Even though the University of Maine men’s basketball team starts its season in less than two months, its starting five is far from established. But the Black Bears believe this dilemma will propel them to new heights.
UMaine is coming off a 13-17 campaign, its best record since the 2010-11 season. It was alumnus Chris Markwood’s first year as head coach of the Black Bears, who improved from a dismal 6-23 the year prior.
Among Markwood’s inaugural recruiting class were Kellen Tynes, the NCAA’s leader in steals last year, Gedi Juozapaitis, a fifth-year transfer who emerged as UMaine’s leading scorer, and freshman guard Jaden Clayton, another skilled defender.
Under Markwood’s system, the new and improved Black Bears won four more America East conference matchups and seven games overall. But UMaine still lost a lot of close games, requiring too much out of a few key players. With a second recruiting cycle under his belt, however, Markwood has significantly bolstered his squad, and preseason activities have become more competitive.
“We just didn’t have enough depth to get us over the hump. For Kellen, Jaden and those guys to finish out games at a high level, their minutes need to come down,” Markwood said. “This year, there’s a lot of depth top to bottom.”
Markwood has accentuated the team with another versatile recruiting class, which features lanky 3-point marksmen Isaac Bonilla and Okay Djamgouz, as well as 6-foot-10 forward Adam Cisse, who will be a key presence down low.
“The beauty of this roster will allow us to play a lot of different ways, both on our own accord, or if we’re trying to match up with somebody else,” Markwood said. “We think all those guys are ready to go.”
The Black Bears themselves echoed Markwood’s sentiments.
“You know, no knock to any guys last year, but we’re just a lot more talented, a lot deeper this year. We added a lot of pieces that we were missing, and we’re a well-connected group early on,” Tynes said.
“Honestly, everyone’s impressed me,” five-year veteran Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish added.
UMaine is returning six of its seven best players from last season, but this year’s recruiting class is shaking things up. Aside from Tynes and Clayton, Markwood and his staff are really unsure who their other go-to guys will be, but think that this will give them an edge.
“It’s a good thing we don’t know yet,” Markwood said about his prospective starting five. “We brought in a lot of talented pieces that are going to fight for those spots. You can’t compete for championships until you can compete in the locker room; that healthy competition will drive everything.”
Tynes, reigning America East Defensive Player of the Year, and Clayton, Markwood’s first recruit as head coach, started all 30 games for the Black Bears last season. The duo accounted for more than half the team’s assists and steals, but were below-average 3-point shooters.
The Black Bears will look to surround Tynes and Clayton with versatile shooters in senior transfer Djamgouz, returning junior Kristians Feierbergs and true freshman Bonilla, among others. Djamgouz was a 52 percent 3-point shooter at Drake University last year, while Feierbergs guarded all five positions and averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds.
Markwood describes himself as a “players’ coach” and strongly believes in developing strong relationships with his athletes. He and his coaching staff will continue to foster a defense-first mentality, and try to lead UMaine to its first winning season in 14 years.
In this span, the Black Bears have had five different head coaches, and a combined record of 103-270. UMaine has never qualified for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
