Another Coaching Resignation

Let's start with the big news of the day: Larry Reed's resignation as Oceanside's boys coach.

This had been rumored on and off, so it's not completely a surprise. What is a surprise is that it would happen 4 games into the season.

I'll just start by saying that Larry Reed is a good basketball coach who took his team to back-to-back Gold Ball games. He went 72-32. That's a winning percentage of 69.2% There's programs in this state that would be over the moon with those results. Sure, they're 1-3 this year, but that's because they're very young. Reed's resignation is the 4th one of the season and much like the situation at Bapst, the reason is clear. It's the parents.

From Mark Haskell's writeup at the Midcoast Villager:

“The kids are never, ever the problem,” [Reed] said. “The kids are great. The kids understand ‘This is my role on the team, I’m going to show up to practice.’ Parents never get that. They want kids to be superstars in their freshman and sophomore years. They’re 15 years old and a lot of times playing against guys that are 18 years old. Their expectations are not realistic for what their kids are at that time.”

Everyone wants their kid to be a superstar and not every parent knows enough or has enough perspective to realize their kid might not be God's Gift to Basketball. I remember sitting in the stands near a parent who was screaming bloody murder that their kid (a backup forward) wasn't playing more. Finally I got fed up and said "your kid has 8 turnovers". Eight turnovers for a backup forward. Your kid probably isn't the next Cooper Flagg. He might just be a kid who as a senior gets rotational minutes and scores 7 points a game. That's ok!

Apparently a number of the Oceanside parents didn't think so.

Reed said he was subjected to personal attacks at the end of last season “that bothered me a lot, but I thought I would hang on for the benefit of the kids. I was really excited coming into the season.”

I had heard that in the spring and thought the program had moved beyond it, especially when Reed coached summer ball and started the season on the sidelines.

He said the situation escalated following the team’s 60-42 home loss against Leavitt of Turner Saturday, Dec. 13 when a group of parents continued to criticize him about playing time concerns.

There's always going to be grumbling from parents, especially if their kid isn't getting as many minutes as they obviously should (eyeroll), and a 1-3 start isn't going to help matters any at a school with the expectations of Oceanside. But the situation here was excessive and I can't blame Reed for deciding he'd had enough. One doesn't leave a program after 23 years because of a squeaky wheel or two.

If you're a parent at a program where the coach resigns mid-season and cites the "ongoing parental concerns" as the reason, then the problem isn't the coach. The problem is the parents. Full stop. Grow up. And until the parents look in the mirror, it's not going to get any better. Larry Reed won't be the last coach to quit because of the parents. It's only a matter of time until the next one.

We had a thriller in Winthrop punctuated by this Korbin Littler buzzer-beater to send the game to overtime. I'll always lead with a buzzer-beater.

Lisbon prevailed in the extra period, 63-62. Lisbon's Owen Hurd led all scorers with 27. Jaxon Roy-Thompson added 22. Littler led Winthrop with 21.

Elsewhere

Ava Lerman dropped 31 on Fort Fairfield...Aidan Marks' 17 led Cape by Freeport...Abby Luczynski's 21 wasn't enough for Dirigo against Madison...Celia Bergdahl scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a game that only had 52 total points...Spruce's Natasha McDonald went off for 32 to single-handedly double up Hall-Dale.

Tourney schedules are up for all 3 sites. Start your planning!

It looks like Portland will only use the hockey rink for 4 total games: the A South regional finals and the A State Games. Everything else will be at the Expo.

Bangor Christian (by way of Central) standout Mary Allen is headed to Colby, per her Instagram.

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He finished with 42, also a record.

I don't know the last time I saw a NBA team bust out the box and 1. Maybe we can get a triangle and 2.

There's a couple of really good options for the Game of the Day. The Bangor Christian girls are hosting Penobscot Valley [Stax Index: 88.3]. Over in C, Hall-Dale heads to Mount Abram [Stax: 88.6], and TA hosts Scarborough [Stax: 85.9].

But the biggest one is a rivalry game where Camden Hills will take Route 90 to Route 1 and take on Medomak Valley.

If you've been paying any attention at all, you know that Nolan Ames is one of the leading contenders for Mr. Basketball and has the Windjammers at 4-0 and (I believe #1 in the Model for the first time ever. They're the real deal. They're 2nd in Class A in point differential and 4th in %Perfect against the third hardest schedule.

Medomak Valley lost three starters from last year's team that started 20-0, including Mr. Basketball finalist Gabe Lash, but as usual, the Panthers keep rolling. They lead Class B in scoring differential and are 3rd in %Perfect, albeit against a weaker schedule.

This should be a good one. Get there early.

The Model's picks for the rest of today's games are after the jump