My Take On All Tournament Teams

All Tournament teams will be coming out soon enough. I didn't see enough of the western teams to judge them, so here are my picks for the east.

A East: Ryan Weston-Bangor-MVP
Jon McAllian-Bangor
Corey Therriault-Edward Little
Jamie Sawyer-Mt.Blue
Andy Poulin-Lawrence

Weston and McAllian are obvious picks for this list. Bangor is going to states and they are the heart and soul of that team. Therriault did a great job leading his EL team to the EM finals and coming oh so close to upsetting Bangor. I was pulling for them hard. Jamie Sawyer and his Mt. Blue team lost to Bangor in the semi finals in a hard fought game. Mt. Blue worked the ball around over and over until Bangor's defense would break. They were led by Sawyer and his leadership This led to a very low scoring 4-2 first quarter,but Bangor ended up pulling through in the end. Poulin was another semi final loser and he took his Lawrence team against EL but ended up loosing big.

Class B
Ryan Martin-MVP-Maranacook
Derek Libbey-Mattanawcook
Graham Safford-Camden Hills
Adam Kingsbury-Presque Isle
Devin Garrity- Maranacook

Ryan Martin is the cream of the crop in Class B. He won his second Eastern Maine title this year by just ripping up every opponant he faced. His teamate Devin Garrity is a HUGE reason why Maranacook had the success they did. He set the record for three's in one tournament by hitting 11...and it only took him 15 shots! He broke the back of Camden Hills with back to back three's to end any hopes they had of coming back. Derek Libbey was a semi final loser, but he surely went down with a bang. He dropped 27 points against Maranacook, and any other night, that probably would have been enough to upset the Black Bears....however, this was a game where the record for total 3's was broken, and most of those came from the Maranacook side who didn't miss a shot. That was goodbye to Mr. Libbey and friends. Always has been one of my favorite players to watch. Adam Kingsbury. I've watched him devlop since his 7th grade year...and after all of those years, the way he went out was perfect. Kingsbury took his PI Wildcats vs. the heavily favored Camden Hills Windjammers and was one shot away from victory. Kingsbury dropped 31 points on Camden Hills by just scoring at will, from wherever he wanted to on the floor. Kingsbury also had the jumpshot with 22 seconds left to put PI up by one in overtime, but that wasn't enough, as Camden hit the game winner with 6.2 seconds remaining. Graham Safford proved to all that being a freshman doesn't matter. Safford played an outstanding tournament including 16 points vs. PI, and played a big part in the come back they had to make in the 4th quarter.
Class C:
Rod Tirrell
Cal Shorey
Lowell
Rodriguez
Parker

Tirrell was the leader of the currently 63 straight win Calias boys. He scored and scored and scored, and then scored some more....and then for good measure, he scored again. A HUGE reason why Calias is in the position they are. Junior Cal Shorey is also a giant reason why Calias will be playing for a state championship...again. Shorey gives the Blue Devils an inside presence and also has a nice little 15 footer. Shorey was huge throughout all of tournament. Mike Lowell was the heart and soul of a Schenck team that went through alot of adversity. Lowell's performance in the Semi's almost led to a huge upset over Lee Academy and it probably would have had it not been for the outstanding play of the next kid, Devan Parker. Parker was part of the "three headed monster" that Lee Academy had this season. Devan's performance in the Semifinals SAVED Lee from getting upset. I believe he finished with 16 points and 19 rebounds. Enough said. Last but not least is another member of the "three headed monster" Hakeen Rodriguez. Rodriguez went through more this season than anyone could...from recruiting rumors to three technicals in one game to suspensions. Rodriguez turned all of this around and ripped up tournament, leading Lee to an EM runner up title.

All of these players stepped their game up on the biggest stage, and even though only one team can win...all of them should be proud of their accomplishments.

-Brad Thibeau