BANGOR, Maine — The steely-eyed determination of tournament faces gave way to a more relaxed look Saturday for 80 of the state’s top high school basketball players.
One final all-star game was all that remained for the seniors in hometown basketball careers that began as toddlers and developed into the best of Maine’s Class of 2015.
Hundreds of family, friends, teammates and other followers sat nearby in the stands at Newman Gymnasium on the campus of Husson University in a similarly festive yet yet somewhat reflective mood.
Stories of winning it all, close calls, and of the friendships forged and savored were prevalent, as was talk of the sports issues of the day, such as who might be the early favorites for Mr. and Miss Basketball in 2016 and beyond.
“Maine basketball is something I take great pride in,” said newly crowned 2015 Mr. Basketball Kyle Bouchard of Houlton before he made his high school basketball swan song as part of the Maine McDonald’s East-West Senior All-Star Games.
“There’s so much love for the game in Maine compared to other places I’ve gone. Basketball means so much to the people of Maine. It’s special.”
Yet Maine high school basketball, like other sports, is evolving constantly through rule changes, global and national trends, and the ever-changing pressures of modern life.
Several all-stars pondered some of the issues facing their sport while waiting to play one final high school game.
Physicality versus flow
How the game is played and adjudicated is one of the more commonly discussed topics among players and fans, with passionate arguments made for both strict and lax interpretations of the rules.
Current players sense that play in Maine has become slightly less physical in the last two years as officials focused more attention on eliminating the defensive use of hands to gain an advantage against an offensive opponent with an eye toward allowing a more free-flowing game.
“I don’t think it’s more physical now,” said Kyle Johnson, a Mr. Basketball semifinalist who helped Calais win this year’s Class C state championship. “I think it’s gotten less physical due to [calling] hand checks and armbars and hands in the post.”
Some players, particularly those who have participated in AAU or other off-season competition, prefer a similar level of physicality during the high school season.
“I think basketball’s supposed to be a physical game,” said Jack Simonds, a Mr. Basketball finalist from Falmouth. “I like the physicality of it. My freshman and sophomore years it was a lot more physical but in these past two years a lot of people are getting in foul trouble and I don’t think they should be.”
Players who plan to extend their careers beyond high school see a more physical brand of play as preparation for the collegiate game.
“Physicality is a good thing and a bad thing,” said Bouchard, who will play at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, next season. “Outside of Maine basketball is extremely physical, but that physicality gets you ready for the next level. For fans, though, that physicality takes away from the scoring and a lot of fans want to see the ball go through the hoop.”
Players who support a more physical brand of high school basketball are aware of the sometimes fine line between mere physicality and the potential for physical harm, as was the case in a pair of high-profile incidents this winter when players were clotheslined by pursuing defenders while driving to the basket.
“When I watched the film and saw those plays, those weren’t basketball plays, those were frustration plays,” said Simonds, who will play next winter at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. “They weren’t making basketball plays at all.”
Bouchard was the victim in one of those incidents during a mid-winter contest at Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln. He believes the vast majority of players can differentiate between the physicality inherent in a fast-paced game involving 10 players within an 84×50-foot court and those rare incidents when a player’s health is endangered by an opponent taking physicality to an extreme.
“That’s why they have flagrant fouls and intentional fouls in place, so the refs can call them,” he said. “Plays like that come down to the leadership of a team. The coaches and captains have to set a good example and not let their frustrations get the best of them. Those aren’t basketball plays.”
Shot clocks and semicircles
As the McDonald’s all-stars raced up and down the court Saturday, shot clocks mounted atop each backboard were turned off and semi-circles in each lane depicting a restricted zone at the college level were ignored.
But could such innovations one day become part of Maine high school basketball?
The shot clock becomes a hot topic in Maine basketball circles periodically, particularly whenever teams engage in slowdown tactics.
Some state high school associations already employ a shot clock but there has been little momentum for adding the device nationwide, either because the majority of decision-makers don’t feel it’s needed or for financial reasons involving the cost of the clocks and to employ people to operate them.
