Broadcasters look forward to postseason
By Jon Gulliver
Staff writer
The preliminary round of the high school basketball playoffs wraps up this evening and on Friday the games begin at the Bangor Auditorium.
Fans from around The County will head down to see their teams compete for the gold ball, while others will watch on television or listen to the radio to keep up on all the action.
For radio announcers like Jim Carter and Kevin Sjoberg of WEGP radio the tournament is icing on the cake of the regular season.
Sjoberg said there are a few possible matchups that have him excited.
“I look forward to what very well could be another showdown between the Presque Isle and Nokomis girls,” said Sjoberg. “The last two seasons have resulted in semifinal losses by the Wildcats, but this year’s PI team is loaded with experience and has more depth. Both teams head into the tournament with undefeated records, making for an intriguing EM Class B final if both teams win their first two games.
“Another interesting matchup could be between the CA and Washburn boys in the D semifinals. They split during the regular season with each winning on their home court. It would pit CA’s tourney experience and size versus Washburn’s three-point shooting and running game.”
Carter agreed with Sjoberg that a potential Presque Isle-Nokomis contest is intriguing, but he is also looking forward to a possible Van Buren-Washburn game in Class D girls.
“They could be a team that could surprise in Class D,” said Carter.
As far as surprises this season Carter said the Presque Isle boys have come together to be a formidable squad.
“After losing four of five starters from last year’s squad they have now become a dangerous team,” said Carter. “The Fort Kent boys have exceeded expectations.”
Sjoberg also had praise for the Caribou boys, which entered the year with little experience.
“Caribou’s Chris Casavant always gets the most out of his players and Terry Cummings did a great job with a Wildcat team that had just one player (Wilder York) who saw extensive varsity time last year,” said Sjoberg.
Caribou and Presque Isle play a prelim game tonight in Presque Isle at 7 p.m. to see who gets to go to Bangor.
WEGP, WHOU and WOZI radio will be broadcasting tournament games this year. Maine Public Television will have the contests starting with the semifinals.
