Not every boys’ basketball team could get away with “The System,” that label attached to Mountain Valley High School’s newly adopted, frenetic offensive and defensive approach.

Never mind the challenge of finding a dozen athletes capable of keeping the pace and playing their equal role in the equation. There’s also the not-so-minor issue of getting your best player on board and willing to subjugate himself to the best interests of the team.

Fortunately for Mountain Valley, that all-conference player is Cam Kaubris.

Kaubris isn’t merely one of the biggest fans of first-year coach Rick White’s approach, inspired by tiny Grinnell College. It also couldn’t have come at a better time for the multi-sport athlete, who is still recovering after sitting out almost the entire football season with a shoulder injury.

“I could go out and play five more games right now,” Kaubris said after Mountain Valley stayed undefeated earlier this week with a 47-43 victory over neighboring Dirigo. “I love it, because now I’m not sore every weekend. It doesn’t take me as long to recover.”

Mountain Valley’s strategy is to send a new five-man unit onto the court in two-to-four-minute intervals. Kaubris customarily starts the game for the Falcons and retreats to the sidelines for the final four minutes of the first period.

He follows the same itinerary in the second and third period. If the game’s close — and not many nights other than the Dirigo contest have fit that description for Mountain Valley — Kaubris might play the entire final stanza.

The fresh legs won’t hurt Kaubris or anyone else on the Mountain Valley depth chart. Now that the holiday break is over, the Falcons will play the remainder of the Mountain Valley Conference in a short sprint.

“We have a tough road ahead. We’ve got six games in two weeks,” White said. “The kids love to play. Our first goal is to win an MVC championship, which we haven’t done in a couple years. Then try to win Western Maine and ultimately get to the states, but that’s everybody’s goal. We’ll surprise some people. I think they’ve all written us off. When you hear people talk about the top teams in Western ‘B,’ there’s not one mention of Mountain Valley.”

As Mountain Valley treads into the tournament waters and encounters the likes of Western Maine Conference powers Falmouth and Cape Elizabeth, don’t be surprised to see Falcons let their big dog eat more frequently.

There were signs of that this week. After a relatively quiet 10-point night in the win over Dirigo, Kaubris erupted for 28 as Mountain Valley rallied from an early deficit Wednesday night for an 83-56 win over Telstar.

REALITY SHOW

Every coach talks a good game to his team regarding its ability to win, no matter the opponent. The good news this winter for first-year Jay High School coach Brian Kelly, a longtime assistant with the Tigers, is that he doesn’t have the spin such a tall tale.

Jay remains relatively young and has stayed in the middle of the MVC pack. The big difference is that the Tigers’ midseason ledger shows them leading that second division with a 6-3 record. It’s their first time above .500 at this juncture since 2005, the program’s most recent trip to the Western Class C tournament.

The Tigers have lost only to undefeated Mountain Valley, rival Livermore Falls and reigning Western C champion Dirigo. Jay led by five points midway through the third quarter Wednesday night in Dixfield before the Cougars snuck away with a 51-39 win.

“Our kids come out of that knowing we can play this team,” Kelly said. “That wasn’t the case in past years. I even told them before the game that when we used to play Dirigo, and I can admit this now, we were just hoping not to get blown out.”

The Tigers rely on the veteran frontcourt of Austin Clark, Jordan DeMillo and Kyle Storer, sophomore guards Zach Bonnevie and Jake Bessey and a sophomore-dominated bench.

It was the seniors’ strength on the boards that fueled the Tigers’ upset hopes against Dirigo.

“They believe now, and it’s more than a mentality,” Kelly said. “It’s something that can happen if we do the work.”

There aren’t any breathers on Jay’s upcoming schedule. The Tigers host a rematch with Livermore Falls this evening before book-ending next week with Mountain Valley (Monday) and Hall-Dale (Friday).

“(Tonight) is always the big one, but we’re playing the top four teams right now, right in a row,” said Kelly.

HOPING FOR A TURNER-ROUND

There aren’t many ways to spin a 1-8 midseason mark with a smiley-face. But maybe it’s a little easier when you’re about to welcome back your most proven commodity from a season-long injury.

Lewiston expected Ronnie Turner to get medical clearance Thursday and make his 2010 debut when the Blue Devils visited Cony. Turner, a senior, has been out of action since undergoing ankle surgery midway through football season.

“Of course it makes a difference when you’re missing an all-conference player,” said Lewiston coach Tim Farrar. “We just haven’t been able to score.”

The Devils stayed with Cony for a half in the season-opener and played well in spurts against the likes of undefeated Brunswick, Morse, Skowhegan, Edward Little and Oxford Hills. With Turner as a go-to presence for the remainder of the season, Farrar isn’t ready to close the door on a possible playoff push.

“It’s going to test our character,” Farrar said. “There are plenty of Heal Points left on our schedule.”

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