Canceled basketball tournament leaves deep void for players, coaches and fans

By Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News Staff

Sawyer Deprey appreciates the dreams that can be fulfilled during Maine’s annual high school basketball tournament better than most of his peers.

In 2019, his defense against an opponent 9 inches taller was pivotal as Caribou High School ended a 50-year state championship drought by outlasting Cape Elizabeth in double overtime to capture the Class B crown.

Last winter Deprey caught a pass in midair from older brother Parker and scored as time expired — again in the second overtime — as the Vikings overcame Maranacook of Readfield to win a second straight gold ball.

Sawyer Deprey and eight other returning Caribou players were poised for another deep tournament run this winter. And while they’ll still be playing basketball during what was supposed to be Tourney Week 2021 beginning Friday, Caribou’s competition is limited to regular-season games in fan-less gymnasiums against fellow Aroostook County opponents as this year’s Maine Principals’ Association tournament has been canceled due to COVID-19.

That will be quite a contrast from the crowds that typically pour into Bangor’s Cross Insurance Center and other tournament venues in Augusta and Portland during February vacation week. Many of the nearly 100,000 fans who flock to the tournament each year cherish the rite of winter as a cabin fever reliever of sorts.

It’s the chance for folks not only to root for their hometown heroes playing on the state’s biggest basketball stage, but to renew friendships developed at previous tournaments.

The cancellation of the tourney means a big loss for cities, businesses and venues, but it also leaves a void for the hundreds of players, fans and coaches who look forward to it each year.

“There’s no fans this year, and that usually got a lot of guys going, and there’s no gold ball, so a lot of people look at it as a consolation season,” Deprey said.

“It’s been difficult, but we’re still playing and that’s all that matters.”

Missed opportunities and family affairs

Those who have experienced the championship feeling know well the bright lights, big courts and roaring crowds of tournament time and what it means in smalltown Maine.

“There’s not a lot to do up here so basketball, watching or playing, is kind of like our hobby at this time of year,” said Kacy Daggett, who has helped Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook win two Class D girls state championships and three North titles in the last three years.

“Nobody really likes the weather unless you snowsled, so the tournament is a huge part of bringing the community together,” she said.

While the players, particularly the seniors, will miss this chance to perform on the big stage, most are thankful for this winter’s abbreviated regular season. It’s a chance to play the sport they love, albeit with restrictions such as mandatory face coverings and socially distanced seating on the bench.

“You really have to come to terms with it and keep a level head throughout the whole season and be grateful we’ve had any season this year with everything that’s happened,” Bangor High senior Andrew Szwez said.

He was a freshman in 2018 on the Class C state championship team at George Stevens Academy in Blue Hill.

“Obviously I’m going to miss playing, but even going down and watching games on my days off with my teammates, that’s something I’ll miss, too,” Daggett said.

While Deprey, Daggett and Szwez have celebrated on the tournament floor, others who have come agonizingly close had hoped this year to make that breakthrough.

Brewer graduated only one senior starter off its boys team that reached the Class A North semifinals for the second straight year, only to fall in the final seconds to eventual state champion Hampden Academy.

“It’s been tough on a lot of us, especially the seniors, because we’re not going to have another year,” Brewer senior Dylan Huff said, noting his team’s championship aspirations.

The Dexter girls have suffered their last three Class C North tourney defeats by a combined 10 points, including last winter’s 35-32 semifinal setback to Central Aroostook of Mars Hill.

“I think this year would have been the year to show how hard we’ve continued to work during the offseason to play for something that means a lot to all of us,” Dexter senior Peyton Grant said.

It also is Grant’s last chance to play for her dad, head coach Jody Grant.

“I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that when Peyton was a little girl I wanted her to win the state championship,” he said. “I wanted her teammates to win a state championship for our school, and I think we would have had as good a chance as anybody this winter to do that.”

A father-son duo that had hoped to share one more tournament is Hermon boys basketball coach Mark Reed and senior forward Eli Reed.

Mark Reed played for his father, Roger Reed, at Bangor High during the early 1990s. The Rams fell to South Portland in five overtimes in the 1992 Class A state final, then defeated the Red Riots in the 1993 gold-ball game.

Mark Reed later coached Hermon to the 2018 Class B state crown when Eli was a freshman.

“I definitely like the atmosphere,” said Eli Reed, now a starter for the Hawks. “It’s a lot of fun and super competitive, and that’s where you want to beat the teams you play during the season the most because you can get your revenge on the teams that beat you during the season and the stakes are higher.”

All involved this winter must settle for regular-season games which, while not ideal, are better than no games at all.

“As a parent you just like to see your kids play and enjoy what they do,” Mark Reed said.

“Some of the circumstances that go along with a season will be missed. It won’t be the same, but I’m thankful for the experiences I’ve had coaching him. A lot of the coaching that’s more important is the coaching that goes on at home to prepare him for life, and that hasn’t stopped.”

Bringing communities together

Tourney time also features a spirit of community, particularly in smaller towns often identified by their teams — think Jonesport-Beals or Valley of Bingham.

“When I think of the tournament I think of the atmosphere, the fans that come in from all these towns,” Southern Aroostook girls basketball coach Cliff Urquhart said.

“They could be from North Berwick and say, ‘I really like your team and enjoy watching your team at the tournament.’ You don’t know how many times I’ve heard that over the last several years,” he said.

Not only do some teams draw interest from far beyond the town line — Daggett’s relatives travel to the tournament from as far away as Florida and Vermont — the venues double as meetinghouses for basketball aficionados.

Bill Libby of Orono would long ago have printed out this year’s schedules for Bangor, Augusta and Portland to plot out his goal of seeing as many as 40 tournament games.

“It’s the time of the year when I’ve usually set some money aside to be able to buy what I want that week to have some fun and knowing I’m supporting something I believe in,” said Libby, who has attended the tournament every year since moving back to his home state in 1983.

Toby Nelson of Dover-Foxcroft has gone to the tournament since he was a child in roles ranging from fan to game official to broadcaster.

“I’ve never taken a vacation during February vacation,” said Nelson, the boys varsity basketball coach at Foxcroft Academy. “I’m not going to Disneyworld. I’m not going to Florida. I’ve always gone to the tournament and had a ton of fun seeing people and sharing laughs, going out to eat and seeing coaches I only get to see once or twice a year and just being able to step away from things for a few days.

“I’m going to miss that.”