Even with prolific scorers like Ryan Martin and Will Bardaglio as teammates, it´s tough to overlook Mike Poulin´s role in the success of the Maranacook boys basketball team.
The 5-foot-10 point guard earned that job six games into his freshman season and has been a fixture in the Black Bears lineup since. Poulin is the engineer that makes Maranacook´s high-powered offensive machine go.
"The big thing is he never turns the ball over and he always finds the right guy at the right time," Bardaglio said.
He´ll be in the middle of the action Friday night at the Bangor Auditorium when unbeaten Maranacook takes on Cape Elizabeth for the Class B state championship. Poulin has been there before. He started on a 21-1 Maranacook team that won the state title two years ago, but he´s a different player today.
"I´m definitely more confident," Poulin said. "I look to score a little more. I think I can take the pressure off other people."
A year ago, Lincoln Academy and coach Nick DePatsy handed Maranacook a rare regular-season loss by playing a triangle-and-two defense on Martin and Bardaglio. DePatsy, who moved to Medomak Valley this season, tried the same tactic when the teams met in Waldoboro, and Poulin burned the Panthers for 21 points.
"His shooting has really improved," DePatsy said. "When we beat them his junior year, we played off him. You can´t do that anymore."
Poulin worked hard on his shooting in the offseason under the tutelage of both his older brother Dave and his dad Dave, the former head coach at Winthrop. What was once a flat shot became a well-arced shot with good rotation and a smooth release.
"I just had to work on a lot," Poulin said. "I tried to work on my form in foul shooting."
In Saturday´s Eastern Maine championship game against Camden Hills, Poulin went 8 for 8 from the foul line as the Black Bears handed the Windjammers just their second loss. Just as important, he committed only two turnovers against Camden´s aggressive pressure defense.
His passing has been there since middle school and is a key factor in Maranacook´s transition offense.
"His basketball IQ is very high," Schmidt said. "He sees plays happening ahead of time. He understands where to put the ball and how to get it there."
Being the son of a former coach, it´s not so unusual Poulin became a point guard. But in the Poulin family, it´s become a rite of passage.
His brother Dave ran the point for Winthrop for three years and his younger brother Sam, a sophomore at Maranacook, is the heir apparent to Mike´s job. Oh yes, there´s also younger sister Katie, the point guard for Maranacook´s eighth-grade team.
"I like being able to kind of control what´s going on and calm your team down if you have to," Mike said.
Added Schmidt: "He´s more vocal now than he ever has been, but most of what he does is through example."
If Poulin´s value ended here, he would still be one of the best point guards in the state, one that averages 10 points and five assists a game.
But he does much more. He´s the team´s top defensive player and second leading rebounder, both factors attributable to his overall strength and determination.
"He always guards the best (guard) on the other team," Schmidt said. "He´s just so quick and so strong. He contains almost anybody."
Poulin has yet to decide where he will play next season, although he´s narrowed it down to Keene State in New Hampshire or the University of Southern Maine. Whichever school gets him will be getting a blue-chipper who Bardaglio says often flies under the radar.
"Any night of the week playing for anyone else, he would be the 25-point scorer," Gardiner coach Jason Cassidy said. "He´s just a complete ballplayer."
Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638
ghawkins@centralmaine.com
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