Meet the nightmare-inducing players of the BDN’s All-Maine Schoolboy Basketball Team

by Matt Junker April 12, 2025

Forget the Dream Team. The impressive list of players on the Bangor Daily News’ 69th annual All-Maine Schoolboy Basketball Team was just as likely to cause nightmares this season — at least for the opponents who had to play them.

Headlining the list of frighteningly good boys high school players are first team members Jamier Rose of Noble High School in North Berwick, Davis Mann of Falmouth, Wyatt Benoit of Thornton Academy in Saco, Diing Maiwen of Edward Little in Auburn and Gabe Lash of Medomak Valley in Waldoboro.

The second team features Emmitt Byther of Old Town High School, Leo McNabb of Cheverus in Portland, Tristan Robbins of Caribou, Nolan Ames of Camden Hills and Manny Hidalgo of South Portland.

The third team is made up of Theo Pow of Kennebunk High School, Creighty Dickson of Windham, Isaiah Ervin of Houlton, Will Francis of Orono and Ty Bernier of Messalonskee in Oakland.

The team was selected by BDN sports staff with input from coaches and athletic administrators. Based on available statistics, some player averages reflect regular season performance and do not include playoff results.

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The full list of the 69th annual All-Maine Schoolboy Basketball team

by Matt JunkerApril 12, 2025

First Team

Senior guard Rose is widely regarded as the best boys player across the state this season, and for good reason. After being named the top football player in Maine earlier in the school year, Rose brought home both the Mr. Maine Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year awards for his efforts on the court.  

The Noble standout put up eye-popping numbers with 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 8.3 assists, and 5.1 steals per game this season.

He also earned overwhelming respect from opposing coaches.

“He was a nightmare to prepare for,” said Thornton coach Mike Nelson, who stressed Rose’s toughness and ability to “do it all” on the court. He pointed to Rose’s 16 assists in one of the games between Noble and Thornton this season.

Kennebunk coach Paul Maguire called Rose “just absolutely frightful” and said he was probably the state’s best defender as well.

“The kid is like 5’ 10’’ on a good day and he led his team in rebounding, scoring, assists,” Maguire continued about the 1,000-point scorer for Noble. “He was very, very difficult to gameplan against because he did so many things well.”  

Rose was also a first All-Maine team selection last season.

Falmouth’s Mann was already having a prolific scoring year when he exploded in the playoffs to help his team win the Class A state championship. The senior guard averaged 21.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.8 steals on the season, and poured in a staggering 43 points in the Navigators’ overtime win in the state final against Messalonskee.

“I think his scoring just took off,” Windham coach Chad Pulkkinen said about Mann this season, highlighting his patience, “incredible vertical” and ability to finish around the rim.

“In the tournament, I think he willed his way — you saw it in the championship game, he just willed his team to win through his scoring,” Pulkkinen added.

Maguire called Mann a “phenomenal” player who is both strong and smart. South Portland coach Kevin Millington called Mann a “prolific scorer.”

On this list of high-scoring stars, no one averaged more points than Benoit from Thornton. The senior guard accounted for 25.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.3 steals per game for the Trojans.

Nelson, his coach, emphasized that Benoit scored more than 900 of his 1,000-plus career points in his final two years in high school. Nelson called Benoit’s ability to score as good “as anybody I can think of in a long time.”

But the Mr. Maine Basketball finalist made a difference for Thornton in all areas of the game, including his defensive rebounding and ability to get the ball up the floor in transition. Benoit was a member of the All-Maine third team last season. He also won the 3-point shooting competition at the MacDonald’s All-Star game this year, making 19 of 25 shots.

Nelson said the Trojans didn’t have to draw plays up specifically to get Benoit scoring opportunities, and that the Wheaton College-bound guard is able to create those opportunities for himself.

“Just within the flow of an offense, he can find ways to score on his own that you don’t have to design as a coach,” Nelson said. “That’s a luxury that you don’t get all the time.”

Not many teams have the luxury of someone with Maiwen’s ability, either. The senior forward from Edward Little averaged 18 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1 block per game, and wowed opposing coaches with his athleticism and versatility.  

Windham’s Pulkkinen called Maiwen “another extreme athlete that you just didn’t have an answer for” who could do a lot of different things on the court. He pointed to Maiwen’s ability as a 6-foot-6 forward to play defense against one of Windham’s smaller guards.

