East Grand Vikings

 DANFORTH, Maine — After three years, Marcus Crocker has resigned as head coach of the East Grand Vikings. He will be replaced by longtime veteran Steve Gray.
Gray spent 13 years coaching junior high and junior varsity at East Grand School before spending seven years with the Greater Houlton Christian Academy.
Gray is looking to bring team spirit and pride back into the East Grand program.
The Vikings lost two of their top scorers, 6-1 forward Kenny Winiarski and 6-0 guard Logan Crone to graduation.
The Vikings are a young squad and Gray will be looking to rebuild the program in the next few years.
However, this year, Gray is looking for the Vikings to finish with a .500 season.
“If we win four or five games, I will be pleased,” he said. “But, I feel comfortable we can go 8-8.”
The Vikings will be led by the senior tandem of 6-foot Alex Stoddard and 6-2 Jimmy Brittain, who will be the team’s strarting forwards.
“They will be called upon for their leadership and will probably be our main scorers,” said Gray.
Rounding out the starting rotation are senior Kyle Gilman and his brother, freshman Thomas, and sophomore Philip Farley.
The Gilman boys are the sons of former East Grand standout Eric Gilman.
Kyle is a 6-5 center and he will anchor the front line. “He did not get much playing time last year,” said Gray. But, Gilman’s size inside will alter many shots and he will be a key rebounder.
Thomas will be the floor general at the point guard. “He is an all-around good player for his age,” Gray added.
The final starter will be Farley, who according to Gray, is strong physically and will step into the other guard spot or wherever he is needed.
Rounding out the Vikings’ lineup and looking to contribute to the team’s success are: eighth-grader David Roussel, who is new to the program; freshmen Brady McEwen and Lendin Stoddard; sophomores Wyatt Oliver and Josh Jones; and junior Trevor Fronczak.
“Trevor is a transfer student who is fast and will probably play in the backcourt,” said Gray. “He is a rugged kid and I know he will help out a lot.”
Gray noted that McEwen is a good set-shot shooter and looks for him to tighten up his defensive effort.
With such a youthful squad, Gray will be stressing fundamentals and working together for success.
“We need to work on teaching all the younger ones the system and how to play ball at the varsity level,” he said. “They have had a different junior high coach for the last three years. So, that has been tough.”
The Vikings overall are “pretty good shooters and they move the ball well,” according to their coach.
The one thing that Gray would like to see an improvment to is the team’s defensive effort.
“We need to work on getting back defensively,” he said.
There are going to be competitors in Class D who will be a challenge for the Vikings, including Southern Aroostook and Hodgdon, which are division strong horses. Another tough opponent the Vikings face will be Woodland.
“We need to have a good work ethic and look to get back on a winning track,” Gray said.