In the sport of basketball, it is the big man who stands the In the sport of basketball, it is the big man who stands the tallest. And, that’s not just in a literal sense.

With five men per team, playing on a limited court surface, the big man – especially the really big man – tends to stand out for height alone. When such a player has talent, however, the big man’s role is magnified and seems that much bigger.

Over the years, the Eastern Maine high school basketball tournament has been a showcase for the big man. From Bob Tenan, the 6-foot-10 center of the 1961 Class L tournament-entry Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln, to Gregg Cooper, a 6-6 post player from the 1982 Cony High in Augusta team, to John L’Heureux, the 6-8 junior center for the Old Town Indians, many teen-age giants have risen above the crowd during tourney week.

The 1991-92 season seems to be no exception.

Twelve players who stand 6-feet-6 or better have helped their teams get into this year’s Eastern Maine basketball tournaments.

Such a number is the biggest influx of big men in a tournament since the Maine Secondary Schools Principals’ Assocation converted to the four-class system – with Classes A, B, C, and D – in 1971.

It’s a stat that has coaches looking up and shaking their heads.

“Some towns say they never get the big people, but a lot of schools which never had them are coming up with them this year,” said Clayton Blood, coach of the Hermon Hawks, who boast two of the 12 players in 6-8 Jason Hannan and 6-7 Rick Sinclair.

“People have always asked if there is something in the water or the air,” said Alan Lane, who has a coached a number of different big men at Mattanawcook Academy in Lincoln.

Since 1971, exactly 100 players standing 6-6 or better have played at the tournament. Forty-five of those players have played since 1986. In the 14 years prior to that, the most players 6-6 or taller – who were in the tournament – were seven in 1976. Only one player that big played in the 1980 tournament.

All told, on the average, just under five players over the 6-6 mark have played per year.

As for the tallest tournament players ever to set foot on the Bangor Auditorium hardwood, the honor is split four ways between former MA stars Tenan and Curtis Robertson, former Calais High School player Jarrod Olsson, and former Cony of Augusta big man Jamie Lathrop.

All reportedly stood 6-10 their senior year.

If past history means anything, this year’s tournament still does not bode well for the teams boasting some height in the middle.

In 1986 – the only year in which 10 or more players above the 6-6 cutoff line made the tourney (10 played) – none won EM championships and only two (Olsson of Class C Calais and Lindell Beal of Class D Jonesport-Beals) played in regional finals.

“Just because you have a big person, it doesn’t mean you’ll get all the rebounds,” said Lane.

Leading the big man’s charge into this year’s tournament is Coach Bob Cimbollek’s John Bapst Crusaders of Bangor.

While quite a few teams have been lucky enough to have one player standing so tall and a few others are graced with the Twin Tower syndrome with two big players in the middle, Cimbollek’s Crusaders boast three players standing 6-6 or taller.

Call it a trio of trees consisting of the 6-9 Ken Rassi, 6-7 Jason Webster, and 6-7 Peter Murray.

“If height were that much of a factor, we’d be undefeated,” Cimbollek quipped of his 12-6, tourney-bound team. “And, first, you’ve got to get them the ball.”

Even more important to Cimbollek than straight ground-to-head height is wing span.

“For most people, if you measure from fingertip to fingertip, that’s your height,” Cimbollek said. “When I coached at Orono, Peter Gavett was 6-7. But, he had long arms and he played like he was 6-10.”

Cimbollek also factored in jumping ability, which could help make a player 6-3 or 6-4 play as though he were 6-7 or taller.

Most coaches agree about one thing when it comes to big men: Forget any Ralph Sampson-vs.-Patrick Ewing, clash-of-the-titan-type matchups. The biggest obstacle facing the big man at the high school level seems to be living up to the pressure of being big and tall.

“I can sympathize with the big guy,” said Cimbollek. “There is more pressure on them, and more is expected of them because they are big. If they don’t measure up, people tend to look down at them.”

Still, the big players are getting better every year.

“You could speculate all kinds of things,” Blood said. “But, I think it’s just a lot of big people have more athletic ability now. The game is so much more popular and they’re getting into it earlier.”

“All it takes is for somebody to pat them on the back,” said Lane, himself a big man at 6-7. “A few years ago, these (tall) kids might have been falling all over themselves. I can remember some of those feelings. All it takes is a little bit of encouragement.”

In the end, however, the story is still the same: Big guys don’t guarantee championships.

“Some players look at big guys and say, `The bigger they are, the harder they fall,”‘ Cimbollek said.

Cimbollek, and every other coach with a big man on his bench, will be hoping their big guys won’t be falling anytime soon.