The expansion of Maine high school basketball from four classes to five didn’t do Buckfield any favors, on the surface.
After decades as a fixture in Class D, the Bucks are now slotted in Class C South with the likes of Dirigo, Winthrop, Boothbay, Waynflete and Old Orchard Beach. Despite that step up in tournament competition, Buckfield believes its traditional East-West Conference schedule offers enough opportunity for wins to reach that playoff, if everything goes according to plan.
Buckfield won’t have anyone in the regular rotation taller than 6-foot-1, so defense and team rebounding will be keys. The Bucks welcome back four players who started at least one game a year ago, including Hunter Wiley, Aaron Rowe, Jake Kraske and Zack Grover.
Coach Mark Thurlow thinks Kraske could emerge as one of the top players in the EWC, and multi-sport athletes Ethan Jackson and Noah Wiley could contribute immediately in their first varsity campaigns.
Buckfield will plan six regular-season games against Class C opponents: Two apieve versus NYA, Sacopee Valley and Richmond.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.