Speed, quickness, size, strength, team play and savvy are all qualities consistent with the members of the 53rd annual Bangor Daily News All-Maine boys basketball team.

Experience doesn’t hurt, either, as 12 of the 15 players selected are seniors. They are led by three repeat honorees: Three-time All-Maine choice Ryan Martin of Maranacook of Readfield, the state’s 2008 Mr. Basketball and Gatorade player of the year; Sam Leclerc of Winthrop, a second-team choice in 2007; and 2007 third-team honoree Ryan Weston of Bangor.

Joining that trio on the first team are junior Mick DiStasio of Cheverus of Portland and Deering of Portland senior Kyle Donovan.

The second team consists of Bangor’s Jon McAllian, South Portland’s Keegan Hyland, Dirigo of Dixfield’s Tom Knight, Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln’s Derek Libbey and Boothbay’s Kris Noonan.

On the third team are Adam Kingsbury of Presque Isle, Andrew Pullen of Cony of Augusta, Kyle Philbrook of Edward Little of Auburn, Sam Bell of Calais and Jeff Winnie of Saco’s Thornton Academy.

The All-Maine team honors the state’s top 15 players regardless of class, position or region, as selected by the BDN sports staff with input from coaches, officials and other basketball observers.

For the first time in the history of the All-Maine team, votes solicited on the BDN Web site, bangordailynews.com, also were considered.

First team

MARTIN finished his career at Maranacook by leading the Black Bears to an undefeated season and their second Class B state title in three years.

“He’s just tenacious,” said former Winthrop coach Dennis Dacus of the three-time Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B player of the year. “He’s got the jump shot, but he likes to get in there and mix it up with the big guys, too. He’s always pressuring the defense.”

The University of Maine-bound Martin scored a school-record career 1,899 points and also set a Maranacook single-game record of 56 points. As a senior, Martin shot 60 percent from the field, 61 percent from beyond the 3-point arc and 88 percent from the free-throw line.

“I was extremely impressed with Martin’s ability to let the game come to him and not to force it every time he had the ball,” said Cheverus coach Bob Brown. “He’s a very mature player who obviously likes and respects his teammates.”

LECLERC, the Mountain Valley Conference player of the year, was both point producer and playmaker as a senior, leading the league in scoring and assists (6.2 per game) while averaging 4.2 steals per contest.

“He probably has the best work ethic I’ve ever seen in a player,” said Dacus, who coached Leclerc for four years. “I really can’t put into words how hard he works.”

The Mr. Basketball finalist, who will play at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., next season, may have saved his best high school game for last. He posted 28 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals as Winthrop ended Calais’ 63-game winning streak with a 72-62 victory over the Blue Devils in the Class C state final.

“He was always reassuring,” said Dacus. “He was confident we were going to win.”

WESTON was one of the state’s dominant big men, even though his statistics were limited by the fact he played just 18.7 minutes per game during the regular season.

“His numbers don’t jump out at you because of the way Bangor beat most of their opponents, but he would have been a 25-point-a-game guy if he played for us,” said Edward Little coach Mike Adams, whose team lost to Bangor four times during the season. “He’s just a warrior on the floor, and after the game he’s one of the nicest guys in the world, a true sportsman.”

Not only did Weston, who will play basketball and football at Bates College, control the inside with his size, he also shot an impressive 65 percent from the field overall.

“As an opposing coach, I thought if we could limit Weston’s touches, then we would have a chance to beat them,” said Brown of the KVAC Class A North player of the year. “He has a great turnaround game, can hit the medium-range jumper and is great on the boards. He was scary.”

DISTASIO elevated his game late in the season, then exploded during the tournament to lead the Stags to their first state title in 11 years.

The first-team All-Southern Maine Activities Association selection was named MVP of the Western A tournament, then personally outscored Bangor 19-17 in the second half of the state final as Cheverus rallied from a 10-point deficit to earn a 49-41 victory.

“He’s about as good an all-around player as there was in the league,” said Deering coach Dan LeGage. “He’s a kid who’s strong in the lane but can also shoot the 3. He’s an excellent passer and has an excellent knowledge of the game. He has a high basketball IQ. He shoots with consistency and doesn’t turn the ball over.”

In addition to his shooting prowess – DiStasio made 40 3-pointers this season – he also ranked second on the team in assists and steals.

“Mick obviously had a great state game,” said Brown, “but he really came into his own in our last regular-season game and it just continued through the state game.”

DONOVAN was named the SMAA player of the year after ranking among the conference leaders in scoring and rebounding.

“He meant a lot to us,” LeGage said. “He’s 6-6, lefthanded and very athletic. Early in his career he was mostly an inside player, but he really worked on his game and developed a perimeter game with a midrange jumper and 3-point range.”