“His versatility was shown every night he played,” the Windham coach added about Maiwen. “We battled him in the AA North regional championship and he had a great game in that game, so he’s just a great player.”

Maiwen is considered a top recruit among this senior class, and was a Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist.

Lash, one of the three finalists for that award, will take a grinding style of play to the University of Southern Maine next year. The Medomak Valley forward averaged 14.8 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists for a Panthers team that didn’t lose until the Class B South regional final.

Coach Nick DePatsy said that Lash led his team “in pretty much every category” this season including scoring, rebounding and assists.

“His presence as far as rebounding can change a game quickly,” DePatsy said. “He rebounds very well on both ends. And defensively, in 30 years, he’s probably one of the best defensive players I’ve ever coached.”

DePatsy called Lash a leader both on and off the floor as the team’s captain, and stressed his versatility as someone who could guard both an opposing team’s point guard or post players.

Lash is constantly moving on the court, his coach said.

“The way he plays is the way he practices, and that’s why I think he is the type of player that he is,” DePatsy said about Lash’s effort. “I mean, he doesn’t take possessions off at all.”

Second Team

Nelson hadn’t seen Byther play until the McDonald’s All-Star game in March. And the senior forward from Old Town, another Mr. Maine basketball semifinalist, certainly made an impression.

The Thornton coach called Byther “the best post player that I’ve seen” this season.

“He had all the footwork, he had athleticism, he had strength, he had patience,” Nelson said.

Orono coach Ed Kohtala has been very familiar with Byther over the years. The neighboring rivals Old Town and Orono met twice in the regular season and again in the Class B North tournament.

“His size and his athleticism made him a matchup problem throughout his high school career,” Kohtala said. “But I think the thing I admire most about him was that he continued to add to his game.”

Old Town coach Garrett Libby said Byther would draw “double, sometimes triple teams every time he had the ball.” And Byther still managed to average 21.1 points and 11.6 rebounds for the Coyotes this season, while notching more than 1,000 points on his career.

“He was our stud, as everyone saw,” Libby said about his team’s leading scorer and leading rebounder. Libby said Byther’s intensity, athleticism and ability to make plays meant he was “just a tough matchup for anyone to have to guard him.”

Cheverus senior guard McNabb’s competitiveness made him “just a nightmare to defend,” according to Windham’s Pulkkinen. The “incredible scorer” put up 19.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Kenebunk didn’t play Cheverus this season, but Maguire still saw enough of McNabb to know that he was “just a straight up baller” for the Stags.

South Portland coach Millington called McNabb “one of probably the toughest guys we had to guard all year.”

McNabb was a Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist and was on the All-Maine third team last season playing for his Portland-based school.

At the other end of the state, Robbins anchored a Caribou team that went on to claim the  Class B title. The senior forward averaged 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists. And while he was the Vikings’ top scorer, it may have been that ability to distribute that made the biggest difference in his team’s championship run.

Orono’s Kohtala called Robbins a “complete player” who “can hurt you basically any way that you can be hurt” with his rebounding, ability to score and passing when defenses try to overload against him.

“He was very unselfish, and he would get his teammates involved,” said Kohtala, whose Red Riots fell to the Caribou Vikings in the North regional final. “And I think it’s one of the things that made that team so difficult to try and beat.”

Coach Kyle Corrigan called Robbins “one of the most unique and unselfish players we’ve ever had” in Caribou and also stressed his ability to get his teammates involved.

“He was an extremely willing passer. He was our leading scorer, but he was just as willing to pass the basketball to open teammates, to make the extra pass and to make the right play rather than try to force something for himself,” Corrigan said.

Robbins, who will play at the University of Maine at Farmington next season, was critical for the Vikings throughout their championship run.

Ames is the lone junior on this list after averaging an impressive 22.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.3 steals for Camden Hills.

“I think his numbers speak for themselves. Nolan truly can do anything on the court,” Camden coach Joel Gabriele said. “And as a junior, he led the way for us.”

Gabriele said Ames “loves the grind” and is the hardest worker on the team, which sends a message especially to younger players “that raises the level of the program.”

After graduating seven seniors and having a slow start to the season, the Camden coach credited Ames for his “ability to look at the big picture” and not get hung up on that early record. Camden Hills eventually made it to the Class A North semifinal against Messalonskee with significant scoring performances from Ames during the tournament. The junior guard also crossed the 1,000-point threshold for his career in that game.

