VAN BUREN, Maine — Parise Rossignol, who is just finishing her sophomore year at Van Buren High School, has verbally committed to join the University of Maine women’s basketball team in the fall of 2014.
Rossignol, a two-time selection to the Bangor Daily News All-Maine schoolgirl basketball team, said Tuesday that she was excited to make the commitment.
“It’s always been a dream of mine,” said Rossignol, who has scored 1,205 points in her first two years with the Crusaders.
“It’s always where I wanted to go,” she said noting her family’s connection to UMaine.
Her father, Matt, starred for the men’s basketball team from 1985 to ’89 and her brother Derrick is a student there.
“Maine’s been recruiting her since her freshman year,” said Matt Rossignol, who is also her coach. “They’ve seen her a few times.
“They saw not just the ability she has now, but her potential to get better.”
Parise Rossignol, who was a third-team BDN All-Maine pick in 2011 and a second-teamer this year, improved her strength and stamina between her freshman and sophomore years, but she knows she needs to do more.
“I probably need to get a little bit stronger,” she said.
“She needs to work on her quickness and explosion,” Matt Rossignol said.
Matt Rossignol said he didn’t have to put any pressure on his daughter to play college basketball.
“I told her, ‘If you don’t want to play basketball, you don’t have to,’” he said said. “I want her to get a good education.”
Rossignol, a 5-foot-7-inch guard, averaged 29.7 points a game this year in leading Van Buren to the Eastern Maine Class D girls tourney semifinals in February. She also averaged 8.3 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game, also team highs.
The Crusaders needed Parise Rossignol to provide a big part of their scoring, but she said she is willing to help on other tasks for UMaine.
“When I play against better players, you see more parts of my game,” she said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win, whatever role they need me to play.”
Matt Rossignol on Wednesday noted that his daughter has been offered a four-year scholarship by UMaine but can’t officially accept it until signing a formal National Letter of Intent during her senior year.
Before Parise Rossignol made her choice, her father pointed out the challenge she would be facing.
“It’s a year-round commitment,” he said. “It’s not just a December-to-February kind of thing. Anybody who thinks it’s a free ride has never been through it. The physical demands will be difficult.”
Matt Rossignol isn’t worried.
“I think she’ll be able to handle it,” he said.
Parise Rossignol said she’s going to a basketball camp at UMaine at the end of June and she will be visiting campus in the next week or so.
“I’ll meet the staff, get to know them better,” she said.
Coach Richard Barron and his staff are not allowed to comment on any recruit until after a player signs the National Letter of Intent, which contractually commits the player to that school and vice versa. There is an early signing period, typically a week in early November, and the regular signing period starts around mid-April.
Parise Rossignol doesn’t have an issue with having to wait to sign the letter of intent.
“There’s no chance of me changing my mind,” she said.
The eligibility of any student-athlete is contingent upon admission to the University of Maine and compliance with all NCAA rules, including registration with the NCAA Clearinghouse.
Great, another International player.
I have had different people who have seen her play tell me she is good what that are several others out there that are equallly as good if not better. They said that they expected a far more phenomenal player than what they saw and actully were surprised by what they did see. Either way, wish her well in her endeavors whatever that may be and success.
Not many people score 1,200 points in their first two years of high school. I don’t know many who can dot hat.
WELL SAID !!!
Kobe only averaged 30.8 points per year his senior year.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/columns/story?page=beforetheywerestars-kobe-100601
It took him eight games to do it too. The other interesting fact is a person on the other team got the 0.2 points on a freak play.
And he was named after a Japanese steakhouse. http://www.biography.com/people/kobe-bryant-10683945
House of Names.com says Parise is derived from a Gaulish tribe called the Parisii:( http://www.houseofnames.com/parise-family-crest ) who were a Celtic iron age tribe that lived on the Seine and eventually revolted against Julius Caesar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parisii_(Gaul)
Great plays with the assist of the other players on the team that continuously were coached to set screens for Parise and to constantly pass her the ball in order to obtain the thousand point standing… congrats to a great VB basketball team for support and to the victory achievements that will allow for Parise to further continue with awesome endeavors ahead. One senior basketball player (Wilson) was shorted by a few points to obtain her thousand point standing this past season… Wilson was an awesome player amongst other players on the team too.
Would you care to comment on the Van Buren girls basketball team record before Parise started playing? Second of all, you counter your own point that the team was coached only to let Parise score. Ashley Wilson scored a very good amount of points, and some would argue that Wilson’s opportunities to score were increased because of Parise’s ability to limit turnovers on the offensive end. If you are confused by what I wrote, it is because I am using complete sentences to formulate thoughts into a medium that people can understand and comprehend.
