March 29, 2024
HIGH SCHOOL REPORT

Winthrop star Leclerc chooses to play at Bryant Guard accepting full scholarship

Sam Leclerc concluded his senior season of high school basketball battling Traip Academy of Kittery, Boothbay and Calais while leading Winthrop to the Class C state championship.

But that’s nothing compared to the opposition the 6-foot-1 senior point guard will face when he begins his college career.

Leclerc this week announced his verbal commitment to accept a full athletic scholarship from Bryant University of Smithfield, R.I., a team that will jump from NCAA Division II play to Division I beginning with the 2008-09 season – and in a big way.

The Bulldogs’ first seven games include road contests at Boston College, Maryland, Iowa, Rutgers, Connecticut and Providence.

“I’m going to have to grow up real fast,” joked Leclerc, who selected Bryant from a list of suitors that included Maine, Air Force, New Hampshire, Maryland-Baltimore County, Columbia, Northeastern and Boston University.

Had Leclerc not accepted Bryant’s offer, he likely would have attended prep school.

But when Bryant, coached by Gardiner native and former Maine Central Institute postgraduate coach Max Good, renewed its bid to land Leclerc after initially halting those efforts earlier during the recruiting season, he was ready to accept.

“The recruiting process has been a very long process for me,” said Leclerc. “Schools came in and out as the years have gone on, all kinds of different schools at different levels.

“One school that was consistent in their contact with me throughout this, along with the University of Maine, was Bryant University.”

One attraction for Leclerc was Bryant’s strong business program. Another was the opportunity to contend for immediate playing time.

Bryant had planned to use junior Orlando Baeza at point guard next season, but Baeza tore an anterior cruciate ligament for the second time in as many years this winter, leaving an opening at the point next fall.

It was after that happened, just before high school tournament time in Maine this winter, when Bryant offered Leclerc a scholarship.

“One thing that impressed me about Bryant was how honest they were with me throughout the process,” said Leclerc, who added that he turned down Maine’s offer because he wanted to attend college out of state.

Bryant, which played in the NCAA Division II championship game in 2005 with a roster that included Brunswick High product Dan Hammond, will not be eligible for the NCAA tournament during its first four years in Division I, but could advance to the NIT.

The Bulldogs will be a member of the Northeast Conference, which includes the likes of Robert Morris, Monmouth, Wagner, Central Connecticut State and Mount St. Mary’s, this year’s representative in the NCAA tournament.

Leclerc, a second-team Bangor Daily News All-Maine choice after his junior season at Winthrop, averaged 20.7 points, 6.2 assists and 3.5 steals per game this winter and scored 28 points in the state final when the Ramblers upended two-time defending champion Calais 72-62.

The four-year starter was the Mountain Valley Conference player of the year as a senior as well as one of the three finalists for the state’s Mr. Basketball award.

During the summer preceding his senior year, Leclerc starred on a MBR.org-sponsored team coached by Carl Parker of Bangor that finished 11th in a field of 153 teams at the junior boys/17-and-under AAU National Championships held at Orlando, Fla. That marked the best-ever finish by a Maine junior team at the AAU nationals.

Leclerc will have a central Maine connection at Bryant in Good, who compiled a 275-30 record during 10 years at MCI. Good was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky before taking the MCI post, and left MCI to become an assistant coach and head coach at Nevada-Las Vegas before taking the Bryant job.

Good has guided the Bulldogs for the last seven years, with the Bulldogs advancing to the NCAA Division II tournament each of the last six season. Bryant went 18-13 last season.

“He gets a lot out of his players and I’m really looking forward to playing for him,” Leclerc said. “You don’t get to the Division II national championship game without doing something right.”

Some dates to remember

With the snow finally beginning to melt in most areas of the state, it’s not too early to look ahead to the start of the high school baseball season.

Teams may play countable games as early as April 17, but most teams will wait until the following week – April vacation week – before playing their season openers, weather permitting.

The regular season continues through June 4, with the next day to be used for makeups of games postponed from June 4.

Postseason play begins with regional preliminary-round contests in all classes on June 10. Quarterfinals are set for the following Thursday, with semifinals on June 14.

Eastern Maine regional championship games will be held June 17 and June 18. The Class A and Class C games will be played June 17, with the Class A final beginning at 5 p.m. at Morton Field in Augusta and the Class C game set for 7 p.m. at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor.

The Eastern Maine Class B and Class D finals are slated for June 18 at Mansfield Stadium, with the Class D game at 3 p.m. and the Class B game at 7 p.m.

State championships will be determined June 21. The Class A and Class C games will be played at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, with the Class A game at noon and the Class C game at 5 p.m. The Class B and Class D games will be played at Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, with the Class B game at 11 a.m. and the Class D game at 4 p.m.

Defending Eastern Maine baseball champions are Class A Bangor, Class B Winslow, Class C Searsport and Class D Deer Isle-Stonington.

Reigning state champions are Class A Deering of Portland, Class B Greely of Cumberland Center, Class C St. Dominic of Auburn and Class D Deer Isle-Stonington.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045


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