Ryan Martin has heard the whispers. He’s too small for Division I basketball. In a world of 6-foot-4 guards, there’s no place for a 5-9 kid.

The same sentiments have echoed through the back hallways of gyms in Maine, that he’s a great high school player but big-time college basketball is for the big boys.

Who’s he going to guard? How’s he going to get off his shot?

Even Division I coaches are somewhat skeptical, to the point that a kid who scored 1,899 points in high school and led Maranacook of Readfield to two Class B state championships and a 59-4 record over the last three years is encouraged to join their rosters, but scholarship money is reserved for bigger kids who are perceived as the quicker fix.

None of that matters to Martin, who decided this week to take up coach Ted Woodward’s offer to play at the University of Maine this fall.

Division I basketball has been a lifelong pursuit for the lightning-quick, deceptively strong perimeter player, who sees the on-court success of Allen Iverson as one example of how the little guy can affect a big man’s sport.

There’s also the example of a former Black Bear with family connections, Matt Rossignol. Like Martin – whose family has roots in the Saint John Valley and whose dad is a friend of the Baron of Van Buren – Rossignol wasn’t the most physically imposing player in Maine schoolboy history but, like Martin, he was an electric presence come tournament time.

Rossignol carved out a solid career at Maine during the late 1980s, just as Martin hopes to do over the next four years.

Maranacook coach Rob Schmidt believes Martin will make the transition successfully, because he has seen the work his four-year starter has done to overcome the lack of height – like twice changing his perimeter shot.

The long-range set shot of his freshman and sophomore seasons developed into a jumper with a slight hitch at the top as a junior. That since has been transformed into a quick-release shot good for 60 percent efficiency from beyond the 3-point arc this winter.

Credit that evolution to repetition – hundreds of shots a day at full speed – and ingenuity – shooting over a broom held high in the air by a teammate.

Martin’s practice regimen is legend in central Maine basketball circles, with separate daily sessions devoted to weight training, cardiovascular work and shooting.

“I don’t think a lot of people understand the dedication he’s had to his training,” said Schmidt. “He’s a kid who maps out his workouts two or three months in advance. This year, once AAU season ended in August, he already had his schedule down to the day tryouts began in November, and then he had another schedule he used right up until the tournament.”

Martin has been rewarded with virtually every honor available to a Maine schoolboy basketball player, from Mr. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year to another chance to take down the nets.

Now comes the chance to prove the doubters wrong again.

That some in the whispering class suggest he’s not a Division I-caliber player is reflective of a cynical era when everything is put down and nothing is good enough. Ryan Martin has proven to be quite deserving of his chance to live out the dream.

If it doesn’t work out, he can always pursue another basketball avenue, or simply focus on getting a good education.

But he’ll never know unless he tries.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045