Ex-UM standout named to men’s basketball staff McNeill gains place-kicker job

University of Maine men’s basketball coach Ted Woodward announced Thursday that former Black Bear Chris Markwood has been named an assistant coach for the program.

Markwood, a former South Portland High School star, replaces Julian Dunkley, who served as an assistant during the 2005-06 season.

“We are delighted to have Chris back with our program,” Woodward said in a press release. “He was a leader and well-respected member of our Black Bears community as a student-athlete. He is a person of high values and character, and we look forward to the addition of him to our staff.”

Markwood had a standout career for the Bears and captained the 2004-05 squad after transferring from Notre Dame. He saw action in 45 games at UMaine, averaging 6.7 points and 3.0 assists per game. He led the team in assists in 2004-05, averaging 3.7 per contest.

“I am very excited and proud to be back at UMaine,” Markwood said. “I am looking forward to working with this coaching staff and this great group of student-athletes.”

Markwood was primarily known as a defensive specialist, as he would often guard the opposing team’s top guard. One of his offensive highlights came when he hit a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in the 2005 America East quarterfinals, giving Maine a 47-45 win over Boston University.

Markwood was also named a UMaine-Scholar Athlete award winner.

While at South Portland, he was named the 2000 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year. He finished his high school career with 1,083 points.

McNeill earns UM kicking job

The UMaine football team will initiate a new place-kicker when it opens the season Saturday at eighth-ranked Youngstown State.

Devin McNeill, a freshman walk-on from Portland, beat out three other candidates for the position during preseason camp.

“I think the one thing that he demonstrated the most was consistency putting the ball through the uprights, something that we need around here,” said UMaine coach Jack Cosgrove.

McNeill will handle field goals and conversion kicks for the Black Bears, while junior Bobby Donnelly, also of Portland, will handle kickoffs.

“He came in and competed hard and is being rewarded by being given a very important role on our football team,” said Cosgrove, who frequently put pressure on the kicking corps to find out who would emerge.

“He had great elevation on his kicks, he was very accurate on his PATs and field goals, and just really flat-out made more [kicks] than others, percentage-wise,” he added.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder was a baseball player at Portland High, but inquired through Bulldogs football coach Mike Bailey about the possibility of walking on with UMaine.

McNeill was a four-year soccer player at Portland, captaining the squad last fall. He also played football as a senior, setting a school record with two field goals in one game. McNeill was named the school’s Most Outstanding Athlete.

“He’s got a specialness about him in terms of competitiveness,” said Cosgrove, who conceded, “he’s a long ways away from being the kind of kicker we think he can be.”