Jon McAllian watched the University of Maine men’s basketball team play Fisher College on Tuesday night with special interest – he was just hours away from signing up to join the Black Bears.

“I pictured myself out there playing with those guys,” said McAllian, a 6-foot-6 Bangor High School senior. “It’s more fun to watch them this year because I know I’m going to be playing with them next year.”

The smooth-shooting guard signed an NCAA National Letter of Intent at his Bangor home Wednesday to accept a full athletic scholarship to attend Maine beginning next fall.

“I don’t think there’s anybody in the state close to him right now in his ability to shoot the ball for distance,” said Bangor coach Roger Reed. “He’s got the perfect release. If you were going to use somebody to demonstrate a shooting release and where he holds the ball, Jon would absolutely be the guy.”

McAllian was one of two local athletes to accept scholarships from Maine on the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period. Ashley Kelley, a pitcher who signed with the Maine softball team, is believed to be the first athlete from Hermon High School to earn a full Division I scholarship.

McAllian struggled late in his junior season at Bangor High, spending most of his time on the bench as the Rams won the 2007 Class A state title.

But he went on to star in the AAU ranks and generated interest from Division I schools including Maine, Central Connecticut, New Hampshire, William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth.

“I had many doubts,” said McAllian, the son of Don and Janet McAllian. “I never would have thought after last season that I would have gotten a D-I scholarship, but I just kept my mind to it and kept working.”

McAllian’s signature performance came during his first game at the AAU National Championships in Orlando, Fla., when he made seven 3-pointers in the first half for a Maine Hoops team coached by Len Holmes.

“It was the consistency he needed more than anything else,” said Holmes. “I think it was as he kept working on the little things that he was able to transform himself from just being a straight shooter into a kid who could create other ways to score.”

McAllian plans to work on his strength and quickness while trying to help Bangor win another state title this winter.

“I’ve been saying right along that he’s going to have a great senior year for us,” said Reed. “There is a process to this that a lot of people have difficulty understanding. You don’t get to be a star in basketball without a lot of hard work and at times some great frustrations.

“Jon’s a great kid to coach. He loves the game.”

Kelley, a righthanded pitcher with a 0.54 earned-run average in three years for the Hawks, made a verbal commitment to play for Maine on July 3.

Kelley signed her letter in front of about 50 family, coaches, friends, teammates from soccer, softball and basketball, as well as school administrators, booster club members and community representatives.

Fighting back tears, Kelley singled out her coaches, including pitching coach Bob Mercer, summer league coach Harry “Skip” Estes, high school coaches Stephanie Biberstein and Adam Leach, and UMaine coach Stacey Sullivan.

She also thanked her teammates, Hermon athletic director Paul Soucy for organizing Wednesday’s ceremony, and her parents George and Teresa and sister Marisa.

“I used to think that he always pushed me too hard,” Kelley said of her father. “But right now, standing up here, it was all worth it.”

She credited Sullivan with looking in-state for players. Kelley will join former Eastern Maine standouts Jordan McLain of Brewer High and Terren Hall of Bucksport High, who are playing for the Black Bears this fall.

“The more kids you have from Maine, the more interest there is in the program,” Kelley said. “Now the town is going to follow Maine softball.”

Kelley is 27-14 in three years of varsity softball with 476 strikeouts and 37 walks in 272 innings. Kelley has 12 shutouts, three no-hitters and one perfect game. She also has a career .336 batting average.

This summer, Kelley played for the Scarborough-based Southern Maine Flame, for which she had a 0.74 ERA and 13-3 record.

Kelley has a 3.9 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.

The eligibility of all student-athletes is contingent upon admission to the university and compliance with all NCAA rules, including registration with the NCAA Clearinghouse.