Cummings, local talent to build excitement for UMPI Owls

By Kevin Sjoberg  
Sports Reporter
    PRESQUE ISLE – It has been quite some time since local high school players have dominated the University of Maine at Presque Isle men’s basketball roster, but in Terry Cummings’ second year as head coach of the team, that is certainly the case for the 2009-10 season.
    Of the 15 players on the team, nine come from Aroostook County high schools. Cummings, himself a Houlton native and former Owl player, said that having the best players from The County attend and play at UMPI was his top priority when accepting the position last year.
    “It’s exciting,” he said of the infusion of local talent. “The team chemistry and intensity has been there from Day One this season, and I think that is a major reason.”
    UMPI struggled for victories during Cummings’ first season, as the 2008-09 team was able to win just three of its 23 contests. This year, the Owls are striving to finish among the top four teams in the Sunrise Conference, which would mark a major turnaround.
    The Owls have all five players who started at the beginning of last season back this year, but two of those returnees have had to accept lesser roles with the addition of the talented newcomers. Cummings said he believes this could be the best recruiting class, when including freshmen and transfers, in several years at the university.
    Ray Mitchell, a senior from Cleveland, Ohio, averaged 24 points and 15 rebounds during the first semester before becoming academically ineligible for the remainder of the season.
    The 6-3 forward-center will be joined by sophomore Ben Rosser of Caribou, who was the rookie of the year among NCAA Div. III Independents last year with his 14 ppg and 9 rpg averages. The 6-2 forward even missed the last seven games with a broken wrist. He enters this year as the team captain.
    Another player back in the starting five is 5-8 junior guard Devon Peaslee of Woolwich, who switches to the two-guard position after running the point last year. Peaslee, who just started practicing two weeks ago after coming off a successful soccer season for the Owls, averaged 12 ppg in 2008-09.
    Rounding out the starting five are 5-8 sophomore guard Kyle Corrigan of Caribou and 6-5 junior center Chris Coffin of Presque Isle. Corrigan was a standout backcourt player for the Vikings who opted to take last year off from competitive basketball. He hasn’t missed a beat, according to Cummings, and will be the chief ball handler for the Owls. Coffin is a transfer from Husson University who can be physical inside but also has the ability to hit shots from the perimeter.
    “We’re going to be an up-tempo team, and offensively will run a Princeton-style offense, which features a 1-4 set,” Cummings said. “Mitchell will run down low, and he’s a match-up problem who can draw double-teams to allow our shooters to get open.
    “Corrigan and Peaslee will make up one of the quickest guard tandems in the conference and they’ll be fun to watch.”
    Peaslee looks forward to playing in the backcourt with the Caribou native.
    “The first time we played together was at Midnight Madness a few weeks back, and we quickly were talking and moving off each other,” Peaslee recalled. “We’re both quick on both ends of the floor and anticipate really well. Kyle will take a lot of pressure off me because I won’t be trying to bring the ball up against two defenders like I did last year, and I can also gamble more on defense and go after rebounds.”
    Depth, which was an issue last year due to just 11 players on the roster, will actually be a strength of the team this season. In fact, Cummings said he held an open tryout as 23 players vied for the 15 roster spots. “UMPI hasn’t had a tryout in years,” he said, “so that was a positive thing because it shows the interest players have in becoming part of the program.”
    Patrick Manifold, a 6-7 forward from Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom, will be an important big man off the bench, while 6-1 freshman swingman James Bates of Houlton and 5-7 freshman guard Manny Martinez of Mars Hill, who helped the Central Aroostook Panthers to back-to-back state titles, will also be counted upon heavily in reserve capacities.
    Jeremy Brock, a 6-2 sophomore forward from Easton, and Loren Fawthrop, a 6-3 sophomore forward from Amherst, Nova Scotia, were the players who started for Cummings last year but have willingly accepted roles off the bench and will be called upon for key minutes along with 6-2 freshman guard Brad Trask of Easton and 6-0 freshman guard-forward Ryan Hill of Houlton.
    Fawthrop missed last weekend’s tournament in Henniker, N.H. and will also be out of action this weekend in the Christopher Newport Tournament in Newport News, Va. with a dislocated shoulder.
    Brian Korhonen, a 5-8 senior guard from Littleton; Bryan Jennings, a 6-3 forward-center from Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia; and Jeff Morton, a 6-3 freshman forward from Pittsfield, are the other players on this year’s UMPI team.
    “We’re well balanced and we have a lot guys capable of playing multiple positions, which is big,” Cummings said.
    “We have an inside and outside game this year, which is something we didn’t have last season,” Rosser said. “Our defense is willing to work hard, which is a huge improvement.”
    Rosser and Peaslee both agree this year’s team features more of a family atmosphere, with all the players on the team getting along both on and off the court.
    “We have a lot of unselfish players who just want to see the team succeed rather than themselves,” Rosser said.
    “It takes a team to win,” Peaslee said, “and we have a lot of really good players, but we don’t have anybody who tries to take over a game by themselves. This team has a lot of leaders and everyone works well off each other.”
    Rosser said he enjoys playing for Cummings because the coach is “all about confidence.”
    “He doesn’t tear you down, but he can be stern if he needs to,” Rosser said. “He keeps the team focused and he’s the general out there, which is what we need.”
    Fisher College of Boston, which has won the Sunrise Conference tournament in each of the last four years, figures to be the frontrunner again this year along with the Owls’ neighbor to the north – the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
    UMPI hopes to be able to compete with UM-Machias, which was a 20-win team a year ago, Vermont Technical College and College of St. Joseph’s (Vt.) for one of the four playoff positions.
    Cummings, who for the second year will be assisted by former UMPI women’s head coach Alan Gordon, said this year’s group has collectively shown pride in wearing the Owl jersey and hopes that pride will grow in the years ahead.
    “We want to bring excitement back to UMPI basketball,” Cummings said.