This season, on a televised University of Vermont men’s basketball game, an analyst said Garrett Kissel ‘looks like he should be driving the beer truck.’

Needless to say, praise is rarely heaped upon the UVM senior big man. While he might not fill up a stat sheet, possess the silky-smooth post moves, or the teardrop floater of his classmates Evan Fjeld and Joey Accaoui, Vermont’s other senior has evolved into an important cog in the Catamount rotation. It’s rarely pretty, but his workman-like toughness and leadership has played a key part in the team’s successes this year. The path wasn’t always easy. It took a realization that opportunity isn’t given, its earned. It took gaining more maturity for Kissel to mold himself into a better player on the court, and a rounded individual off it.

Under no illusions when describing his skills, Kissel calls himself a banger. In his mind, he is someone you love to play with, but hate to play against. Those on the opposite end of a bone-crushing screen, or mowed over in rebounding battles at the hands of his 6-foot-9, 245 pound frame, can attest to the frustration, or hurt, he can cause. His role–grabbing rebounds and being a post presence–hasn’t changed since he arrived on campus, but its importance has been critical. Much of Vermont’s achievement this season is due to its advantage on the boards, as the Catamounts lead the conference in nearly every rebounding category. The prowess on the glass is aided by the team’s depth, and with a rotation that can go 10-deep, players like Kissel give valuable minutes spelling the starters, pitching in with specific duties.

Garrett Kissel has become a vital part of Vermont's bench this season. Photo Credit: Shane Bufano

“As I matured, my role has matured as well,” said Kissel, who is averaging career-highs in points, field goal percentage and minutes played in his final year. “My role on the court is similar to when I was younger, but now I am seen as more of a leader.”

“Garrett has come a long way in his four years,” coach Mike Lonergan says. “He has improved his game tremendously. He was a blue collar banger inside who didn’t score at all, and now he has become a good all-around player. He has the toughness that I love on my teams.”

Kissel’s lunch pail ethic that Catamount fans are used to seeing on the court didn’t come naturally. Early in his career, behind the likes of Marqus Blakely, Fjeld and others, he found himself buried on the bench, logging limited minutes with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel. “Like every player he wanted to play more.” said Lonergan. “I always tell our players I like them a lot, and I play a lot of guys, but if they weren’t playing much, it was their own fault and not mine.”

Frustrated with the lack of playing time, and, like most 18 and 19-year-olds, not exactly willing to admit he might be wrong, Kissel thought he deserved better. Rather than show he deserved a shot, he fought the coaching staff’s urges to put more effort into his game, and become a better player.

“It wasn’t always a joy to coach Garrett,” says Lonergan, who wanted to see more out of his big man.

Eventually, as he grew older and wiser, it clicked for Kissel. The only way to remedy his unhappiness was taking matters into his own hands. Instead of fighting and holding out longer, Kissel checked his ego and opened up to the coaches’ preaching. “As I got older, I realized that coaches are there to help you, no matter how they do it.”

Looking back on it now, Kissel feels his resistance held him back as a player. “I came in thinking I knew everything, and that affected how I progressed,” he admits.

By his junior year, there were signs it was coming together. Kissel played about 10 minutes per game, and hauled in a respectable 3.2 rebounds for UVM en route to a NCAA Tournament bid. This season, as Kissel has morphed into a better all-around player, good for 13 minutes of defense, rebounding, and the occasional crowd-pleasing offensive outburst.

During the waning minutes at home against Stony Brook, the game already in hand, Kissel got out on the break to convert what may have been his first-ever fast-break lay-up. 15 seconds later, he intercepted the ball at half court, and initiated a give and go with Brian Voelkel for another transition bucket, doing his best Michael Jordan in Game One of the 1992 NBA Finals impression, nonchalantly shrugging as he ran to the other end of the court.

Kissel, dribbling, running the break? Shocking, right? Not to Lonergan.

“Our bench and entire gym erupted after those plays, but I wasn’t shocked. Garrett does dribble the ball well. I’ve been encouraging him to dribble more. It looks a little funny when he handles the rock, but he can do it.”

Kissel, doing his best Michael Jordan impression. Photo Credit: Shane Bufano

While flashing skill in that sequence, his reaction was perhaps equally as important. Anyone who follows the Catamounts can see the camaraderie amongst this year’s squad, which is aided by Kissel’s laid-back, joking nature with his teammates. This is, after all, the man who insisted the team visit Dog the Bounty Hunter’s office over many other landmarks while in Hawaii during the Rainbow Classic two years ago.

“His sense of humor and ability to keep things loose in the locker room are my favorite qualities of Garrett as a person,” Lonergan said.

Playing in potentially his last home game at Patrick Gym this Sunday, Kissel will miss many things. Running out onto the floor to cheering Catamount fans, walking to class in sub-zero temperatures, spending hours in the gym, wishing he didn’t have to, but knowing when its gone, he’d gladly take it back. He’ll remember the great times he had with his teammates, from the Hawaii trip to the NCAA Tournament. He’ll always be fond of the community that supported him and made him feel like one of their own.

After graduation in May, he hopes to give back to the area for years to come.

“I’d like to become a Burlington Police officer,” says Kissel. “This community has done so much for me and I will never be able to repay them. They have supported me in ways they’ll never understand, and I am forever grateful. It would be an amazing opportunity to give back to the community, and what better way than protecting and serving them.”

Garrett Kissel’s basketball career is not going to be defined by pages in the record books. It will be defined by persistence, and a desire to improve oneself both in basketball and as a person. Which is equally as admirable. When things weren’t going his way, he dug down deep and put forth more effort, leaving it all on the court every game.

“Garrett should be proud of himself for weathering a little adversity and sticking with it,” Lonergan says. “He was unhappy with his role and continued to work hard, his time came to shine and he took advantage of that opportunity.”

He could have easily given up, not cared and been content sitting on the bench enjoying the ride, but he didn’t. Kissel rose to the occasion and delivered, no matter how small the contribution in a given game, never leaving any doubt of his commitment to his teammates, coaches, the school and its fans.

Going forward, Burlington is lucky someone like Kissel will have its back.

Photos by Shane Bufano Photography

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