Another year of Maine high school boys basketball has come and gone, but not without some of the best players showing up in the biggest moments for their teams. And now fifteen of Maine’s most dominant basketball stars have earned a place on the Bangor Daily News’ 70th annual All-Maine Schoolboy Basketball Team.
The first team is headlined by Mr. Maine Basketball winner Nolan Ames of Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, Tyrie James of Windham High School, Aden Jeffers of Fort Kent High School, Akol Maiwen of Edward Little High School in Auburn and Mason Nguyen of Medomak Valley in Waldoboro.
The second team features James Witham of Mound Desert Island High School in Bar Harbor, Carter Brathwaite of Cony High School in Augusta, Loic Ramazani of Portland High School, Darius Johnson of South Portland High School and Owen Corrigan of Caribou High School.
The third team is made up of Quinn Pelletier of Madawaska High School, Khaelon Watkins of Cheverus in Portland, AJ Moody of Windham, Oli Higgins of Brewer High School and Cai Dougher of Spruce Mountain High School in Livermore Falls.
The All-Maine team selections were made by the BDN sports staff with input from coaches and athletic administrators. Based on available statistics, some player averages reflect regular season performance and do not include playoff results.
First Team
From start to finish this season, no Maine boys basketball player shined quite as bright as Camden Hills senior guard Ames. He led the Windjammers to a Class A North title and nearly delivered a state championship, falling just short in that final contest despite another 30-point effort for the future Colby College player.
Ames averaged 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game on the year.
“He steps up when needed. He makes the right plays,” Camden Hills coach Joel Gabrielle said about Ames earlier in the season. “I’ve always believed his passing ability might be his greatest strength. And he can get a bucket when needed.”
Windham’s James was one of the Mr. Maine Basketball finalists alongside Ames, closing out a storied high school career that included back-to-back-state championships with the Eagles in his sophomore and junior seasons.
James averaged more than 21 points a game along with five rebounds and 4.3 assists, and his speed had opponents always playing catch up.
“Tyree was our hardest matchup,” said South Portland head coach Kevin Millington. “I had a kid on my team who really was a great defender, and you know, I felt like he shut every player down that he guarded all year long except for Tyree. And even he would tell you that he was like, ‘Coach, he’s just too quick.’ So you know, Tyree was certainly special in that way.”
Another of Maine’s special player, Jeffers from Fort Kent, had as dominant a postseason as anyone around the state. The junior guard powered his Warriors to their first-ever Class C state title, making clutch play after clutch play to keep his team on track.
“Yes, he can score the basketball,” Fort Kent coach Chad Cyr said after the Warriors won the state championship. “But it’s his unselfishness and how well he sees the floor, and he’s not afraid to give up the ball.”
That willingness to get everyone involved is noticed by Jeffers’ teammates.
“Just when you think like we’re struggling to get a shot, he just will find a way to get open,” said fellow Fort Kent junior Mason Pelletier. “And not even just that, he has incredible vision. I mean, I’m in the corner half the time. He’s not even looking at me, and he’s giving me passes. So he’s a great teammate, great person, great basketball player.”
Jeffers averaged 24 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals per game over the course of the season.
Like other members of the first team, Edward Little’s Maiwen had no trouble putting the ball in the hoop. The senior guard averaged nearly 23 points per game for the Red Eddies along with over nine rebounds per contest.
Medomak Valley head coach Nick Depatsy also credited Maiwen’s defensive ability to alter shots in the paint.
“He was a good rim protector, that’s for sure,” Depatsy said about Maiwen.
And for Depay’s Panthers, no player was as central to their efforts as senior Nguyen. The versatile guard, who will play at the University of Maine at Farmington next year, averaged nearly 22 points, eight rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
“He really improved on both ends of the floor, defensively and offensively,” Depatsy said about Nguyen’s growth throughout his high school career. “But the thing about him is he’s so athletic that he’s the type of kid that can create — he can get to any spot where he wants to get to on the floor. You know, a lot of kids can’t do that.”
Second team
Norwood also called Witham a “special talent.” And like his coach, the junior guard similarly emphasized his defensive effort after a regular season win over Brewer.
“I really tried to work on it a lot this summer,” Witham said about his defense. “There was definitely an emphasis going into the season, making sure I was a presence defensively.”
As with Witham, the word “special” gets thrown around a lot for Cony freshman Brathwaite. In just his first year playing high school basketball, Brathwaite took Class A North by storm and averaged over 20 points per game along with nearly six assists and eight rebounds.
“He’s a special player. He can do it all, and he’s just got a huge upside,” Depatsy said. “For a freshman, the year that he had and taking them to the northern Maine finals — there’s a lot of freshmen who can’t do that. But he did and he’s a special talent.”
