For better or worse, Phoenix will rise in B West via the MVC

Expectations are high at Spruce Mountain for the 2012-13 basketball season. The Phoenix have virtually everyone back after reaching the Western B quarterfinals last year, and a spot among the Mountain Valley Conference’s elite is there for the Class B school’s taking.

What Spruce does beyond that is anyone’s guess, though. Like most Class B teams to come out of the predominantly Class C MVC, the Phoenix won’t get a completely accurate gauge of how they stack up with the competition from the big school Western Maine and Kennebec Valley School conferences until they meet them at the Portland Expo.

While some formidable competition from Class C remains, such as Boothbay, Dirigo Winthrop and Wiscasset, the Phoenix will have fewer Class B peers to test them this year. Mountain Valley, the last MVC school to win Western B in 2006 and 2007, is joining the Class C majority. That leaves only Oak Hill, which cleared the Class B enrollment cutoff by three.

With that in mind, Spruce Mountain coach Chris Bessey isn’t just looking for his team to improve upon last year’s 14-6 record. He hopes to prepare them for what they will encounter in Portland in February.

“Our challenge is to push them all year,” Spruce Mountain coach Chris Bessey said. “We don’t face anybody that we would face in the tournament except Oak Hill.”

The Phoenix are deep and versatile, capable of playing fast or physical, with guards Scottie Hall, John McKenna and Andrew Darling able to create tempo with their speed and stretch defenses with their range and forwards Peter Theriault, Deonte Ring, Tyler Kachnovich and Austin Couture adept at shooting outside or slashing to the hoop. They will try to crank up the tempo for the full 32 minutes and wear opponents out with their depth.

Oak Hill is riding the momentum of its first Class D state football title in 31 years into the winter season. Add to that the sting of missing last year’s tournament by a fraction of a Heal point and it’s easy to understand why coach Tom Smith thinks his team’s experience and senior leadership will help it get a foot in the door this year.

“We’re going to have a fun team,” Smith said. “I’ve finally got the pieces. I’m quick. I’ve got size. I’ve got outside shooters. I’ve got the true point guard that I’ve been missing.”

Seniors Derek Gamage (6-foot-5) and Luke Washburn (6-foot-3) provide the size and rebounding production. Senior swingman Parker Asselin is the leading returning scorer (12.5 ppg) and primary outside threat, while sophomore Dalton Therrien is the point guard Smith has been seeking.

All but Gamage played vital roles on the football team, and while Smith admitted getting a late start due to the unusual overlap of the two seasons put his team a little behind other MVC foes, the confidence boost and chemistry they got from the gridiron experience should carry over the hardwood.

Leavitt won the Class B football title hours after Oak Hill took home its gold ball. While coach Mike Hathaway, who also leads the football program, is used to dealing with his seasons colliding, the Hornets did have a more difficult transition into their KVAC winter schedule. Some players didn’t hit the hardwood until several days into the second week of practice, while others still hadn’t played less than a week before the regular season opens because they were recovering from the wear-and-tear of football season.

“We’re behind the 8-ball a little bit with the overlap,” Hathaway said. “Once we get going, though, I think it will be good. We just haven’t had a lot of continuity at practice.”

The Hornets don’t just have to find short-term replacements while their football players recover. They also lost two significant contributors permanently to transfers, Andrew Middleton and Isaiah Calder. Their absence will likely force Hathaway to slow the tempo and search for reliable scorers in the halfcourt set besides 6-foot-5 junior forward Mitchel Davis (12 ppg) and senior guard Zach Goulette (9 ppg). Much of the offense will run through junior Austin Anderson in a point forward role. Davis, 6-foot-8 Matt Powell and 6-foot-3 Levi Morin will make Leavitt tough to move out of the paint.

Each of the last five and seven of the last nine Western B champions have come out of the Western Maine conference. Defending regional champion Yarmouth, Greely and York are among this year’s favorites.

One of the potential dark horses that could join them is Poland. The Knights have 11 players back from last year, including C.J. Martin, one of the top guards in the conference who earned second team all-WMC status after averaging 14 ppg.

“The biggest difference from last year is our physical growth,” coach Tyler Tracy said. “We are bigger and stronger and should be more competitive.Consistency will be our biggest challenge. If we take care of the ball and crash the offensive glass to gain extra possessions, we can play with anyone.”

Martin, backcourt-mates Tyler Michaud and Derek Michaud and forward Alan Young are returning starters, but Tracy thinks the Knights will be able to go as many as 10 deep in most games.

Depth will also be a strength a few miles down the road at Gray-New Gloucester.

“We are extremely deep and this may be the deepest team I’ve ever coached,” said coach Ryan Deschenes, who led St. Dom’s to six consecutive tournament appearances prior to leading the Patriots to a 4-14 in his first year with them. “We want to utilize our depth and speed to full commit to an up-tempo style of play this season.”

Deschenes has a point guard to put the pedal to the metal in senior Sam Johnson and a strong finisher and shooter in junior guard Andreas Kariotis. Both will be critical in making the Patriots fast break work because they don’t have a lot of size to get points in the paint from halfcourt sets.