School/Sport: Penquis Valley High School Patriots (Boys Varsity Basketball)
Coach: V: Samuel Brown JV: Camron Bailey
Last seasons record: 9-8 (Lost in Prelims)
Expectations: “We expect our students, first and foremost, to understand the concept of “scholar-athlete”. We expect that they take care of business in the classroom, and positively represent the school and community in the classroom, on the court, and outside of school,” Brown said. “We also expect a “grit and grind” mentality amongst our players. We know we are not the tallest, fastest, or most athletic team, but we must understand that we have control over how hard we work, and we have to choose to work harder than others to succeed.”
Strengths: “Our team has been very quick and fast in recent years, and this year should be no different,” Brown said. “We will look to push the tempo and make teams uncomfortable with high intensity defense and transition play. We want to find comfort in the chaos that ensues throughout a high school basketball game.”
Weaknesses: “As a smaller team, we have struggled to rebound the basketball in recent years. We reinforce rebounding as a measurement of the heart and effort of our players,” Brown said. “We have to work hard as a unit this year in order to secure extra possessions for ourselves, and less for our opponents.”
Key Returning players: Last years leading scoring senior LJ Shaw. Seniors Andrew Lagasse, Nate Lovejoy, Billy Sanborn, and Zak Gahagan. Brown said, “we will continue to look to these players for leadership on and off the court.” The Patriots also return Max Wells, Damion Drake and Dylan McKenzie as juniors, as well as Brenan Grant, Brayden Hobbs, and Caiden Fowles returning as sophomores.
Key newcomers: “This year we are happy to welcome Kooper Badger, Aidan Murano, Jareth Williams, and Michael Coburn as freshman additions to our program,” Brown said. “We will look for growth from these players in JV and varsity games.”
Coaches Comment: Coach Brown and Coach Bailey are both entering their first year in their respective coaching positions, and look forward to building and returning the Patriots program to the success it has experienced historically.
Schedule: Penquis opens the season at home against Dexter on December 14th.That is a game that can be seen live on Eastern Maine Sports Media.
They will follow that up with games at Schenck and PVHS. Penquis will host Greenville on December 23rd in their last home game before the calendar turns to 2023.Eastern Maine Sports Media will have live coverage of games on January 6th and 16th when the Patriots host Stearns and Central.
Photo courtesy of Eric Ogden Photography
