Since the pandemic, the Bangor Rams have struggled to return to championship form.
With a combined 16-31 record over the past three seasons, the Rams’ 2019 title run may feel unfamiliar to this year’s squad, but five-year head coach Brad Libby has a formula for reclaiming the throne.
“It’s about trusting the process, their teammates and themselves,” Libby said of his players. “We’re not going to always have great games, but if we continue to gain on that trust, we’ll be where we want to be come February.”
Building that faith and self-confidence starts on the defensive end for Bangor. In 2019, the Rams gave up only 44.5 points per game in the playoffs, and Libby wants to replicate that.
“We believe defense wins championships; that’s how we got all those banners on the wall,” Libby said. “We want to keep teams under 50 every night — we step up, take charges and end everything on a box-out.”
The veterans responsible for spearheading this defensive effort will be shifty guard Damon Gonsalves, 6-foot-4 power forward Ryan Ford and lanky big man Kadin Thomas. This trio of seniors will be joined by new faces Parker Neale and Josh Grunkemeyer in the starting lineup, providing Bangor with a good balance of youth and experience.
Bangor’s varsity roster includes eight underclassmen and seven upperclassmen, and across the board they believe they’ve honed their team chemistry and defense this preseason.
“We really glued together — easily and quickly — even though we haven’t all played together,” Ford said. “We’re ready to get after it this year. We’re gonna focus on working the other team, and sitting down on defense.”
Grunkemeyer, a sophomore small forward who moved to Bangor from South Carolina this offseason, echoed Ford’s sentiments.
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“In tryouts, I thought we had great energy right away,” Grunkemeyer said. “Everybody seemed to know what they were doing. I was encouraged by that.”
Off the bench, hard-working sophomore guards Liam Vigue and Harry Fitzpatrick received solid varsity experience last year, as did senior forward Ethan Beyeler. Coach Libby thinks Beyeler can improve in his decision making, but recognizes the physical maturity and natural talent he currently possesses.
“Ethan is a very long and athletic forward, and has the skill set to have a great year for us — offensively and defensively,” Libby said. “He’s continuing to progress every day.”
Vigue and Fitzpatrick aren’t as physically imposing as Beyeler, but will strengthen the team at the guard position.
“Liam’s matured a lot over the last year, both on the basketball court and off, and always wants to be in the gym,” Libby said. “Harry’s a very good shooter, [especially] on a catch-and-shoot, and always shows up ready to go.”
Bangor’s regular season kicks off this week, and features two big games right off the bat. On Friday, the Rams will host Class AA favorites Portland at 6:30 p.m., and then on Tuesday they will head over to Brewer to play the rival Witches.