“I think everyone that watched him play is excited about what he’s going to be bringing to the table, not just this past season but also thinking about next year,” Gabriele added. “He’s one of those players that you’re gonna want to go watch, that’s for sure.”

That was also true for South Portland’s Hidalgo this season, with the captivating senior guard pacing the Red Riots by averaging 15.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.2 steals.

Millington, the South Portland coach, called Hidalgo the team’s “workhorse” who is “lightning quick” and a creative finisher around the rim despite being a smaller guard.

“The word I always use to describe him is ‘electric,’ because he just does so many things that just make you go, ‘Wow,’” Millington said about the future Curry College player. “Some of that has to do with his size, because he’s obviously only about 5’ 6’’, but he might be the best shot maker I’ve ever coached.”

Thornton’s Nelson called Hidalgo “really tough” to play against and Millington described him as both an aggressive competitor and a great teammate with an infectiously fun demeanor. Hidalgo was also a Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist.

Third Team

Pow brought the firepower for Kennebunk this season, with the senior forward averaging 20.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.7 steals for the Rams.

The 1,000-point career scorer will next be taking his game to Colby College next year. He put up a whopping 42 of those points in a playoff game against Brunswick.

Pow’s coach called his ability in transition “really something to watch” and speculated that it might be “frightful” to coach against the Rams captain.

“He can shoot from the outside, he can dunk on people, he can assist, and he can rebound his own shot and just do so many good things,” Maguire said about the Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist, who won the dunk contest at the MacDonald’s All-Star game.

Dickson was a captain for Windham, and the senior guard helped lead the Eagles to two consecutive Class AA state titles to close out his high school career. That included a victory over South Portland in this year’s championship game.

South Portland coach Millington said his team played several really tough opposing players this season.

“For us, Creighty was the biggest nightmare, though,” Millington said.

Dickson averaged 15.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.8 steals this season, and will be playing next at Central Maine Community College.

Windham’s Pulkkinen said Dickson evolved over the course of his four-year high school career, which included an impressive 500 rebounds for the Mr. Maine Basketball semifinalist.

“He’s really a point guard that kind of morphed into a larger role based on his size and kind of the size of the team,” Pulkkinen said. “So he’s really morphed into an all-purpose player, he can play a lot of different positions.”

As a senior forward for Houlton, Ervin led the Big East Conference in scoring and rebounding with 24.4 points and 12.1 rebounds. The dynamic athlete, who will play football at the University of Maine next season, also added 5.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

“He was a tough matchup, very athletic guy, seemed to be able to score at will from anywhere on the court when he needed to, rebounded well,” Libby, the Old Town coach, said about Ervin.

Libby said Ervin “just made them a tough matchup at times with his length and speed and explosiveness.”

Ervin also scored more than 1,000 points over the course of his high school career.

Orono senior forward Francis will similarly take his big-play abilities to the collegiate gridiron, as he is slated to play football at Husson College.

Francis won back-to-back basketball state titles with Orono and did everything he could in search of a third straight this season. Orono fell to Caribou in the Class B North regional final, but only after Francis provided relentless effort on both ends of the floor to help get them there.

His 12 points per game this season may not stand out among Big East Conference leaders, but the completeness of his game is evidenced by the 9.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.1 steals he added — among the top in the conference for each of those stats.

“He’s able to make plays at the right time,” Libby said about Francis. “He knows how to get it done when it matters.”

Francis’ coach in Orono called him a “tremendous competitor” who played whatever role his team needed depending on the matchup in a particular game.

“When game time comes, he’s one of those guys that elevates his play,” Kohtala said.

Bernier was the top scorer on a Messalonskee team that had several different weapons. His shooting and ability to distribute the ball had him among leaders in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference, with 19.8 points and 3.4 assists per game.

On a senior-heavy team, the senior guard in particular “led by example,” said Camden coach Gabriele, who had a front row seat to Bernier’s strong shooting during the Class A tournament. He pointed to Bernier’s ability to hit contested shots.

“I felt like in that Class A North semifinal against them, we kind of did all we could,” Gabriele said about trying to defend Bernier. “We challenged his 3-point looks, and we had a hand up I felt like on every shot that he took, and they were still going in.”

Bernier was third in the conference for 3-pointers, with 51 made triples this season.

“He hit tough shots all season. And those bigtime shots are what wins games, truly,” Gabriele said about Bernier.