Arena making big plays for UM Bears

Men’s College Basketball

Crunch time against Northern Arizona. The University of Maine men’s basketball team is down by nine with just over six minutes to play. Who will step forward to start a comeback?

Freshman guard Casey Arena snares a defensive rebound, dribbles up court, draws a foul, and hits one of two from the line. The play ignites a 12-0 Maine run and the Black Bears go on to win 59-56.

Tie game against Fairfield. Four minutes to play. Who will make the big play for Maine?

Arena, at 6-feet, 165 pounds, receives a pass under the basket amid a tangle of 6-8 and 6-9 Stags. He somehow contorts his body to create space then threads in a reverse layup. Hustling down court, he makes a steal and dribbles back the length of the floor for a lay-in to put Maine up by four. The Black Bears win 63-58 to improve to 3-1, the program’s best start in nine years.

Four games into his collegiate career, Arena has established himself as the player most likely to draw the eyes of Maine fans and opposing players alike, especially when the game is on the line.

“Save the best for last, that’s what I always say,” Arena said following the win over Fairfield in Portland Saturday.

Any thoughts Maine head coach Rudy Keeling might have entertained of saving Arena, be it by redshirting him or working him into the lineup gradually, evaporated when the freshman from Beverly, Mass., scored a team-high 17 points in the Black Bears’ opening game loss at Eastern Illinois.

Since then, Arena has continued to open the coach’s eyes with his combination of accomplished ball-handling, aggressive defense, and occasionally brilliant offense.

“Yeah, he’s better than I thought he’d be defensively and about what I thought he’d be offensively,” said Keeling. “He still makes some mistakes out there. He’s a freshman. But he’s so athletic and so quick he surprises me.”

Keeling shouldn’t be too surprised. After all, Arena averaged 35 points per game for Bishop Fenwick High in Eastern Massachusetts’ Catholic Central League last year. He was also a standout for the Boston team in the Boston Shootout, playing against other future Division I talent.

How does a big-time high school scorer (2,166 career points) make the adjustment to all-around team player averaging 11.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists a game?

“When you’ve got good players around you – and we’ve got great players – you have to distribute the ball,” Arena answered. “It’s much easier to take on the role of a point guard and give it to teammates instead of trying to score 35 or 40 points a game. So I’m comfortable with it.”

The degree to which Arena factors into Maine’s hopes for challenging for the North Atlantic Conference title is best illustrated by the 28.5 minutes per game he has been on the floor. It’s no accident Arena ranks third on the team in playing time behind junior guard Deonte Hursey and junior center Francois Bouchard.

“We’ve got strong guards in Deonte and Kevin (Terrell),” said Keeling. “Casey’s the heir apparent. He’ll continue to get long minutes. I think he can be a star in the league if he keeps developing.”

After watching Arena fatally wound his Stags, Fairfield coach Paul Cormier wasn’t about to argue.

“He did a heckuva job,” said Cormier. “He comes in looking like a choirboy but he does everything necessary to win. He’s a real tough, hard-nosed kid.”

As for Arena, college ball has been a blast so far.

“I’m real happy with the time I’m getting,” he said. “To break into a system as a freshman you can’t ask for much more. I’m real happy with it. I feel everything is going in the right direction.”