OLD TOWN, Maine — Eric Hoogterp, a Bangor Daily News All-Maine honoree who helped Old Town win the 2014 Class B state championship, will continue his basketball career this fall at the University of Southern Maine.
“I went down there for a visit a couple of months ago, and I really liked it,” Hoogterp, a 6-foot-2 guard, said. “I can’t wait to get down there and meet all the guys this summer.”
Hoogterp, who spent his first two high school seasons at Hermon before transferring to Old Town, averaged 18.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.8 steals per contest last winter in leading coach Brian McDormand’s club to an 18-2 record and a berth in the Eastern B semifinals.
A year earlier, he helped Old Town emerge from the No. 6 seed in the final Heal point standings to the Coyotes’ first state championship since 1991.
Hoogterp scored 26 points in the state final, a 64-39 victory over Poland.
During his two seasons at Old Town, the Coyotes compiled a 36-7 record, including a school-record 23-game winning streak comprised of the final 10 games of the 2014 season and the first 13 games of the 2015 campaign.
“He was a big part of our success the last two seasons,” McDormand said. “He’s a game changer and fantastic athlete with much room to grow.”
Hoogterp spent time at shooting guard and point guard while playing for Old Town but expects to have a more specific role at USM.
“Coach [Karl Henrikson] was looking at me as a point guard, so I’m going to try to work on my handle even more,” Hoogterp said.
USM, an NCAA Division III program, fielded a young squad last winter that finished 5-21 overall, 2-12 in the Little East Conference.
Hoogterp is starring as a pitcher-shortstop for the Old Town baseball team, which at 10-0 after an 11-2 win over Foxcroft Academy of Dover-Foxcroft on Thursday was the lone remaining undefeated team in the state this spring.
He will be one of four recent products of the Old Town boys basketball program to compete at the NCAA level next season along with current teammate Adam Richardson (Maine Maritime Academy), 2014 graduate Garvey Melmed (University of Maine) and 2013 alumnus Garrett Libby (Husson University).
