Kevin Reed will be moving from one Bangor Christian bench to the other next basketball season as the experienced coach takes the helm of the Patriots boys basketball team.
Reed had been head coach of the girls team at the Bangor private school. He is a former University of Maine men’s basketball player and assistant coach, and he was inducted into the UMaine Sports Hall of Fame last fall.
The Black Bear legend spent the last four seasons coaching the Bangor Christian girls team, guiding the squad from a season with zero wins to a 15-3 regular season this past year, according to a Facebook post from the school announcing his new role on Monday.
“I’ve known a lot of those kids for a lot of years, and if there’s a chance for me to sort of help out and try to instill anything that I know about the game into theirs, then that’s what I’m here for,” Reed told the Bangor Daily News on Monday afternoon.
He takes over a boys team that won the Class D state championship just two seasons ago, and features a strong group of returning players that he knows well — most notably his son Rajon Reed, who was named to the BDN Class D North All Tournament team this past season as just a sophomore.
Departing boys coach Charlie Colson said he was “maybe looking for something a little bit more low-key” at age 68 and after three decades of coaching. Colson is looking to spend more time with his family, including his wife and five grandchildren. He said he isn’t opposed to a different coaching opportunity at some point that allows him to balance more of that family time.
Colson said he approached Bangor Christian about it being time for a new chapter, and he made clear that there were “absolutely no hard feelings between me and the school.” The former coach said he had hoped that Reed would take over the team.
“It was my dream that they would give that to Kevin,” Colson said about Reed. “He’ll do a fantastic job at continuing what I’ve tried to build, both spiritually and athletically.”
Colson said the program during his tenure went from a 1-17 season six years ago to winning the 2024 Gold Ball and being a regular tournament contender. He expects Reed to do “a great job continuing that tradition” for the boys team.
“When I took over the girls team, I didn’t really have any skin in the game. It was just, girls needed a coach,” said Reed, who felt that he could help the girls at the time and now feels the same about the boys team.
“I do have a little bit more skin in the game now because obviously my son’s on the team,” Reed added.
Asked about coaching his son, Reed says he doesn’t see a need to separate the two roles, noting that he is always teaching whether it’s as a coach or a parent.
“I just want kids to learn to see the game and to understand certain concepts on both ends of the floor,” Reed said.” And so whether he’s my son or not, you know, I hold him accountable — probably more so than I would anybody else.”
Rajon Reed was on the Penobscot Valley Conference’s Class D First Team this past season as a sophomore. Junior Jesse Booker was named to the Second Team and junior Elliot Straubel made the conference All-Defensive Team.
Colson was bullish about the youth and ability on the roster, including but not limited to those three players, while highlighting “some really talented freshmen and sophomores” returning to the squad.
“There’s a bundle of kids there that can play the game,” Colson said. “And I like to think I maybe had something to do with that.”
This will not be Reed’s first stint as the school’s boys basketball coach, either, having previously been in the role for several years before joining the UMaine staff as an assistant in 2018.
Reed said he’s happy to help the next girls basketball coach by providing his perspective, while being conscious of giving that next leader space to have their own voice in the role.
“But I’m here to help, and anybody who needs help if asked, I’ll give them my two cents for what it’s worth,” Reed said.
It is unclear who will be replacing Reed as head coach of the girls team. An immediate attempt to reach Bangor Christian athletic director Ben Straubel was unsuccessful on Monday afternoon.
“I hope that the boys are excited. I’m excited, and I just can’t wait to get into the gym,” Reed said.