament appearances including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2001.
Matt St. Amour, Missisquoi Valley Union High School
Missisquoi’s Matt St. Amour celebrates his 2000th career point as the gym erupts in a game during the 2012-13 season.
A four-sport star at Missisquoi, Matt St. Amour helped the Thunderbirds claim a D-II title as a sophomore before being named the Burlington Free Press’ Mr. Basketball as a junior and senior (2012, 2013). As a senior in 2013, he became the sixth player in state history and the first in 18 years to eclipse 2,000 career points. After high school, St. Amour continued to shine at Middlebury College, where he picked up a third-team All-American nod and NESCAC player of the year award in 2017. As a senior in 2017, he led the NESCAC in scoring (21.8 ppg) and ranked second in the country in 3-pointers (118). He graduated third all-time in Middlebury history with 1,700 career points. He was inducted into the VPA hall of fame in 2020.
Matt Sheftic, Essex High School
Matt Sheftic, right, was named the Burlington Free Press’ Mr. Basketball in 1999.
In the late 1990s, Matt Sheftic was one of the state’s top players winning the BFP’s Mr. Basketball and Gatorade awards in 1999. Sheftic led Essex to the 1998 Division I title before playing college basketball at UVM. In his junior and senior seasons, Sheftic averaged double-doubles, including per-game averages of 23 points and 13 rebounds as a senior. At the University of Vermont, Sheftic was a three-year starter who helped the Catamounts earn their first NCAA Tournament appearance (2002-03). In the 2003 America East title game, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound Sheftic scored a career-high 23 points and was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. Sheftic was inducted into the VPA hall of fame in 2015.
Ben Shungu, Rice Memorial High School
Ben Shungu drove Rice Memorial to four straight D-I title-game appearances with a trio of titles (2013, 2014, 2015). He was also named the Burlington Free Press’ Mr. Basketball in 2015 and 2016, the latter with a 21.9-points-per-game average. After graduating from Rice, Shungu was a redshirt walk-on as a freshman at the University of Vermont before earning a scholarship and becoming an all-conference player who helped the Catamounts reach the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and 2022. He was named the America East tournament’s most outstanding player in 2022 and finished his career with 1,059 points. Shungu was inducted into the VPA hall of fame in 2025.
ContactAlex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter: @aabrami5.
Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Best Vermont high school boys basketball players of all time
