Sleepy Hollow's Sandro Carissimo had been offered a scholarship from Vermont, but the then-senior had not been considering the Catamounts on his list of potential Divsion-I suitors.

When longtime teammate Brian Voekel (who committed to play for Vermont prior to Carissimo) urged Carissimo to take a campus visit, however, the sharpshooting guard heeded Voekel's advice.

Following a trip to Burlington, Vt., during which he practice and stayed with the team, Carissimo was sold on the America East program. He joined a team that features one of the conference's elite forwards, Evan Fjeld.

The opportunity to prolong his career alongside Voekel, the smooth passing forward with whom he re-wrote the record books at Iona Prep in New Rochelle, also sealed the deal.

"I took one visit and fell in love with the place," said the 6-foot-2 Carissimo, a Sleepy Hollow native and freshman guard for the Catamounts.

"The whole team was great, it was a really easy atmosphere for me to adapt to. The team is everything I could have wanted out of a Division-I team. They are a great bunch of guys, all committed to winning and getting better on a game-to-game basis. There's a lot of fanfare and support for us around school. I'd say it was a perfect fit for me.

Carissimo was all-city, all-state, a McDonald's All-American nominee, and eclipsed the 1,000-point milestone during his illustrious career at Iona Prep.

Now he must embrace the role of a sparkplug off the bench.

So far, Carissimo has scored 16 points in two games. He's bought into his job as a spot up shooter who dials in from downtown. The off guard has made four of his first four attempts from 3-point territory.

During the Catamounts' first game of the season, a dramatic 80-76 win over Siena at the Times Union Center in Albany, Carissimo dropped 13 points in 17 minutes. He shot the rock at a 4-for-6 clip (3-for-3 from beyond the arc, 2-for-2 FT). He was the team's second leading scorer behind pint-sized point guard Joey Accoui, who scored 19 to pace the Catamount attack.

In Vermont's 89-73 loss to UConn at the XL Center in Hartford, Carissimo played sparingly.

He entered the game five minutes into a tight first half that featured various ties and lead changes. Carissimo immediately registered his presence, popping a three-pointer to give the Catamounts a 16-11 lead.

The Catamounts (1-1) would soon relinquish the lead as UConn freshman Roscoe Smith buried a jumper with 12:14 remaining in the half. Vermont regained the lead when three-point sniper Matt Glass drained a trey with 10:03 remaining.

The Catamounts encountered a buzz saw in UConn's 6-foot-1 point guard Kemba Walker. The NBA prospect scorched the nets to the tune of a career-high 42 points. Walker scored the ball in a variety of ways (drilling threes, finishing on fast break opportunities, knifing through the defense and taking the ball to the tin), decimating Vermont's defense.

"He couldn't miss a shot," said Carissimo, who played for the same  AAU program--the Bronx-based Gauchos--as Walker.

"He played a tremendous game. I think we played pretty good, we did well in certain faces."

Carissimo logged just six minutes on a big stage before 10,216 raucous fans (the experience is a bit diffferent from playing in the Westchester County Center), adding a rebound and an assist albeit he committed three turnovers.

"I struggled a little bit tonight," explained Carissimo. "I had three turnovers. I'll learn from my mistakes and all so I just have to be patient and take better care of the ball. For this year, I'm just trying to hopefully get good minutes, score, pass, and do whatever I have to do in order to help the team win."

Vermont coach Mike Lonergan describes Carissimo as a kid who "has ice water running through his veins."

"He's cool, calm, collected, and composed," said Lonergan, who picked up a dual package in getting both Voekel (who had a near triple-double with nine points, 10 rebounds, and a game-high nine assists against Siena) and Carissimo.

"He just doesn't get rattled, that's why we were sold on him. He did great that first game. Right now, it's just a matter of him getting stronger. That's the one aspect of his game that needs to evolve. We had him up here for a month during the summer working hard. Our strength and conditioning coach does a good job and he'll help Sandro build some muscle."

Lonergan explained in the press conference of the Vermont game that there is a deficiency in the point guard position, adding that the role of starting point guard is "up for grabs." 

He would later say that he's not opposed to the idea of using Carissimo as a combination guard and that the freshman will play meaningful minutes.

Carissimo says transitioning from high school to the Division-I level involves a lot more work. 

He realizes how much faster paced the game is and how much bigger, both figuratively and literally (UConn boasts four players who are 6-foot-9 and above, including 7-foot center Charles Okwandu), the competition is.

Carissimo says he's been playing alongside Voekel since the fifth grade, when they were part of the Pleasantville-based Holy Innocents CYO program. The two were reunited in high school, when Voekel transferred to Iona Prep from Pleasantville his sophomore season.

During the off-season Carissimo, Voekel and Sleepy Hollow native Jordan Bronner (who now plays for Division-I New Hampshire) train religiously around Sleepy Hollow.

They can be seen darting up the hill on North Broadway and playing high-intensity pickup games on the outdoor court across from McDonald's on Wildey St.

The trio of hoopsters even found a gracious nun at St. Theresa's Church on Beekman Ave who would open up the gym for them.

"We all work really hard," said Carissimo.

"The hard work in the off-season just comes with the territory. We go down to the gym, get some shots up. We run hills. We just do everything that gets our competitive juices going and has us working hard and preparing for the season."

Over the summer, Carissimo played at Club Fit in Briarcliff. He additionally played countless games of one-on-one against former NBA All-Star and exiled New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury.

The Carissimo-Voekel tandem, arguably one the best inside-outside duos in the state last season, are giving Westchester County some visibility in the America East conference. They're helping keep the 914-district on the map.

Carissimo says the two feed off each other, both on the court and off it.

"With Brian and I, I mean we've been playing together for so long we just have a good feel for how we play the game. We just push each other's production, relentlessly, in the off-season."