So Jay Edgecomb (coach of the Van Buren Girls’ soccer team) ordered the VB girls’ soccer team to pass the ball to Parise too? http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2011/09/19/sports/van-buren-girls-soccer-team-led-by-rossignol-seeking-return-to-state-game/ (Ashley Wilson also named All-Eastern Maine Class D soccer standout as well)
Not quite sure why she (& her parents)would lay her cards on the table this early on In The game. Sounds like she is a very talented athlete which means scholarship offers Will most likely play a role In her final decision. Best Of luck To her however it all shakes out In The end.
a verbal committ to be a walk on does not mean no other schools are going to offer. Not sure what planet people are living on.
I have no idea how she does in the classroom-perhaps she could receive a free ride from a very expensive school if she waited a while. She could be better another Cindy in two years.
Division III schools can’t give out scholarships. UM is the only school in Maine that can.
Thanks, I guess the point I’m trying to make is that by making such an early decision-she may cut herself off from some other opportunities.
According to my sources, Baylor, UCONN, Standford, and Delaware, as well as UMPI, UMFK, and CMCC all withdrew scholarship offers after reading this news article.
Must be same source as me. As Beal has not rescinded their offer.
LOL
LOL… They figured Maine will need a walk on practice squad player more than they do.
I’m bothered (though not surprised) by the somewhat negative comments below. I am very happy for Parise, who will represent the Valley and the State of Maine very well at UMO! I’ve seen her play a couple of times, and she is fantastic. I can’t wait to see how she grows as a player over the years. Congrats to the Rossignols!
UMO doesn’t exist. Parise will be attending The University of Maine.
Let it go.
It changed 26 years ago. Let it go.
I had the pleasure of watching the most exciting basketball players to ever hit the courts
of Maine & that was Mat Rossignol I also hope that his daughter gets a better break then
he did at the U of M. What I mean is in my opinion I think Mat wasn’t let loose to be the
scoring exciting player that he was in high school’
Bob Cushing
Lakeland,FL.
Congratulations to Parise…..she obviously has a mindset and is moving forward. A lot of kids her age can’t even get up in the morning without being shaken 20 times. Go Parise….make your dad proud, know you will.
Parise will be competing for a spot on a much more talented UM team than fans have seen recently, so playing minutes will be hotly contested. Let’s hope she is tough mentally, much like Courtney Anderson, another small school product, who walked on this season and became a starter. Fans will always be happy to see to see Maine players make the team, but it’s tough to win in D-1 without importing talent. Look at UConn. The women have been consistent national championship contenders but for the past few years the team has had only one in-state player on its roster. This is a state with a much larger and more diverse population than Maine.
No one on the Maine team can shoot like Rossignol.
Van Buren is very poorly coached, I have seen them play a number of times, and Matt runs the entire gameplan around his daughter. She should have been benched several times last year for being wild and taking unneccesary shots, and yet he kept her on the floor. I feel bad for her, and the rest of the team, they would be better if Matt stepped down. They lost a couple of games just due to her play, and a good coach would have sat her down.
Many viewers had the same observations throughout the season in reference to the coaching skills for the VB-Girl Basketball team. A great coaching example should be taken from Mike Carlos, the coach of the two-time state Class D champion Washburn District High School girls basketball team… an awesome team effort with all equal play time, fairness, and rotation of team players to keep the team strong for which lead them to become Champions.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/03/23/sports/basketball/carlos-not-rehired-as-washburn-girls-basketball-coach/ – Bangor Daily News March23,2012: “Carlos not rehired as Washburn basketball coach”
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory?
a little early to commit…..it’s not like there is going to be a recruiting war for a very good class D girls basketball player from Van Buren, not to mention the added pressure of attending UMO. Seriously, what’s the competition level in this area of the state? I only saw her play once last year and my advice would be to head south…..get into a solid DIII program and be relevant for 4 years.
UMO doesn’t exist.
BDN should really do a better job of scouring their comment sections for people who know the game better than their sports writers who have put her on their 2nd and 3rd All-State teams. Look at the team’s records in the seasons before her arrival and tell me she hurts the team by shooting, not to mention rebounding and assisting, both categories in which she led her team as well. Colleges don’t recruit players during their sophomore years if they don’t think they’re going to be major contributors. Haters gonna hate… and then pay for college.