Awards to top all-star banquet

Some of the greatest names in the state’s modern high school basketball history have earned the mantle of Mr. or Miss Basketball.

Two of this winter’s top players will have their names added to that elite roster when the 20th annual Mr. and Miss Basketball awards are presented tonight as part of the Maine McDonald’s Senior All-Star Basketball Banquet at Husson College in Bangor.

Others to be honored include members of the East and West Senior All-Star Teams that will compete in four games beginning at 9:15 a.m. Saturday at Newman Gymnasium, members of the Academic All-State Team, and finalists for the state free-throw shooting contest that also will be held Saturday morning.

But the night’s big awards are Mr. and Miss Basketball, which are presented annually “to the senior player who has exhibited outstanding skills throughout his/her career, has made a significant impact on his/her team, has demonstrated respect for the game through leadership on and off the court, has epitomized the values of sportsmanship and has been a positive school and community citizen.

Candidates are nominated by high school coaches, and recipients are selected by a committee of media representatives and retired coaches representing each region in Maine.

Including inaugural Mr. and Miss Basketball honorees Tim Scott of Ellsworth and Julie Bradstreet of Central Aroostook of Mars Hill in 1988, players from 29 different schools have been recognized as Mr. or Miss Basketball during the first 19 years the award has been presented by the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches.

Nine schools – Bangor, Cony of Augusta, Deering of Portland, Falmouth, Greely of Cumberland Center, Mt. Blue of Farmington, Old Town, Portland, and Sanford – have each had two recipients, but no school has had more than two players selected.

Mr. Basketball finalists this year are Troy Barnies of Edward Little of Auburn, Sean McNally of Gardiner, and Andy Shorey of Mountain Valley of Rumford. Miss Basketball finalists are Chelsea Barker of Messalonskee of Oakland, Ashley Cimino of McAuley of Portland, and Cassie Cooper of Cony.

Barnies, a 6-foot-7 forward, led Edward Little to an undefeated regular season and the No. 1 ranking in Eastern Maine Class A.

The University of Maine-bound Barnies was named Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A South co-player of the year, averaging 22.8 points and 12.4 rebounds per game.

He also was the KVAC Class A South player of the year as a junior, as well as a third-team Bangor Daily News All-Maine choice.

McNally, a 6-foot-8 center, averaged 20.6 points and 16.1 rebounds per game to share KVAC Class A South player of the year honors with Barnies.

Also headed for the University of Maine next year, McNally led Gardiner to an Eastern A tournament berth as a senior.

The four-year starter was a BDN second-team All-Maine choice as a junior.

Shorey, a 6-foot-4 center, led Mountain Valley to the Class B state championship, averaging 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.

He was named most valuable player of the Western B tournament for the second straight year and was the Mountain Valley Conference player of the year.

Like Barnies, Shorey played quarterback on his high school football team, and he led Mountain Valley to the 2006 Class B state championship.

Barker, a 5-foot-8 guard, led Messalonskee to a berth in the Eastern A championship game, in which she scored 28 points in an overtime loss to Cony of Augusta.

Barker averaged 20 points per game this season, her second straight as KVAC Class A North player of the year. She also was a BDN third-team All-Maine choice as a junior.

Cooper, a 6-1 forward, helped Cony win its second Class A state championship in the last three years despite missing the final 11 games of the regular season with a high ankle sprain.

Bound for Dartmouth College in the fall, Cooper averaged 18.1 points per game this season. She was a first team BDN All-Maine choice as a junior after averaging 16.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, and a second-team choice in 2005. She also was the 2006 KVAC Class A South player of the year.

Cimino, a 6-3 forward, led McAuley to its second Western A title in the last three years, averaging 16.1 points, 11 rebounds, and five blocked shots per game.

Headed for Division I power Stanford University next season, Cimino earlier this winter was the first Maine high school player selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American Game, scheduled for March 28 at Freedom Hall in Lexington, Ky.

Cimino was a first-team BDN All-Maine selection last year and a second-team choice as a sophomore.

Saturday’s 27th annual McDonald’s Senior All-Star Games begin with the C/D boys contest at 9:15 a.m., followed by A/B boys at 11 a.m., A/B girls at 12:30 p.m., and C/D girls at 2:15 p.m.

All proceeds from the games benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Maine.