The city of Caribou is no stranger to big basketball moments.
From Mike Thurston’s iconic last-second heave that won the state championship in 1969, to Caribou’s back-to-back boys state titles in 2019 and 2020, the Vikings have a basketball history rich with excitement.
With both the girls and boys teams heading to the Class B state finals in Portland on Saturday, it wouldn’t be much of a stretch to say that the excitement is as high as it’s ever been. The last time the city had both teams in the finals at the same time was 1983.
Sue Ouellette of Caribou went to her first state championship game in 2019, when the Viking boys beat Cape Elizabeth in a nail-biter, taking home the gold basketball with a score of 73-71. It was their first state win since the Thurston magic 50 years before.
Ouellette remembers being enveloped in a sea of trademark Viking maroon in 2019, sitting on the edge of her seat the entire game.
That kind of excitement grips people at tourney time, and this year it’s even more intense since both the girls and boys have a chance at the state title, she said on Wednesday.
“Something like this really excites the community, and people just go hog wild,” Ouellette said. “It’s a big thing for us. We’re a small community, we know the parents around here and we know most of the kids.”
And those kids were impressive throughout the North regional tournament in Bangor.
How they got here
Both Caribou teams entered the Bangor tournament as top seeds, and both emerged as regional champions. It certainly didn’t hurt that each squad featured the top player in their respective tournament, with senior guard Madelynn Deprey and senior forward Tristan Robbins both winning the Class B MVP honors in the Bangor Daily News’ all-tournament team voting.
Deprey’s stellar shooting and 21 points helped the Vikings skate through the first round against rival Presque Isle. She and junior forward Liv Adams each had 17 points to lead the team in the second round, when Caribou finally got past Ellsworth after losing to the Eagles the past two years. Deprey and Adams once again anchored the Vikings in the regional championship with 18 points each against Erskine Academy of South China.
“Madelynn obviously is a tremendous player,” said girls coach Kayla Brown. “She’s gotten a lot of attention, as she should.”
Brown called Deprey a “great leader” who “works harder than anybody” and credited a core group of seniors, plus Adams, for providing the team with consistent leadership.
“She’s always going to draw a lot of attention, and that takes some of the pressure off of the other kids,” Brown continued about Deprey, who was also named a Miss Maine Basketball finalist this week. “And she’s done a really good job distributing, especially in that last game.”
The boys’ run so far might be best defined by the last four minutes of their regional title win over defending champion Orono. Tristan Robbins looked every bit the MVP in that stretch, scoring seven straight points and helping to save the Vikings season.
“I took the game over like I’m asked to,” Robbins said after the win. “I have a lot of weight on my shoulders. I got it going a little bit.”
That comeback win was punctuated by a Landen Belanger free throw with .5 seconds left.
As a testament to the team’s depth, junior forward Belanger was also voted to the all-tournament team, and junior guard Owen Corrigan received an honorable mention. The Caribou girls are a similarly well-rounded team, with Adams joining Deprey on the list and Freshman guard Quinn Corrigan securing an honorable mention.
The all-tournament voting reflects how Caribou can boast not just two of the best players in the Class B North tournament, but two of the most complete rosters as well. And that didn’t happen all of a sudden, either.
“They’ve been working their entire lives for this moment,” boys coach Kyle Corrigan said about his team on Thursday, noting that he’s seen this group play since the third and fourth grade because his nephew is one of the players.
“I was able to watch these kids at a very young age, and kind of watch them develop to get to this moment,” Corrigan added. “They’ve put so much time in. I’m just really proud of them and I’m happy that they get the opportunity they’re going to have come Saturday.”
Brown, a former player who won a state championship with neighboring Presque Isle, said she is glad her players are able to have an experience that “surely they will remember forever.” She thinks the excitement has only increased since her time as a player.
“Honestly, it seems even bigger now. It’s changed a lot since I played,” Brown said Thursday. “Basketball is huge in Maine, I think everybody knows that. I’m glad they’re getting the experience, and like I said, it’s something I don’t think they’ll ever forget.”
Community support along the way
If basketball is huge in Maine, then it’s massive in Caribou. The Bangor stands were awash with maroon during the regional tournament, and the well-traveled Caribou fans helped the Vikings players feel right at home.
“It’s really good to get on the court knowing that you have your entire town behind you,” Deprey said after her team’s first round game. “And you don’t want to let them down.”
Caribou Athletic Director Evan Graves has repeatedly emphasized the level of community support for these and other Caribou teams.
