By: Greg Sanderson — Former NCAA D1 Assistant Coach & Regional Scout
It wasn’t long ago that Vermont basketball players were easy to overlook. Hidden behind the snowy peaks and quiet gymnasiums, the Green Mountain State rarely made noise on the East Coast grassroots scene. Back in my recruiting days, I’d sometimes hear a coach mention a kid “way up in Vermont” — but a chuckle or a shrug usually followed it. The competition wasn’t there. The exposure wasn’t either.
For a long time, the state seemed to be off the radar when it came to high school hoops. While other regions had schools and players with reputations that spanned far beyond their local leagues, Vermont often found itself a mere afterthought in the conversations about rising talent. It wasn’t that the state lacked skill or passion for the game — it was simply that the spotlight, in the eyes of the broader basketball community, often failed to shine its way.
But that’s changed.
A new wave of talent is emerging, and Jack Lafayette is riding the front of it. Jack, a 2027 prospect out of Peoples Academy, represents something we haven’t seen before in Vermont hoops — a player with regional presence who’s equally at home in his hometown gym and an upstate New York showcase. His rise is a testament to the changing landscape of Vermont basketball, where local players are breaking free of the state’s quiet borders.
Lafayette suits up for Green Mountain Select, a grassroots program helping build an absolute player development path in the state. This program is pivotal in providing Vermont athletes with a platform to compete, train, and grow their game against players from larger, more basketball-rich regions. The growth of such programs is helping elevate the state’s standing in the world of competitive youth basketball, and Lafayette is one of its shining stars.
And more impressively, he’s already been invited into multiple New York-based AAU lineups, showing he’s not just a local standout — he’s got game that travels. His abilities have earned him recognition beyond Vermont, and the invitation to showcase his skills in high-profile AAU settings speaks to the level he’s reached in his development. Lafayette is now rubbing shoulders with players from larger markets, proving that talent can emerge from even the quietest corners of the country.
At a recent showcase across the Vermont–New York border, Lafayette earned a Top 35 selection among 85 players from much larger, more competitive markets. That selection was a product of the things coaches look for: polish, footwork, control, spacing, and IQ. It’s a recognition that signals not only Jack’s skill set but also his potential to grow into a formidable player on the national scene. His basketball IQ and mastery of the fundamentals are evident to anyone who watches him play. Whether it’s making the right pass, positioning himself on defense, or scoring with efficiency, he does it all with a level of poise that defies his age.
The shift in Vermont basketball is undeniable, and Jack Lafayette is at the forefront of it, proving that the Green Mountain State may have a lot more to offer than anyone ever thought.
A Deeper Look at His Game
In a world obsessed with athletic flash, Lafayette plays a more deliberate, thoughtful style. His strengths lie in:
- A smooth three-point stroke
- The ability to read and punish closeouts
- A sharp first step that lets him get downhill
- Footwork off the catch that creates scoring windows
- Elite pop to slam finishes with authority
It’s the kind of game that always has pop in highlights — but more importantly, it translates to winning games and earning respect.
A recent visual breakdown shared online described his approach with clarity:
“The shooting ability makes defenders especially vulnerable when closing out… excellent footwork catching the ball on the move… a serious threat in pick-and-roll scenarios.”
He’s not the only one. bro
The same Reddit thread that first pointed me to Lafayette listed more than a dozen Vermont players with college-level potential — a sentence I wouldn’t have written 10 years ago.
@ Reddit: Vermont High School Basketball Player Watchlist
Greg Sanderson is a former NCAA D1 assistant coach turned independent scouting consultant. He now focuses on player development and regional scouting across the Northeast, with an emphasis on under-the-radar prospects from Vermont, New York, and New England prep programs.
