COLCHESTER -- More than 50 boys and girls buzzed around a humid gymnasium Tuesday afternoon. The instructor swiftly moved from one drill station to the next, a whistle dangling from his thick shoulders, waving his arms like a police officer directing traffic.

Taylor Coppenrath is certainly keeping busy these days, immersed in his first week-long youth basketball camp.

However, the University of Vermont legend might consider the organized chaos at Colchster High School a breather from his quest of reaching the National Basketball Association.

Coppenrath is pushing hard this summer to realize his dream, and the 6-foot-9 West Barnet native, in his assessment, took leaps in the right direction when he competed for the Indiana Pacers' summer league team in Orlando, Fla., in July.

"I started off a little slow but the last three games I got a lot of minutes, and I really thought I was doing well," Coppenrath said Tuesday in between drills at his camp. "I tried to play good defense and do all the little things. I took a couple charges and got some steals."

Coppenrath played with the Boston Celtics in summer league last year after graduating as UVM's second all-time leading scorer. He was more content with the impression he left with Pacers general manager Larry Bird this time around.

"The Celtics pretty much just said, 'Thanks for coming,'" Coppenrath recalled. "I got a lot more positive feedback from the Pacers. They were saying, 'We think you are good; a lot of our coaches really liked you.'"

The hospitality toward Coppenrath included a sit-down dinner with Bird, arguably one of the best NBA players of all time. Bird grew up in rural Indiana, much like Coppenrath's upbringing in a microscopic town in the Northeast Kingdom.

"He was telling me a lot of stories about his life, and I was telling him some stuff about where I lived and my UVM years," Coppenrath said.

Coppenrath anticipates he will be in a similar situation with the Pacers that he faced with the Celtics last year: Invited to preseason training camp but without a guaranteed contract in hand.

Coppenrath took guaranteed money last year by signing with AEK Basketball Club of the Greek AI division. There he averaged 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18 league games before slowing down in the latter part of the season with a sore back.

AEK didn't renew its option on Coppenrath for the upcoming season, but he is confident he will hook on with another Euroleague team should he decide to go back overseas.

"I'll have a few more options this year," he said. "Some teams should be a little more interested in me just because I'm not a rookie anymore and because of the successful season I thought I had with AEK."

But while there are plenty of options, Coppenrath insists his primary goal of playing in the NBA hasn't waivered.