“As I reflect on the season and other things, it’s just amazing what this community does for these kids,” Graves said.
The Caribou Municipal Building is a physical embodiment of that spirit right now, with colorful basketballs, Viking caricatures and a big “Viking Pride” sign decorating the windows.
“We’ve had great support from the community,” Brown emphasized. She and others expect that strong support to show up once again when the teams play at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland on Saturday.
“Despite being a small school, we still will have a big showing as far as the support goes,” Brown said.
There’s no place like The County
Sue Ouellette and other Caribou residents were struck by Presque Isle’s support of the Vikings as they headed home from Bangor this past weekend after winning the Class B North titles. Basketball fans and Presque Isle emergency vehicles escorted the teams through the city to the Caribou line.
“That’s good sportsmanship, because there’s always been quite the rivalry,” Terry Tarr said about Caribou and Presque Isle as he, his wife Judith and friends Steve Thibodeau and Greg Curran chatted at McDonald’s on Wednesday.
Tarr follows most of the games and said both Viking teams have played well together this year.
Somehow, when any County team is in the running for a championship, rivalries don’t matter anymore, Thibodeau said. People throughout the region throw their support behind the contenders.
“It’s County pride. They’re representing The County now,” he said. “It’s good to see a County team do what they did.”
Brown, who now coaches in Caribou but played in Presque Isle, thought the support was a good representation of Aroostook County.
“I think The County in general, there’s no place like it,” Brown said. “Everybody always says that, but it really shows in times like this.”
Graves thought the escort from folks in Presque Isle showed “a lot of respect for what we do” and put the kids of Aroostook County ahead of any local rivalry.
“Aroostook County is a unique place,” said Graves, the athletic director. “Obviously there’s competitors up here and we compete against other teams within Aroostook Country. But at the end of the day, when we look at it statewide, we work together. And we kinda have to have to.”
The road south
The Caribou teams will have to travel about 300 miles by bus for their state final games. Their opponents, the Biddeford girls and York boys, have much less ground to cover in their relatively quick trip up to Portland for the championships.
“Obviously we have a longer trip than they do,” Brown said with a laugh.
The journey could take about five hours for the Vikings. Corrigan conceded that “it’s a little bit of a ride” but also not too out of the ordinary for an Aroostook County team that logs lots of travel time throughout the season.
“The fortunate thing for us is we travel all year. We’re in Bangor every weekend pretty much for our away games,” Corrigan explained. “It’s not like we’re not used to getting on a yellow school bus and going 200 miles one way.”
Corrigan said his team was actually looking forward to the ride.
The coaches and athletic director expected Caribou to be well represented in the stands yet again on Saturday.
“We had the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor packed. Now that we’re down in Portland, we have a following,” Graves said, noting the amount of people from Caribou who now live elsewhere in the state. “We have supporters throughout Maine.”
He said there are also alumni traveling from nearby states and even flying in from around the country for the game.
“It’s amazing what a young group of kids does for a community, and it’s fun to see the following that these young kids have brought on,” Graves added. “And I can’t thank the community enough for their support.”
No one in the group at the Caribou McDonald’s was planning to go to the game in Portland, but they did plan to watch it on public television.
Greg Curran expects many people will travel to Portland for the games.
“Friday afternoon, this place will be empty. There won’t be much going on in Caribou,” Curran said.
Two ‘tough’ final matchups
Both Caribou coaches see challenging matchups against the Biddeford girls and York boys. York is the No. 2 seed in Class B South and heads into the state final undefeated on the season.
“They’re going to be really tough, but our guys are up for the task,” said Corrigan, who also coached the Vikings to their 2019 and 2020 state titles. “Like I told them in practice the other day, we are as far as we can be, so let’s just make sure we leave it all out on the line and we can live with the results after that.”
He had nothing but good things to say about the Wildcats from York, complimenting their athleticism, size, shooting, ability to get into the paint and finishing around the rim.
He said the matchup features “two very similar teams” that like to get up and down the floor.
Brown said maintaining composure will be key for her team as they take on the girls Class B South region’s fourth-ranked Biddeford Tigers.
“They look extremely athletic, probably the most athletic team we’ve played all season,” Brown said, calling Biddeford a very skilled group with particularly strong guards.
“It’s going to be a tough one for us, it’s going to be a challenge for sure,” Brown said. “But being able to take care of the ball and stay composed offensively will be a big one, because they play really tough defense.”
The girls Class B championship will be held at 1 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, followed by the boys game at 2:45 p.m.
