Urquhart also said the decline in basketball participation numbers allows players to get more starting minutes and rack up points earlier in their careers. Smaller schools also are sometimes more apt to get more 1,000-point scorers because some allow eighth graders to play varsity basketball due to school enrollment numbers. “He was a big kid, could hit the three and could go down in the post but never really did much.” “Cooper Flagg was a fine example,” Getchell added. Now, taller players are stretching the floor, like Reynolds and Machias senior Shane Feeney, a 6-foot-4 forward who could score from all levels and also surpassed 1,000 points this season. “It changes how you play offense, run your defense, just the whole game. “The big thing is the 3-pointer changes the whole dynamic of the game,” Getchell said. Machias coach James Getchell has noticed the post game in Maine has gone by the wayside. They have to guard all the way out to the 3-point line so that creates more opportunities.” Points add up quicker if you get a skilled guy because it’s a weapon and it spreads the defense out. “The kids love it and everyone thinks they are a 3-point shooter. “I think the 3-point shot is part of it,” Lindlof said. Other reasons for the rise in the milestone is the evolution of the 3-point shot and the speeding up of offense. The added strength helped him around the hoop while his shooting practice helped him stretch the floor. The 6-foot-4 forward gained “15 or 20 pounds” and became an “outstanding” shooter for Winslow and consistently has put up stat lines of 30-plus points and double-digit rebounds. “Yesterday he was asking me, ‘If school gets canceled can I still get in the gym?’ I said, ‘Well, as long as the roads aren’t too bad.’” “He’s a gym rat,” Austin said of Mercier. Mercier is “one of the hardest workers” Austin has had as a coach and the junior is constantly asking to get in the gym. Peter Austin, Ellsworth’s boys basketball coach who has had Jackson and Hunter Curtis score 1,000 points recently, as well as Chance Mercier this year, has seen the work first hand.
One thousand points is a lot, you almost have to jump in and be able to play right away.” “Those top kids already have so much experience either training or playing, coming in more ready to help right away.
“Kids are coming to high school having put in so much time,” Gray said. Mike Gray, Gardiner’s girls basketball coach, said the training for top players begins before they even reach high school. I think the individual player is better and more skilled.” “I don’t think many go see trainers to play stellar defense, they do it to put the ball in the basket. “I think the training the kids do in the offseason certainly contributes to it,” Southern Aroostook girls basketball coach Cliff Urquhart said. There’s a focus on basketball for many of the great players in Maine and when the high school season ends, they’re in the gym with trainers, with AAU and travel teams, or working on their craft themselves. The best players are putting in more work in the offseason, as athletes specialize earlier in their careers.
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