AUGUSTA, Maine — Class A North boys basketball coaches have conducted an annual preseason poll of their teams for more than two decades, and the notion among participating coaches this year is that the 2016-2017 season may be one of the least predictable of them all.
“This year is very unique in that this is the first year I am entering the season not sure who the elite teams are within our region,” said seventh-year Messalonskee of Oakland coach Pete McLaughlin. “Almost all of the teams that went to last years tournament lost large amounts of talent to graduation.”
Messalonskee was selected as the top team in this year’s preseason poll, narrowly ahead of Hampden Academy, Medomak Valley of Waldoboro and defending Class A North champion Oceanside of Rockland-Thomaston.
Each of the four leading schools in the poll — the top eight of the 14 teams in Class A North are named — received at least two first-place votes, according to Cony of Augusta coach T.J. Maines, who announced the results.
“It should be a fun year,” Maines added.
Messalonskee finished fourth in the final Class A North Heal points last winter before falling to No. 5 Oceanside in the regional quarterfinals. Hampden Academy, whose four-year reign as regional champion was halted by Oceanside in last winter’s semifinals, was picked second in the poll.
Medomak Valley advanced to last season’s Class A North championship game under 26th-year coach Nick DePatsy, while Oceanside, which had suffered its share of heartbreaking postseason losses in recent years, finally broke through last winter, earning the regional title by defeating the No. 4, No. 1 and No. 3 seeds en route to the regional crowns.
Teams rounding out the top eight in the poll are No. 5 Skowhegan, Gardiner and Lawrence of Fairfield, tied for No. 6, and No. 8 Cony.
Coach Tom Nadeau’s Skowhegan team ended a lengthy tournament drought in 2016 and lost just one player to graduation. Gardiner, under coach Jason Cassidy, graduated its top three scorers, and coach Jason Pellerin’s Lawrence club was, like Gardiner, a Class A North quarterfinalist a year ago. Cony has a young roster.
The high school basketball regular season is set to start statewide Friday, Dec. 9.
