Hampden’s McCue handling pressure, accepting new role

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During his first three years of high school basketball, Daniel McCue played a crucial support role as Hampden Academy emerged among the elite teams in the state, winning the Maine Class A championship in 2005 and retaining the Eastern A title last winter.

McCue, the point guard, was a distributor to the likes of Jordan Cook, Blaine Meehan and J Uhrin on those teams, and was a favorite of Broncos’ coach Russ Bartlett to handle the basketball late in games because of his free-throw shooting accuracy.

But Cook, Meehan and Uhrin are now on college rosters, and as a senior McCue and classmate Evan Farley are the primary contributors remaining from those championship runs – with Farley sidelined by a broken wrist.

That’s meant an adjustment for the 6-foot-3 McCue in every area from defense – he’s more likely to play forward on defense – to leadership for a youthful Hampden team that enhanced its playoff standing last Friday with a 49-47 victory over Mt. Blue of Farmington.

McCue also has a more prominent role in the Broncos’ offense, though that load has been shared with the emerging play of junior guard Brad Haase and junior forward Justin Brown.

“My role has changed just by the different look of our offense,” said McCue. “Before this year I was more of a secondary player and got a lot of open looks off other players.

“This year I’ve been having to create a lot for myself, and I think I’m starting to settle into a comfortable position. It was a little different for me at the beginning of the year, but I think now our team’s really coming together and all our roles are starting to be defined, and I’m happy about that.”

Actually, McCue’s numbers this winter are similar to those he compiled a year ago, when he averaged 10 points per game during the regular season and 11.7 ppg in the Eastern A tournament.

McCue is averaging 11 points and three assists per game this winter through Hampden’s 6-5 start, though those numbers have come while he has been the focus of defensive attention rather than a third option in the Broncos’ attack.

The expectation that he would need to put up big numbers led McCue to struggle early this season.

“I think he’s probably put a lot more pressure on himself,” said Bartlett, whose team returns to action Friday night at Nokomis of Newport, a team the Broncos edged in overtime on Jan. 5. “He’s a perfectionist, a straight-A student who aspires to be great in whatever he does, so I’m sure he puts a lot of pressure on himself to do that.”

But as other teammates have stepped forward into prominent roles, including freshman center Noah Burditt, McCue has learned that while he’s a team leader and the most veteran of the Broncos, he doesn’t have to shoulder the whole load for his team to be successful.

“Definitely at the beginning of the year I was putting a lot of pressure on myself and I think I’m putting the same pressure on myself now,” said McCue, “but now as team captain I’m just learning to deal with that pressure a little more.

“When we have a good game it feels good, and when we lose I take it really hard, but that’s my role so I’m accepting it.”

Less than a month to go …

With less than a month remaining until the start of the tournaments – the prelims are Feb. 13 and 14, with quarterfinals set to begin on the 16th, the ranks of the undefeated continue to be thinned in the Eastern Maine boys basketball world.

Three teams were knocked from the unbeaten ranks in the last 10 days alone, with Mount Desert Island losing to Hancock County rival Ellsworth, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln falling at John Bapst of Bangor, and Van Buren losing to Madawaska in a St. John Valley battle.

For Ellsworth, that win started a big week for the Eagles, who followed that victory over MDI by heading to Aroostook County last weekend and sweeping Presque Isle and Caribou.

John Bapst, meanwhile, avenged an earlier loss at Lincoln, and greatly enhanced its Class B playoff hopes.

For Madawaska, the win over Van Buren represented a sign of continued improvement for an Owls team rebuilding after strong postseason runs each of the last two years. Led by coach Matt Rossignol’s son Dominique, Madawaska has rebounded from a slow start – to forge its way into Class C tournament contention.

Those hopes certainly were boosted by a win over a Van Buren team that has on its roster another Rossignol, freshman Derrick, Matt’s son and Dominique’s younger brother.

Perhaps even more evidence of Madawaska’s improvement was a solid effort Monday night against one of the six remaining unbeatens in Eastern Maine, two-time defending Class D state champion Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.

Led by 1,000-point scorer Tim Carlson and 6-8 center Silas Kelly, Central Aroostook earned a 71-58 win over the Owls, but didn’t pull away for its 33rd straight victory overall and 11th this season until relatively late in the game.

Central Aroostook is one of two undefeated teams left in Eastern D, joined by Deer Isle-Stonington. The Mariners feature a veteran team led by senior guard Bryant Ciomei, who is closing in on 1,000 career points. DI-S graduated just one starter from the team that reached last year’s EM final before falling to the Panthers, and includes quality wins over Lee Academy and Calvary Chapel of Orrington in its 10-0 start.

Central Aroostook and Deer Isle-Stonington do not meet during the regular season.

Defending state champion Calais (11-0) is the lone unbeaten left in Class C, having rolled to its unbeaten record in impressive fashion since a season-opening 70-67 survival of Lee Academy.

Maranacook of Readfield, the reigning Class B state champ, stands alone as an unbeaten in Eastern B at 11-0, but will be challenged at home Friday night by 9-3 Camden Hills of Rockport. Maranacook won at Camden Hills earlier in the season.

And two teams remain undefeated in Eastern A, top-ranked Bangor and Edward Little of Auburn, who do not meet during the regular season.

Bangor has used its blend of talent and depth to earn an 11-0 start, but likely faces a challenge Friday night when it travels to Farmington to face 8-3 Mt. Blue. When those teams met at Bangor on Jan. 5, the Rams needed a halfcourt 3-pointer by Lee Suvlu at the third-quarter buzzer and a 35-foot 3-pointer by Jon McAllian as time expired in the fourth quarter just to force overtime before earning a 61-57 win in its sternest test of the season.

Mt. Blue has lost two of its last three games, but traditionally has played Bangor tough in recent years. In addition, Cougars’ coach Jim Bessey will be honored during ceremonies before Friday night’s game for recently reaching 400 career coaching victories.

Edward Little, upset during last year’s Eastern A preliminary round after earning the No. 4 seed, has come back strong this season to control the early action in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference’s southern division.

The 10-0 Red Eddies feature 6-7 senior forward Troy Barnies, who already has verbally committed to join the University of Maine men’s basketball team last year, and his twin brother Travis, another forward for coach Mike Adams’ club.

Just five Western Maine boys teams began the week with undefeated records: Class A Cheverus of Portland, Class B Greely of Cumberland Center, Class C Dirigo of Dixfield and Class D Richmond and Gould Academy of Bethel.