Coaches view 2002-03 Eastern Maine Class B teams as competitive

It figures to be a rocky start for defending Class B state champion Camden Hills of Rockport. The Windjammers lost its entire starting five from last year. Still coach Jeff Hart isn’t quite ready to throw in the towel.

“We still return six lettermen who all contributed last year and spent an entire season practicing with and against the starting five. If we struggle, it will probably be early in the season. Our strength is our quickness and depth,” Hart said.

Foxcroft Academy returns a number of players to a team that lost to Camden Hills in last year’s Eastern Maine quarterfinals.

Coach David Carey will look to sophomore and son Matt Carey for scoring. He can also count on senior Danny White and junior Josh Withee for steady play. Senior E.J. Imbert and junior Brandon Hall provide good size inside at 6-foot-6 and 6-5, respectively.

Although Caribou lost Aroostook County all-stars Tyler Giles and Joel Griffeth to graduation, coach Chris Casavant believes his Vikings can have a good year. “I think that we can be competitive in Class B. We have seven guys returning and four guys who started at some point last year,” Casavant said.

The Vikings will lean on 6-3 junior forward Jon Chasse to provide them with an inside game. Senior Josh Nadeau will run the point, senior Griffin St. Peter will play the shooting guard position and 6-3 senior forward Matt Nason will give Chasse some help up front.

Hermon coach Alan Tweedie welcomes back a pair of starters including one of Eastern Maine’s largest players in 6-8 senior Adam Porter.

“He’s very strong offensively. He has a nice shot inside and outside. He’s very smooth,” Tweedie said.

Joey Schacht brings three years of experience to the team. The 6- 1 senior has played in two EM tournaments. He usually draws the toughest defensive assignment for the Hawks.

First year Orono coach Randy Lee inherits Eastern Maine’s largest player. “Big John” Saucier, a 6-11, senior figures to plug up the middle for the Red Riots. “It’s tremendous to have someone like him in the middle,” Lee said.

The Red Riots have additional size in 6-5 senior Justin Perron who can play the post as well as shoot from the wings.

The folks in Houlton have been talking about Mark Sacoby for the last couple of years. The 6-5 freshman made his varsity debut against Orono on Dec. 6 in a big way scoring 24 points, including three 3-pointers.

“The one thing I can say about Mark is that I don’t have to worry about him,” first-year coach Sean Callahan said. “H was his coach last year. He’s going to show up and do his job every day.”

Senior Dustin Nadeau will lead Fort Kent. The 6-0 shooting guard was an All-Aroostook performer last year. Coach Mark Baxter said that his team, beyond Nadeau, is young.

“I have eight sophomores on my roster. So we’re awful young. We’ll be fun to watch. That’s one of the advantages. You never know what to expect. That’s also one of the disadvantages,” Baxter said.

Ellsworth coach Dan Clifford’s Eagles are inexperienced. “I start a freshman and we have a sophomore who will play a lot,” Clifford said.

Seth Mayo will lead the team from the point. Clifford said the 5-10 senior is the team’s best defensive player. “He makes good decisions and is good with the basketball. He can make the open three,” Clifford said.

Two more coaches claiming youth and inexperience are MCI of Pittsfield’s Mike Susi and Rockland’s Buddy Wood.

“We’re small, young and inexperienced,” Susi said. He spoke of five players, ranging from 5-10 to 6-0 as being contributors. Ryan Bennett, a 5-10 junior, will run the Huskies from the point. Susi sad that 6-0 junior Mike Godfrey has taken a leadership role.

Wood’s Tigers will count heavily on 6-2 senior Casey Brown. “He’s got to score in big numbers for us to be successful,” Wood said. “We really don’t have a lot of experience even though were not that young. Maybe we can sneak into that top 12 that gets to go [to the Eastern Maine tournament].”

Woods also lauds Erskine Academy of South China as, “one of the best teams I’ve seen in a while.”

Tim Bonsant’s Eagles have a pair of 6-0 junior forwards in Matt Donar and Charlie Janoski. Sophomore Josh Jones (6-3) provides athleticism in the post.

“We have to shoot the ball well to win,” Bonsant said. “We’ll press full-court man-to-man. I feel like I have nine players who can play. Our downfall is our size so we have to play an 84-foot game.”