Brathwaite set the pace for a talented Cony team that fell one game short of the Class A North title
“I think everything starts with him when you’re watching them,” Hermon coach Mark Reed said about Brathwaite during the regular season. “I mean, he’s such a talented kid. He’s big. He’s long. He can score in different ways, he can take you to the basket, he gets downhill really well, can shoot the three for them, really makes them go, and they play off that.”
Another of the state’s most talented guards, Ramazani of Portland, made a name for himself on the defensive end of the floor.
“I’ve been coaching for 29 years,” said Millington, the South Portland coach. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen somebody lock anybody up on defense like Loic does.”
Portland coach Joe Russo credited Ramazani for having a primary role in the Bulldogs’ Class A title run.
“Loic is one of the top all around players in the state. He contributed every game with stats in every category — scoring, rebounding, assists, hustle, steals — and is known throughout the state as one of if not the best defensive player this year,” Russo said. “He was our MVP and willed us to the state championship.”
Ramazani averaged 10.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 5.8 steals per game this year.
Next door in South Portland, senior forward Johnson was wreaking havoc down low against opposing teams.
Isaiah Brathwaite, the Cony head coach and Carter Brathwaite’s father, called Johnson a “two way nightmare for most teams.”
The 6-foot-4 Johnson averaged 18 points and over 11 rebounds per game for South Portland. And Millington stressed that he piled up impressive career statistics despite an injury earlier in high school.
“He’s a warrior,” said Millington, who noted that Johnson finished with over 700 career points and 500 rebounds. “I don’t think I’ve coached many kids who play as hard as he plays.”
Farther north, Caribou senior guard Corrigan stepped into the primary role for his returning champion Vikings. And if not for buzzer-beating heroics from Jeffers and Fort Kent in the Class C North semifinals, Corrigan would have had his team playing for another regional championship.
The Caribou leader scored at least 20 points in each of his team’s three tournament games this season, and averaged 21 points, five rebounds and four assists on the year.
Corrigan didn’t care if he scored 20 points or two, as long as his team walked away with a victory, according to his coach.
“He just wants to win. And I think that’s a true testament to a leader right there,” said Vikings coach Kyle Corrigan, who is Owen Corrigan’s uncle.
Third Team
In a season where several freshmen firmly established themselves among the Maine high school basketball elite, two young players from opposite ends of the state played large roles in their respective classes.
Madawaska’s Pelletier was a force in Class D North, averaging more than 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists per game. And he helped guide the Owls to their second-straight regional championship game after leading his team a year ago as just an eighth grader.
Pelletier has already been getting outsized attention for a player his age, especially from opposing defenses.
“Every game we see, Quinn’s usually got at least two or three defenders on him,” said Madawaska coach Shawn Pelletier, who is Quinn Pelletier’s father.
But even those extra defenders haven’t been able to completely slow the freshman phenom. He scored 28 points in the Class D North final, helping to keep Madawaska in the game late before Machias took home the regional title.
Watkins had a similarly dominant freshman year for Cheverus in Class A South, averaging 20 points, more than eight rebounds and four assists per game.
“I haven’t seen an athlete like that in a long time,” said Millington, who noted Watkin’s impressive jumping ability, prowess around the rim and strength pushing the ball in transition. “When he polishes his skills to match the athleticism, it’s going to be scary.”
While Brewer’s Higgins is only a sophomore, he also has already proven to be a scary matchup for opponents. He stands over 6-foot-8 and has a rare type of size in Maine high school basketball.
“He’s got length, so that’s the first thing you’ve got to contend with,” Bangor head coach Jay Kemble said earlier in the season. “You know he’s going to get his points, he’s going to get his rebounds. He’s just a good, talented player.”
Higgins got enough points and rebounds to average a double-double this year, scoring over 15 points and grabbing over 12 rebounds per game.
Dougher was a big part of Spruce Mountain’s impressive run in Class C South this year. His 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game helped Spruce Mountain secure the top seed heading into the regional tournament.
Brathwaite, the Cony coach, called Dougher a “top player who always had an impact from the moment he put on that jersey.” His versatility allowed him to play both guard and forward for the Phoenix.
Moody may not have been a prolific scorer for Windham, but the two-time state champion made a name for himself as a spirited two-way player. The Southwestern Maine Activities Association Defensive Player of the Year averaged nearly 12 points to go with his 6.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
“AJ Moody was the definition of a winner — an unselfish, relentless competitor who put the team above himself and showed up every day ready to battle,” said Windham head coach Chad Pulkkinen. “His toughness, consistency and drive set the standard for what it means to wear our jersey and compete at the highest level.”