Scott Graffam isn’t afraid to use the needle on anyone; players, opponents, officials and media aren’t immune. He usually saves his most piercing wit for himself, though.

Graffam was at his crusty, self-deprecating best Friday night after his Oxford Hills Vikings dominated Mt. Blue, 66-26. It was the 300th victory of his coaching career.

There wasn’t much pomp and circumstance for the milestone, and Graffam would have no doubt objected if he caught wind of any plans. After the traditional post-game handshake with the Cougars, the Vikings and their fans gave him a brief ovation, which he acknowledged with a wave as he walked off the court.

Afterwards, Graffam graciously accepted all congratulations, then brought out the needle to poke holes in all of the praise.

“Here’s all I’m going to say about that: Thirty years of coaching, 300 wins. Figure that out,” he said smiling. “That’s mediocrity at its best.”

The list Graffam has joined of Maine high school basketball coaches who have reached the 300-win mark hardly screams mediocrity. It’s a who’s who of Maine coaching legends: Bob Brown, Ordie Alley, Paul Vachon, Gavin Kane, Jim Bessey, I.J. Pinkham, etc. etc.

Graffam’s trophy case isn’t as full as most of those coaches. He doesn’t have a state championship. The closest he got was in 1990, in his first nine-year stint with the Vikings. He won the Western A title, then lost to Lawrence by seven points in the state championship game.

After a nine-year absence and stops at Medomak Valley, where he reached two regional finals, and Scarborough, Graffam returned to South Paris in 1999. The program had been deteriorating since he left, but within five years, Oxford Hills became a KVAC power with Corey Tielinen, Matt McDonnell and company.

Graffam may yet have another run or two in him. The young nucleus he currently has is probably the most promising since those Tielinen-led teams.

Over 200 of Graffam’s wins have been as Oxford Hills’ coach. Regardless of how many more victories he has in his future, his career will be one worth celebrating when he hangs up his whistle.

It will be a bittersweet celebration for those who can see where high school sports is headed, because there won’t be many like him to come along again.

The men and women who dedicate over half of their lives to high school coaching are the furthest thing from mediocre. But they are on the verge of extinction in Maine.

They are being driven out of high school coaching because parents and the administrators and school boards that won’t stand up to meddlesome moms and delusional dads aren’t worth the meager stipend.

The real rewards they get from the job — the satisfaction of molding children into responsible, confident young men and women, passing their knowledge of the game along to a new generation, stoking their own competitive fires — no longer soothe the migraines and ulcers they get worrying about who is complaining about their kid’s playing time or whether they will be punished for simply enforcing a team rule.

Too many people on the fringes of high school sports are glad to have them out of the way. Towns and the teams that represent them are divided by self-interest and unreasonable expectations. Regardless of why the selfish needs and/or conjecture aren’t met, the blame is  always laid at the coaches feet.

And all it takes is one person waiting for the slightest opening to find blame.

The established coaches know they shouldn’t have to play these games. Any young person with the talent to get into coaching, often an ex-player not far removed from experiencing the drama first-hand, can find less stressful things to do with their free time.

The kids aren’t the only ones who suffer. The games and those who love them do, too. Anyone who has followed high school basketball closely for a while can attest to that.

We can blame video games and AAU and ESPN and a whole host of other things. But the biggest reason the level of play in basketball and numerous other sports is declining in Maine is the most qualified people to teach our kids how to play them are leaving and staying away in droves.

Some coaches like Graffam are fortunate in that they have strong administrative support to deal with this increasingly toxic culture. But more and more coaches are finding out the hard way that they can’t count on that support.

Anyone who spends one decade, let alone three, having to answer to the spineless, cater to the selfish and indulge the delusional deserves more than a short ovation or a plaque.

The thing is, most of them would settle for our respect.