Reed is Hermon coach Ex-Bangor star eager to begin

Mark Reed’s time away from the basketball court proved to be short-lived – a little more than two months.

Reed, who coached the Brewer boys varsity basketball team for the last eight seasons before resigning in May, on Tuesday was named to the same position at Hermon High School, according to superintendent of schools Patricia Duran.

“I’m excited, I think Hermon has a lot to offer,” said Reed, who resides in neighboring Carmel, which sends students to Hermon. “It’s a town that loves its basketball and has a tradition of doing so.”

Reed was one of nine applicants for the job and was interviewed by Duran late last week after he was recommended to her by a selection committee that included school athletic administrator Paul Soucy.

“Mark Reed has an extensive athletic background and a wealth of experience as a player and as a coach,” Soucy said. “We are pleased and excited for the future of Hermon basketball. We feel that the student-athletes in Hermon will benefit greatly from his knowledge, experience and leadership as a coach and person.”

Reed replaces Dave Pepin, whose contract was not renewed after three seasons on the job.

Reed, a physical education teacher at Orrington’s Center Drive School, resigned as Brewer’s head coach after eight seasons, citing philosophical differences. He anticipated a return to coaching relatively soon, but wasn’t focused on coaching again next season.

“I really was not in a situation where I put a lot of emphasis on getting back into it right away, but just in being sure it was the right situation,” Reed said. “I didn’t want to be out of it for too long, but I wanted to be sure it was a situation where I would be comfortable.”

Hermon graduated just two players from last winter’s team that finished with a 9-9 regular-season record and then lost to Camden Hills of Rockport in the Eastern Maine Class B preliminary round.

Among the leading returning players are guards Colton Gross and Kevin Tarr and forward Andrew Ball, all of whom will be seniors next season.

There’s a good group of kids that have played together for a while,” Reed said. “There’s a lot of interesting pieces there. They’re still young but they have some experience.”

Reed has yet to meet with his new team, but has seen them play under current Hermon freshman coach Riley Donovan in the Bangor Summer League.

“I’ve seen a number of summer league games and have done some evaluating once I started the process of applying for this job,” Reed said. “They play very hard and they enjoy playing hard.”

Reed credits a solid youth program in the area for helping Hermon be a consistent playoff contender in the Big East Conference.

“Hermon, Carmel and Levant have all done a real good job with their youth programs and feeder system,” he said.

The son of longtime Bangor coach Roger Reed, Mark Reed was a four-year starter at guard for his father in the early 1990s, leading the Rams to the 1992 Eastern Maine Class A championship and the 1993 Class A state title. He was named a Bangor Daily News first-team All-Maine choice in both 1992 and 1993.

He went on the play Division I college basketball at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

Reed was the boys junior varsity coach and varsity assistant at Brewer for two years before becoming the Witches’ varsity coach beginning with the 2000-2001 season. He twice led Brewer to the Eastern A semifinals (2003 and 2005).

Last winter, a young Brewer squad finished with a 6-12 record but won four of its last six games.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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