Few Maine high school players have experience with a shot clock, and those who have say they noticed little difference playing with or without the device, which typically provides a 30- to 35-second limit per possession.
“For us it really didn’t matter because we got shots up within the first 10 or 15 seconds anyways,” said Johnson, a Husson University-bound guard who has played a few games with a shot clock in Canada. “But it does prevent stalling at the end or throughout a quarter. It does make the flow of the game go faster.”
Current players suggest a shot clock might enhance scoring, particularly at the end of each period when teams often play for the last shot with 45 seconds or more remaining.
The restricted semicircle near each basket, employed in the professional ranks since 1997 and collegiately since 2012, provides that an offensive player who comes in contact with a defender stationed within that area cannot be called for a player-control or charging foul.
Of the McDonald’s all-stars familiar with the semicircle, many favored its adoption in the high school ranks.
“That ring would be nice,” said Mr. Basketball semifinalist Justin Martin of Winslow, “because some kids just stand under the hoop and take the hit and they call a charge every time.”
Sunday play
The Maine Principals’ Association has begun exploring the possibility of making Sundays available as a makeup date for postseason games and meets.
MPA officials said last fall they were not near making a proposal to amend their definition of Sunday as a rest day for student-athletes away from regular-season or post-season contests.
But dissenters are concerned about eventually losing a valued day of rest on a wider scale, fearing that opening Sundays to games in any manner might lead to a slippery-slope expansion of how that day is perceived in the future.
Proponents see Sunday as the best alternative for making up postponed postseason contests to both limit the amount of school participants miss for athletic reasons and provide the best opportunity for family and fans to still see the events on a day when many people don’t have job responsibilities.
Many of the McDonald’s all-stars have experience with Sunday play through their off-season activities but appreciate having one day each week during the high school season to regroup both physically and mentally.
“It’s definitely good to have a day off during the week,” said Ben Malloy, a Mr. Basketball semifinalist from Bonny Eagle of Standish who will play at nearby Saint Joseph’s College next season. “We practiced every day except Sunday this year and it was good to have a day off before getting right back at it again Monday. You’re definitely better off physically and mentally if you have that day off than you would be if you played seven days a week.”
Some players also attend religious observances on Sundays.
“I definitely think you do need some rest within the week,” said Mackenzie Worcester, a 2,000-point scorer and Miss Basketball semifinalist from Class D state champion Washburn. “And on our team we have some girls who are really involved in church and they don’t really have any time on Sunday to make up a game or practice so it would be conflicting for us.”
Bouchard, for one, appreciates the challenge school officials face in attempting to reschedule events, particularly during the winter.
“The weather is crazy in Maine and teams have to travel so far to play, so having Sundays available for makeup games and makeup practices would be invaluable for Maine high schools,” he said. “They’d just have to be prudent so teams would still be getting their rest and use it just for emergency situations.”
But while potentially allowing for such exceptions, Bouchard admits he has treasured idle Sundays during his four varsity seasons.
“Having Sunday to rest is a good thing,” he said. “A typical Sunday for me during basketball season is watching the Patriots, I watch football all day with my dad. A practice on Sunday would be highly questionable for a lot of people who are football fans but I think people would be OK with it if it was just used as a makeup day.”
‘A really good place’
And while the game this year’s McDonald’s senior all-stars leave behind undoubtedly won’t be the same as the game many will teach their own children some day, the belief among these players is that the positives of the sport’s current model vastly outweigh the negatives.
“I think it’s in a really good place,” said Cordelia Stewart, a Miss Basketball semifinalist from Bangor who will continue her basketball career at Bowdoin College. “There’s still a lot of enthusiasm and excitement, and a lot of people still come to the games.
“I really like the culture of of Maine basketball. It’s such an interconnected community, and that makes it a really special place.”
Some of that special feeling, the players say, stems from the individual and team milestones achieved along the way. But the most lasting memories for many have more to do with the lifelong relationships fostered from the common pursuit of a goal, be it a gold ball or just having fun.
“I think it’s positive energy mostly,” said Johnson. “Everybody is really into it, people are talking about it all the time. Maine is a great place to play basketball.”