The Mr. Basketball semifinalist blended his strong physical presence with surprising speed and quickness to create matchup problems for opposing defenses.

“When Donovan was on the floor, his team was usually winning,” said Brown. “He’s very athletic, has great hops, and is a definite can’t-miss at the Division III level. He can hit the 15-foot jumper and can very quickly rise up and dunk it on anyone.”

Also an SMAA all-star as a junior, Donovan is considering a number of Division II and Division III options for continuing his basketball career at the college level.

Second team

MCALLIAN emerged as a premier shooter, making better than 40 percent of his attempts from beyond the 3-point arc and 89 percent from the free-throw line while earning All-KVAC Class A North first-team honors.

The University of Maine-bound guard also was named most valuable player of the Eastern Maine Class A tournament, as well as a Mr. Basketball finalist.

“His numbers weren’t tremendous because of the minutes he played [an average of 20 during the regular season],” said Edward Little coach Mike Adams. “But whenever they needed a play, he’s the type of guy that would answer with a 22-foot bomb.”

HYLAND led the SMAA in scoring while leading South Portland to a 14-4 record and a trip to the Western A semifinals.

“Keegan’s got a real neat knack for scoring,” said LeGage. “He’s a big guard so that poses some problems, but he’s also quick and can score off the dribble. He’s very good fundamentally, and he’s got the savvy of a senior.”

KNIGHT blended a center’s size with the versatility to play any frontcourt position in leading Dirigo to the No. 1 seed in the Western C tournament and a berth in the regional final.

“He can kill you down low or he can shoot the 3,” said Dacus. “He has the confidence to step outside and the ability to play down low, and he never gets rattled.”

LIBBEY was named Big East Conference player of the year after leading Mattanawcook Academy to the Eastern B semifinals.

The three-year starter and Mr. Basketball semifinalist led the Big East in scoring and assists (5.7 apg), and with 1,269 career points he became the second-leading scorer in MA history.

“Derek is the kind of player who can really hurt your team in a variety of ways,” said Presque Isle coach Tim Prescott. “He is difficult to defend, he can score both inside and out and he is a very underrated rebounder and defender. He is obviously the kind of player who requires opponents to game-plan for and around, and add special attention in order to try to stop.”

NOONAN averaged a double-double to lead the Seahawks to the Western C semifinals.

The first-team All-Mountain Valley Conference honoree and Mr. Basketball semifinalist, who will attend Babson College, also was one of his league’s top interior defenders.

“He’s gotten better every year,” said Dacus. “He’s a master at getting position. He knows how to seal his man all the time. He can see the pass coming and then get you on his back.”

Third team

KINGSBURY combined a pure shooting touch (53 percent from the field, 47 percent from beyond the 3-point arc) with tenacious play near the basket to lead the Wildcats to the Eastern B semifinals and earn All-Big East Conference accolades.

“I have always referred to Adam as a throwback player,” said Prescott of the Mr. Basketball semifinalist. “He enjoys playing defense, he really enjoys rebounding and the closer the game gets, the better player he becomes.”

PULLEN became just the second schoolboy basketball player in Cony history to eclipse 1,000 career points and was named the KVAC Class A South player of the year and a Mr. Basketball semifinalist.

“He’s got a tremendous shooting touch,” said Cony coach Bruce Hunt.

PHILBROOK’s playmaking ability helped propel Edward Little to a berth in the Eastern Maine Class A final, as the four-year starter averaged 4.6 assists and 2.4 steals as a senior.

“Kyle does so many of the little things to make his teammates and us better, it is hard to really appreciate how good he has been for us,” said Adams of Philbrook, who will attend Bates College in the fall.

BELL, another four-year starter, was the glue that enabled Calais to win its third consecutive Eastern Maine Class C championship.

“I think a lot of people probably underestimated Sam, but he did a lot of things for us,” said Calais coach Ed Leeman. “And I think something a lot of people aren’t aware about is that he went out and guarded the other team’s best player on most nights.”

WINNIE quarterbacked Thornton Academy into the Western A final, earning first-team All-SMAA honors along the way.

“Winnie was the best true point guard I saw this year,” said Brown. “He was the key to that team.”

eclark@bangordailynews.net

990-8045

FIRST TEAM

Ryan Martin

Sam Leclerc

Ryan Weston

Mick DiStasio

Kyle Donovan

SECOND TEAM

Jon McAllian

Keegan Hyland

Tom Knight

Derek Libbey

Kris Noonan

THIRD TEAM

Adam Kingsbury

Andrew Pullen

Kyle Philbrook

Sam Bell

Jeff Winnie