‘Basketball is my world’: Former Vermont star hired to lead CVU program

Vermont basketball’s career 3-point leader has sights set on his next big challenge: Coaching a high school program in the state he now calls home.

Ernie Duncan, the former Catamount star from 2014-19, recently accepted the head-coaching gig to lead the Champlain Valley boys basketball team. Duncan replaces Mike Osborne, who stepped down after an 11-run that included guiding the Redhawks to their first championship in 2023.

In a phone interview Wednesday morning, Duncan said he couldn’t pass up the opportunity. Since graduating from UVM in 2019 following the Catamounts’ trip to the NCAA Tournament, Duncan remained in Vermont and started a basketball training business, Duncan Hoops, that also offers clinics and camps.

“Basketball is my world, it’s my job. I’m going to spend a lot of time with this program,” said Duncan, who’s originally from Evansville, Indiana. “I’m going to treat this almost like a college gig.

“I fell in love with the Vermont community, it’s a reason why I haven’t really left. I love the people.”

2019 file: An appreciation of Ernie Duncan: The 10 best games of his UVM basketball career

WDEV Radio’s Brady Farkas first reported the news of Duncan’s hiring on Tuesday night.

Duncan arrived in Burlington in 2014, the key recruit in the Vermont coaching staff’s philosophical shift to expand its recruiting efforts across the country. Duncan and Co. helped to usher in a new era for Vermont, which has played in five NCAA tournaments, including three straight, over the last decade.

Duncan sits 10th in program history in career points (1,489) and second in 3-pointers made. His 41.9% on 3-point attempts remains No. 1 on UVM’s all-time list. Duncan and brothers Everett and Robin made history in Ernie Duncan’s final collegiate game in 2019, when they became the first trio of brothers to share the court in a March Madness game.

2019 file: How Ernie Duncan coped with depression, suicidal thoughts to return to UVM basketball

Aiming to grow basketball in Vermont, Duncan has coached at the Mater Christi School and at the AAU level. Giving back is also important to Duncan.

“I love mentoring players and developing players on and off the court. Relationships are a big piece,” Duncan said. “The way I coach, I’m very mild-mannered and competitive. I’m going to compete. And I think it’s important to teach kids how to compete, compete the right way.

“I’m going to spend a lot of time on this and give 110% effort.”

Duncan is the second person with ties to UVM to be hired at CVU. The Hinesburg school named Dominique Bryant, former UVM women’s basketball associate head coach, as the successor to Ute Otley to lead the Redhawks girls basketball program.

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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.