This might shock you, but sports columnists live for righteous anger, controversial calls and debates without abatement.
OK, who am I kidding? I love it. Especially when it involves our tri-county coverage area and our little-engine-that-could mentality. Sometimes, in this shifting economy, it appears that other parts of the state reap the goldmine while we get the shaft. And you can always bet that when it happens, I’ll gleefully point it out.
My own regional bias acknowledged, I still can’t quibble much with the selection of Nick Gilpin of Hampden as Maine Mr. Basketball over Andrew Fleming of Oxford Hills, as awarded this past Friday night in Bangor.
Fleming’s supporters understandably pointed out his senior-season and career scoring, rebounding and blocked-shot totals. They also tout the Division I scholarship that awaits him at the University of Maine.
“He is the most talented player (I’ve coached) this generation,” Vikings coach Scott Graffam put it succinctly.
His senior-season line: 28.6 points, 15.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 4.3 blocked shots and 3.5 steals per game. Fleming scored 1,383 career points, far and away the Oxford Hills record. Lord knows how many times he dunked.
Great stuff, all of it.
If you love sports in this era, you love numbers, and it’s hard to argue with the ones Fleming flaunted throughout a run in which he elevated a program that had been an afterthought for a while.
“After eight mediocre years,” Graffam said, “Oxford Hills has become a regular participant in the postseason and should continue to be.”
Any straight Fleming-to-Gilpin comparison is inherently unfair, though, because the two are dramatically different players. Fleming is a 6-foot-6 man-child who has played every position on the floor for Oxford Hills, at one time or another, out of necessity.
Gilpin is a wiry, listed-at-6-3, consummate point guard. He doesn’t have the D-I body from central casting, which is one reason we will have the privilege of watching him the next four years at Bates.
He simply has all the tools and intangibles we have long celebrated in great, Maine high school basketball players, and his numbers while shining in that capacity (1,093 points, 519 assists, 461 rebounds) don’t shrink in comparison to anyone’s.
“Nick was a true point guard in every aspect of the position,” Hampden coach Russ Bartlett said. “He was a pass-first facilitator who could score. He has the ability to make players around him better, and he played on both ends of the floor.”
What probably separated Gilpin are two words that are crystal clear in the Mr. and Miss Basketball criteria: “Team accomplishment.”
Yes, Fleming steered Oxford Hills to the tournament four consecutive years, but Gilpin is arguably an all-timer in that category. Hampden won three regional championships and two state titles during his career.
Gilpin hit one of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in tournament history to win the regional final over Lawrence as a freshman. Not many ninth-graders contribute to a Class A boys’ team. Rarely, if ever, do they hit the biggest of shots for a junior-and-senior-dominated club on its way to a Gold Ball.
“His best quality is to be at his best during the biggest moments,” Bartlett said. “He is the definition of clutch and never lacked the courage to make those plays.”
This outcome should remind us Maine basketball enthusiasts how blessed we are on two levels.
The Mr. and Miss Basketball selection process is infinitely better than the political, regionally slanted, questionable distribution of ballots that characterizes some of the other major high school awards in the state. The Maine Association of Basketball Coaches keeps the circle tight while including sufficient voices in the discussion and making certain not to exclude rural areas.
Each year when I look at the list of 20 semifinalists, six finalists and two winners, I rarely see a snub and almost never walk away with the sense that somebody got it wrong. It speaks highly to the character of the ladies and gentlemen who bestow these honors that they care enough to weigh the entire court and classroom resume and make the correct choices.
We also have a right to crow about what’s on the surface of the talent pool these days. Sometimes we old-timers complain about the overall product in comparison to generations past. There is a tendency to dwell on the frequency of offensive fouls, the diminished shooting percentages, the smaller numbers on the scoreboard, and conclude that the game is headed in the wrong direction. Hey, I’m guilty as charged.
Any season ending with a celebration of talent that includes Fleming, Gilpin and Thomas Coyne of Falmouth, Miss Basketball winner Nia Irving of Lawrence and runners-up Shannon Todd of York and Maddie Hasson of South Portland was a darn good one. These young people got it done on the court, locally and nationally, while shining in the classroom and the community.
No debate and no controversy there. Bummer, eh?
Kalle Oakes is a staff writer. His email is koakes@sunjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @oaksie72 and like his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/kalleoakes.sj.
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