University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Joe Calavita 1990 - Basketball
Joe Calavita, inducted into the UVM Hall of Fame in 2000, was a two-time all-conference center who ranks among UVM's all-time leaders in several career and single-season statistical categories. Three times he suffered serious injuries yet he left as the school's second leading scorer with 1,464 points. He also ranked among the all-time leaders in field goals (4th), field goal percentage (7th), rebounds (4th) and blocked shots (2nd).
He was named to the North Atlantic Conference (now America East) All-Conference team in 1987 and 1990 -- the only Catamount to be honored by the league between 1982 and 1990. After seeing limited action as a freshman, he showed much more promise with more playing time as a sophomore tallying 11.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while moving into the starting lineup.
In 1986-87, Calavita had a super season becoming only the fifth UVM player to average 20 points per game (20.0) in a season. He also added 9.5 rebounds per contest - the sixth best at the time - to lead the conference. He and Kevin Roberson (11.0 rpg in 1991-92) were the first two Cats to lead the league in rebounds. Following the season he was named the team's Most Valuable Player and was selected to the NAC All-Conference Second Team.
On March 3, 1987 he scored 40 points in Vermont's NAC quarterfinal loss at Niagara - a league record for most points in a post-season game that stood for several seasons. At the time (before both Matt Johnson and Eddie Benton), he was only the third in UVM history to score 40 or more points in a game. Three games into his senior season he became the fourth player in UVM history to have both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career. But a stress fracture in his left foot three games later in 1987-88 ended his season and slowed the remainder of his basketball career.
In his brief stint in 1987 he averaged 26.6 ppg. sixth in the nation at the time, shooting 61.6% from the floor. He scored 30 or more in three of the games and had 22 points and six rebounds against North Carolina State which featured a front line of future NBA players Charles Shackleford and Chris Washburn. Given an extra year of eligibility, Calavita returned to captain the Cats in 1988-89. He was having another solid season (17.9 ppg and 8.6 rpg) before he reinjured his foot and missed the final six games. He again earned team MVP and second team all-NAC honors.
Calavita was a Dean's List student majoring in economics, and did one year of graduate work in political science. He was a runner-up for the nationally-acclaimed Anson Mount Scholar/Athlete Award given by CoSIDA. Following graduation, Calavita played professionally in Italy's premier basketball league for seven years before returning to the United States.
