BANGOR, Maine — There are signs of growth within Bangor’s boys basketball program.
Participation has increased among the youth travel teams hosted by the city’s recreation department that complement existing middle-school teams.
And the Bangor High School varsity squad that advanced to the first round of the inaugural Class AA North tournament last winter despite a 5-13 regular-season record is back with what may be a deeper, more experienced roster.
The Rams did graduate two top performers in forward Justin Smith — now getting minutes as a freshman at Husson University — and guard Ethan Dorman, but with Carl Parker back for his second year as head coach, there’s a familiarity now that should enhance the improvement process.
“I think we’re much more comfortable with our team and what we’re going to do and where we’re headed, but there are a lot of good teams,” Parker said.
Those teams include defending state champion Portland, Edward Little of Auburn and Portland-based Deering and Cheverus, all of which hope to advance deep into the postseason.
“The strength of our roster is greater than it was overall, but other people have improved, too,” Parker said.
Bangor returns seven players with considerable experience from year ago, including senior guard George Payne, who was last seen in goal making save after save during penalty kicks to help the Bangor boys soccer team outlast Gorham to win the Class A state championship.
Payne started the last 12 games of the 2015-2016 basketball season, and Parker expects him to be one of the team’s leaders this winter.
Joining Payne in the backcourt will be seniors Logan Alley and Phil Slick, junior Luke Tuell and sophomore Damian Vance, a transfer from Brewer who was in the Witches’ rotation as a freshman last winter.
There’s also more experience up front, particularly in 6-foot-6 senior Ian Nagle and 6-4 sophomore Marc Hutchings.
“Our size is much better than it was last year, and they’re much more ready to play,” Parker said. “We’ve got some experience back and they’ve all been around me for a year now so I think that’s going to bode well for us.”
The Rams prepared for their regular-season opener at Edward Little on Dec. 9 with a rigorous exhibition schedule that began with games against last winter’s Class AA state finalists, Portland and South Portland, on the same day.
“I think we’re at a place where the players know how I feel about being competitive,” Parker said. “They’re also comfortable with the fact that if they compete and someone’s better than us, then someone’s better than us. I’m not going to bring them to task about that, I’m going to bring them to task if they don’t compete.”
Portland returns as the Class AA North preseason favorite after finishing 20-1 last winter and winning its second state title in three years and third consecutive regional crown.
Coach Joe Russo’s Bulldogs brings back junior guard Terion Moss, a third-team 2016 Bangor Daily News All-Maine honoree, along with junior forward Griffin Foley and senior center Charles Lyall from a roster that graduated just four players last spring.
“Portland returns a solid starting nucleus along with some very good young talent,” Oxford Hills of South Paris coach Scott Graffam said.
Edward Little also boasts a veteran team by senior swingman Jarod Norcross-Plourde, a three-sport standout who already has accepted a baseball scholarship from the University of Hartford in Connecticut.
“Jarod obviously filled every statistical category for us last season, and we need another strong season from him to take the next step,” Edward Little coach Mike Adams said. “But we have several players who should be ready to be stronger and more reliable in every aspect of the game, which hopefully will make our team stronger and let Jarod do some different things to help us.”
Cheverus is motivated after being ousted by Edward Little in last season’s regional quarterfinals, and the Stags have some star power in 6-4 senior guard Jack Casale and 6-5 junior center Jesse Matthews, who’s already drawing recruiting interest from NCAA Division II and III programs in the Northeast.
“I think a strength of ours will be our length,” Cheverus coach Ryan Soucie said. “We could roll out a lineup of five guys 6-foot-2 and above at times. We’ll also look to play a quick pace and create a lot of scoring opportunities off our full- and half-court defenses.”
Deering reached the AA North final last February before falling to Portland, and while the Rams graduated four starters the returning cast includes senior center Raffaele Salamone and promising 6-4 sophomore forward Ben Onek.
“Ben’s mentally tough,” Deering coach Todd Wing said. “Last year, he didn’t have a ride to practice and walked two miles in a blizzard to get to the gym. He arrived three minutes late and immediately put himself on the line to do sprints due to his lateness. He gets it.”
Oxford Hills graduated four starters — among them 2016 Gatorade Maine Player of the Year Andrew Fleming, now playing at the University of Maine — but considerable help could come from the same family tree.
Sophomore forward Matt Fleming, Andrew’s younger brother, averaged 10 points per game as a freshman, and he has grown three inches to 6-foot-5, which gives him additional low-post potential to complement his perimeter play.
The Vikings also have an experienced backcourt tandem in senior Cole Verrier and junior Chris St. Pierre.
One team poised to take a significant step forward is Windham. The Eagles went 7-11 a year and missed qualifying for the tournament but return feature junior class led by guards Nick Curtis — a second-team All-SMAA choice as a sophomore — and Mike Gilman. That duo averaged 35.4 points per game for coach Chad Pulkkinen’s club last winter.
Lewiston also fell short of qualifying for the first Class AA North tourney, but a more experienced roster and a productive summer have the Blue Devils aspiring toward their own upward mobility.
“Most of the players got significant varsity experience last year and that continuity will hopefully pay off over the long season,” Lewiston coach Tim Farrar said. “If we can continue to get better throughout the year, we can be a tough team to beat.”
