Ranking Maine’s Seniors

New England Recruiting Report | Wednesday, September 11th, 2013

The state of Maine is up next as we continue to update 2014 rankings in all six New England states.  

It should come as no surprise that Lee Academy guard Aaron Calixte remains the top ranked player in the state.  

Not only is his recruitment at another level with multiple division I offers, but his consistent production has now extended from the winter prep school season throughout the spring and summer grassroots circuit.  

Calixte may be the top ranked player in the state, but for Maine natives the list begins at the second spot where Dustin Cole, Isaiah Bess, and Zach Gilpin are all hoping to make a claim.  

Cole missed the entire July evaluation period after coming down with a serious illness, but in some ways was still proven invaluable, since his MB Nation squad just wasn’t the same without him.  The gutsy point guard is already committed to Franklin Pierce in the NE-10 where he’ll run into his long-time AAU teammate Isaiah Bess at Stonehill.  Bess has the highest long-term ceiling of any prospect within the Maine public school system.  He’s long and athletic with a solid skill base and his best basketball very clearly still in front of him.  

Then there’s Giplin, who was likely both the most all-around impactful player this summer as well as the most under-recruited.  He remains in search of his first scholarship offer despite having proven his skill set and scoring prowess along with a complimenting ability to stuff other columns of the stat sheet.  

When it comes to the most improved players in the state, South Portland graduate Tanner Hyland seems like the easy choice.  He’s head and shoulders ahead of where he was a year ago and appears on the verge of playing his way onto the scholarship level heading into his post-graduate season at Bridgton Academy.   

One guy who already holds a scholarship offer is sixth ranked Mike McDevitt who is intriguing to college coaches because of a combination of size and skill that allows him to create mismatch problems and thrive from the post and perimeter alike.    

If the state had a breakout player this summer it was Jayvon Pitts-Young, who seized the opportunity created by Cole’s illness by stepping right in to run the show for MB Nation.  His success was no less impressive as it was obvious and his recruitment has risen as a result.  

Portland guard Justin Zukowski is cut from a similar cloth with his toughness and competitiveness, but has added value because of his lethal ability to knock down three-pointers and mid-range pull-ups alike.  

The final two spots go to two guys who we’ve heard plenty from in the past.  The first is Central Catholic graudate Joel Berroa, who is also headed for a post-graduate year at Bridgton.  The athletic swingman missed the summer with injury, but has long since held scholarship level tools that he’ll get the opportunity to show this season.  

Rounding out the top ten is Nokomis forward Andrew Cartwright, who was the unofficial Comeback Player of the Summer winner.  A well known young prospect, who hadn't been quite as visible in the last year or so, Cartwright announced his resurgence this summer showing a skilled inside-out game that will translate especially well to the college level.  

To view the Maine 2014 rankings in their entirety, please click here.