BANGOR – The first 20 years of the state’s Mr. and Miss Basketball awards have produced a glittering roster of Maine’s top individual players over the last generation.

From inaugural winners Tim Scott of Ellsworth and Julie Bradstreet of Central Aroostook of Mars Hill in 1988 to 2007 recipients Troy Barnies of Edward Little of Auburn and Ashley Cimino of McAuley of Portland, those selected to receive the award as the state’s top senior players are forever remembered in Maine basketball lore.

Many of the Mr. and Miss Basketball winners have continued their relationship with the game over the years.

Some have been drawn into the coaching ranks, such as 1994 Miss Basketball Cindy Blodgett of Lawrence of Fairfield, now guiding the University of Maine women’s basketball program, and 1991 winner Rita Sullivan of Bangor, an assistant on Blodgett’s staff.

Mike Adams of Mt. Blue of Farmington, the 1991 Mr. Basketball, coached the Edward Little boys to the 2008 Eastern Maine Class A championship game, while Bob Davies of Old Orchard Beach, the 1994 recipient, took Thornton Academy of Saco to the Western A final.

Then there are the more recent recipients such as Cimino and 2006 Mr. Basketball Bryant Barr of Falmouth, both of whom will live out the dream of March Madness on Division I college rosters. Cimino is a first-year forward at Stanford, ranked fourth in the nation; while Barr is a sophomore guard at Davidson, which qualified for the NCAA Division I tournament by winning the Southern Conference title.

A new Mr. and Miss Basketball will be crowned Friday evening at Newman Gymnasium on the campus of Husson College, highlighting the Maine McDonald’s Senior All-Star Awards Banquet that precedes Saturday’s East-West Senior All-Star Games.

Three boys and three girls are finalists for this year’s awards. Vying for Mr. Basketball are Sam Leclerc, a 6-foot-1 guard who led Winthrop to the 2008 Class C state championship; Ryan Martin, a 5-9 guard from Maranacook of Readfield who led the Black Bears to the Class B state title, the program’s second in three years; and Jon McAllian, a 6-5 guard who sparked Bangor to the Eastern A crown.

McAllian already has accepted a scholarship to join the University of Maine basketball program next fall, while Martin and Leclerc have not yet finalized their college plans.

Leclerc would become the second Mr. Basketball from Winthrop, following T.J. Caouette in 1996, and McAllian would join Zak Ray (2003) as a Mr. Basketball from Bangor. Martin would be the first player so honored from Maranacook.

Miss Basketball finalists are Jill Henrikson, a 5-9 guard from Morse of Bath; Rachael Mack, a 6-2 center from Cony of Augusta who earlier this week was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year; and Aarika Ritchie, a 5-6 guard who helped Lee Academy win the 2008 Class C state crown.

Ritchie and Mack are both bound for Colby College in Waterville, while Henrikson plans to attend Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

Henrikson and Ritchie each would be the first Miss Basketball winner from her school, while Mack would join Amy Vachon (1996) and Katie Rollins (2005) as recipients from Cony.

The awards banquet caps off a busy day for the all-stars.

Practices will be held at the new recreation facility at the University of Maine in Orono. The girls will work out from 10 a.m. to noon, followed from noon to 2 p.m. by the boys’ practice.

The girls’ senior all-stars will visit the Ronald McDonald House in Bangor from 2 to 3 p.m., with the boys visiting the facility from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday’s events at Newman Gymnasium kick off at 8:30 a.m. with the state free-throw shooting championship. Boys finalists are Josh Gilbert of Messalonskee of Oakland, Russ Mortland of Presque Isle, Jamie Nason of Foxcroft Academy and Steven Simonds of Bonny Eagle of Standish. Girls finalists are Ritchie, Allison Dean of Presque Isle, Megan Gilbert of Lawrence of Fairfield and Megan McDevitt of Greely of Cumberland Center.

The girls’ senior all-star games follow, with the C-D contest at 9:15 a.m. and the A-B game at 11 a.m.. A 3-point shooting contest will be held between the games.

The boys A-B game is set for 12:45 p.m., followed at 2:30 by the boys C-D contest, with those games separated by a slam dunk contest.

eclark@bangordailynews.net

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