Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year: Fleming put Oxford Hills back on map

Andrew Fleming is the Sun Journal boys’ basketball player of the year. That distinction hasn’t been in any serious doubt since Christmas.

Fleming also was Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year. As the primary senior Division I prospect in the state, he was a virtual lock from the first jump ball.

He was one of three finalists for Maine Mr. Basketball, and somebody should have launched an investigation if he wasn’t.

Those are traditionally senior honors, but Fleming, the 6-foot-6 center with point guard skills from Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School, began earning them the summer between his eighth grade and freshman seasons.

“I really just wanted to be on varsity,” he said. “Just working that hard, and other guys starting to work with me, that’s how (the improvement) happened.”

Fleming stepped into a Vikings’ locker room that hadn’t celebrated a playoff appearance in eight years and immediately revived a dormant tradition.

Other than the elusive state championship, Fleming led his teams to every other round of the tournament. Oxford Hills played a preliminary game in 2013. The next year, led largely by Fleming, the Vikings surged from a No. 6 seed to the Class A North title game before falling to Hampden.

“It was probably toward the end of my freshman year (when the team’s fortunes turned). We ended up making a prelim game and had a lot of guys coming back that played a lot,” Fleming said. “I think we realized if we worked in the offseason we could make that push.”

With a substantially younger team, Oxford Hills was ousted from the 2015 quarterfinals, falling to current Eastern Kentucky star Nick Mayo and Messalonskee.

Fleming entered his senior season as Mayo’s heir apparent on the state and national scene. He signed with the University of Maine on Nov. 11.

That freed him up to concentrate on what was Oxford Hills’ toughest schedule in decades, thanks to its assignment in the new Class AA division. The Vikings routed Bangor in the quarterfinals, led by Fleming’s 40 points, before Deering slipped away in a sensational semifinal skirmish.

“(The key was) just trying to be competitive all the time,” Fleming said. “Everyone can win. It’s really everyone’s shot every night in Maine high school basketball. It was about realizing that and trying to take advantage.”

Despite his team not reaching the title game, Fleming was named the outstanding player and sportsman of the regional tournament.

The playoff run capped a senior season in which Fleming averaged 28.6 points, 15.4 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 4.3 blocked shots and 3.5 steals per game. His career total of 1,383 points shattered the school record, just shy of 1,100, set by Kevin Toohey in 1998.

Fleming also established new school standards for points and rebounds in a single season. Oxford Hills went 46-33 in his career.

“It was a lot of fun,” Fleming said. “I’m happy with all the accomplishments I’ve made and Oxford Hills has made over my four years being there.”

There was no mystery about Fleming’s status as a scholarship athlete after his first three seasons of varsity and his AAU success with the Hampden-based MBR team.

Signing on the dotted line with the Black Bears gave him the freedom to focus on helping the other Vikings, including his freshman brother, Matthew, develop.

“Really there was nothing that I personally had to do at that point,” Fleming said. “It was just about winning games as a team, and I think we accomplished that pretty well.”

Fleming credited his parents, Brian and Gretchen, for the lifelong encouragement of his basketball journey.

The elder Fleming played college basketball at Husson.

“He just wanted me to be the best I could be,” Fleming said.

The same was true of Fleming’s high school coach, Scott Graffam, who is closing in on 350 career wins with a style that mixes humor with no small amount of booming exhortation.

“You just have to learn that he’s going to be loud and he’s going to yell a lot, but he really just wants the best for everyone,” Fleming said. “He’s going to push you to be the best player you can be. You just have to realize that and take advantage of all his knowledge.”

Fleming will play baseball this spring after sitting out his sophomore and junior seasons to concentrate on AAU hoops.

He thinks back to that summer heading into ninth grade and recognizes that his career has come full circle.

“I got my lifting program from UMaine the other day,” he said.

The Black Bears have never participated in the NCAA tournament. Fleming’s quest to end that drought begins now.

koakes@sunjournal.com

C Andrew Fleming Oxford Hills Sr.
F Riley Robinson Dirigo Sr.
G Jarod N.- Plourde Edward Little Jr.
G Jacob Hickey Winthrop Jr.
F John Fossett Poland Sr.
C Zack Mittlestadt Mt. Blue Jr.

Second team

G Abdinasir Issack Lewiston Sr.
G Samatar Iman Edward Little Jr.
G Chris St. Pierre Oxford Hills So.
G Austin Darling Spruce Mountain Jr.
C Anthony Owens Winthrop Sr.
C Clay Swett Dirigo Sr.

Third team

G Hunter Richardson Monmouth Jr.
F Tyrese Joseph Lisbon Jr.
G Dalton Therrien Oak Hill Sr.
G Dan Luce Mt. Abram Jr.
G Max Green Leavitt Sr.
F Caulin Parker Spruce Mountain Jr.

Honorable Mention

Buckfield: Alec Brough, Jake Kraske; Dirigo: Gavin Arsenault, Cooper Chiasson; Edward Little: Tyler Morin, CJ Jipson; Gray-New Gloucester: Zack Haskell; Leavitt: DeAndre James; Lewiston: Salat Hassan, Mohamedsidiq Hussein; Lisbon: Noah Carter, Jonah Sautter; Monmouth: Luke Thombs; Mt. Abram: Luke Romanoski; Mt. Blue: Evan Backus; Mountain Valley: Curtis Steele, Ryley Flynn; Oak Hill: Marcus Bailey, Jonah Martin; Oxford Hills: Matt Fleming, Cole Verrier; Poland: Patrick Kuklinski, Nate Chouinard; Rangeley: Kyle LaRochelle, Ricky Thompson; St. Dom’s: Sam Rines, Jake Bussiere; Spruce Mountain: Noah Preble, Andrew Darling; Telstar: Jarrett Bean, Tanner Wheeler; Winthrop: Bennett Brooks, Garrett Tsouprake.