Change abounds as new high school basketball season arrives

By Ernie Clark
Staff Writer

High school basketball players gathered Monday for the first day of preseason tryouts at gymnasiums around the state.

For the most part, the specifics of the annual ritual were no different than any other year, save for some new coaches guiding various programs and players aspiring to move up to a more advanced team in their ultimate pursuit of varsity status.

But the drills and scrimmages that will dominate the proceedings this week soon will lead to one of the biggest changes the sport has experienced in Maine for generations — the statewide expansion from four classes to five as approved by the Maine Principals’ Association earlier this year.

The new system is designed to address changing demographics across Maine, particularly the shrinking student enrollments at most public high schools, the increasing glut of small-school basketball programs and the correlating impact on how the basketball classes are organized.

The change is most obvious with the state’s largest schools being placed in a new Class AA, with six-team regional tournaments for both boys and girls scheduled for Augusta (North) and Portland (South).

But change also is evident among the state’s smallest schools, with the spreading of all basketball programs among five classes instead of four enabling the maximum enrollment for Class D to be reduced from approximately 190 students to 130.

That means the enrollment difference between the largest and smallest Class D basketball programs is unlikely to be as extreme as in the past, when some schools were challenged by a tournament opponent with three or four times their enrollment.

Some have criticized the establishment of a new class at the top of the enrollment spectrum rather than the bottom, but the truth is that all five classes are new to some extent, with significant change in both Class D and Class AA.

Crossover schedules

Expect to see some regular-season schedule changes in conjunction with the switch from four to five classes and the new reduction in Heal Points differential between each class from five points to two points.

Heal points are used to seed teams for postseason play, and in the past many coaches and administrators have been reluctant to schedule games against schools from smaller-enrollment classes for fear of it affecting their ranking.

That differential reduction was designed to alleviate that concern, as well to promote crossover games that have the additional benefit of reducing travel.

The combination of changes already has resulted in increased crossover games around the state between teams from different classes and conferences.

Perhaps the most discussed case in the lead-up to the five-class proposal being approved involved four former KVAC Class A schools — Bangor, Edward Little of Auburn, Lewiston and Oxford Hills of South Paris — that now are in Class AA.

While those schools have played an entirely KVAC Class A schedule in recent years, the new format required cooperation with the Southwestern Maine Activities Association — home to the other Class AA programs — to provide them a sufficient number of Class AA games within their 18-game regular-season schedules.

The SMAA previously had a closed basketball schedule — meaning its teams could schedule games only within its conference — but negotiations during the offseason among the KVAC, the SMAA and the Western Maine Conference created a scheduling cross-pollination of sorts, with the SMAA making its Class AA and A schools available for games against KVAC Class AA North and Class A South foes and the WMC providing some games for KVAC Class B South teams.

For example, Bangor will play two games each against KVAC AA foes Edward Little, Lewiston and Oxford Hills as well as two games each against Class A North rivals Brewer and Hampden Academy and one game each against Class A North schools Lawrence of Fairfield and Messalonskee of Oakland.

The Rams’ remaining six games will come from SMAA programs Cheverus of Portland, Deering of Portland, Gorham, Portland, Thornton Academy of Saco and Windham.

Bangor’s games against KVAC Class A foes enabled it to retain key rivalries as well provide for some shorter road trips, while the games against SMAA foes will allow the Rams to play other opponents they might face during tournament play — Cheverus, Deering, Portland and Windham are joining Bangor, EL, Lewiston and Oxford Hills in Class AA North.

Schedule changes are not be limited to Class AA, as other schools have taken advantage of the opportunity to play opponents from different classes in an effort to maintain local rivalries and reduce travel cost and time.

One example is Greenville, a Class D South team that this year has returned to the Penobscot Valley Conference after a stint in the East-West Conference. As a result, the Lakers will play nearby Class C opponents such as Piscataquis of Guilford and Penquis Valley of Milo in addition to an otherwise Class D schedule.

Greenville’s schedule last winter, which included games against the likes of Buckfield, Richmond, Rangeley and Greater Portland Christian, required seven road trips longer than two hours, compared to just two this year.

Tourney time

The other major change stemming from the five-class format is the tournament itself.

Those changes will be minimal for the Classes B, C and D North tournament at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, where the schedule essentially will remain the same as in recent years.

The schedule has been expanded at venues in Augusta and Portland to accommodate the addition of Class AA North and South regional tournaments, with the North at the Augusta Civic Center and the South at the Portland Exposition Building and Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

Regional quarterfinals will start two days earlier this year in Augusta and Portland, with Class AA first-round games in both cities set for Wednesday and Thursday of the week before February vacation. Class AA semifinals will be held the following Tuesday with regional finals on Friday evening, Feb. 19.

In addition, the afternoon session on Tuesday, Feb. 16, will have games at both Portland venues, with Class B South girls’ quarterfinals at the Expo and Class AA South girls’ semifinals at the Cross Insurance Arena.

The Bangor venue will host 44 tournament games, including the Class B state finals on Feb. 26. Fifty-six games are slated for Augusta, including the C and D state finals on Feb. 27, while Portland sites will host 42 games, including the Class A state games on Feb. 26 and the Class AA championships on Feb. 27.

Opening night for varsity games around the state is Dec. 4.