If you’re a Red Sox or Patriots lifer, you’ve probably found yourself
watching the final outs of the 2004 World Series or the winning drive
of Super Bowl XXXVI for the 36th time and fearing a different ending.

Andy Bedard knows the feeling. Whenever the 1994 Mountain Valley
High School boys’ basketball team holds an impromptu reunion and
projects the grainy evidence of a certain, glorious Friday night onto a
flat screen, the opening minutes make Bedard a little queasy.

“We start to watch the tape and I wonder, ‘How the heck did I score
53 points?’ Those first few shots I was happy to hit the foam on the
bottom of the backboard,” Bedard said. “I don’t know if it was a
timeout that turned it around, or what. But Coach (Matt) Kaubris, like
he always did, just said keep shooting and the shots eventually would
fall.”

Oh, they fell. Dropped, drained and swished to the tune of an all-class state championship record that may never be broken.

Bedard bedazzled Camden-Rockport (now Camden Hills) with off-balance
runners from the Bangor Auditorium paint, slashing layups and
3-pointers launched from closer to half-court than the top of the key.

It was a performance that defined Bedard’s career and solidified his
status as a Division I prospect despite his limited height (6-foot-1 in
sneakers) and slender build (well under 200 pounds before the college
weight room intervened). And now, ultimately, it probably was his
ticket to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.

Basketball took Bedard to Boston College, the University of Maine
and ultimately a professional stint in Portugal. But when Bedard enters
the relatively young hall Oct. 9, it’ll be for his exploits in three
years wearing the cobalt blue and silver of his hometown Falcons.

“I think it’s just the pride of that area and those towns. We all
grew up with a little bit of a chip on our shoulders,” Bedard said. “We
always would rather play basketball for two hours than go to the
movies. I remember the day after the state game, we were saying, ‘Who’s
going to unlock the gym so we have a place to play?’ That’s all we
thought about.”

Huge point totals on the tournament stage became Bedard’s calling
card. Overmatched opponents became just as familiar, however, with his
knack for a soul-crushing steal, a thunderous dunk or a no-look pass to
an open teammate for an uncontested 3-pointer.

Bedard probably made his teammates better, but there’s no doubt it
was a symbiotic relationship. Dean Boudreau (Central Maine Community
College) and Shawn Spadea (CMCC and the University of Maine at
Farmington) became college stars. Adam Dayon grew into a competitive
weightlifter.

“Boudreau was probably the best 3-point shooter in the state,”
Bedard said. “A lot of what I got was because teams couldn’t afford to
leave him open.”

Mountain Valley’s battles with Winthrop — armed with their own
Division I-bound anchor, T.J. Caouette — became the stuff of legend in
those years. Every seat in the gymnasium would be sold and occupied by
the start of the junior varsity game.

Those friendships and that unparalleled tradition made for a painful
decision when Bedard chose to leave home and spend his senior year with
the Maine Central Institute prep school basketball factory in
Pittsfield.

“There were some players up there, let me tell you. It was a little
different from the MVC,” Bedard said. “For about the first month, I’d
go back to my dorm room after practice with my tail between my legs. It
was something I had to do in order to build my skills to the point
where I could play at the next level.”

Bedard spent two years at BC as a part-time starting point guard.

“We won a Big East championship,” he said, “and that year we played
against all seven of the next year’s NBA lottery picks. That was a
great experience.”

Sensing an opportunity for a starring role and a chance to punctuate
his career close to home, Bedard and teammate Nate Fox transferred to
Maine. His hopes of leading the Black Bears to their first NCAA
tournament berth were dashed when Bedard broke his wrist in the America
East conference tournament.

After brief stints playing in Europe and coaching at Maine, Bedard
resigned from the top coaching job at Saint Joseph’s College before
coaching a game and ventured into the business world. He started a
company that is housed in the fourth floor of the Five County Credit
Union building in downtown Lewiston.

“We do some real estate, some insurance, some financial,” Bedard
said. “It’s good. I get to work with my brother (Joe, a former Division
III track and field national champion). I get to see him and pick on
him every day.”

Bedard is the father of a boy, 2, and a girl born Sept. 9. He
suspects that the basketball won’t fall far from the tree but has
shelved his coaching aspirations until that time.

And these days the only people who get a glimpse of Bedard’s hall of
fame talent are teammates and rivals in the occasional men’s league
game.

“It’s not the same. I used to laugh at those guys for being old and out of shape,” Bedard said. “I’m not laughing anymore.”

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