Those with Aroostook County ties getting into the Hall of Fame are former Van Buren and University of Maine scoring ace Matt Rossignol, former Central Aroostook standout Julie Bradstreet, who also enjoyed a stellar career at UMaine; and former Sherman and Katahdin coach Ron Marks.
Others scheduled for induction on Aug. 21 in Bangor are Dean Smith, Joey DeRoche, Chris Jerome, Meaghan Lane Kolyszko, Mike McGee, John Jordan, Kevin Whitmore, Tony Hamlin, Gregg Frame, Raymond Alley, Fern Masse, Kevin Nelson, Charlie Wootton, I.J. Pinkham, Len MacPhee, Bob McAllister, Don Sturgeon and Harland Storey.
Ed Guiski and Richard “Doc” Costello will be posthumously inducted.
The Hall also will induct several new members to its Legends of the Game. Former Aroostook County broadcaster Dewey Dewitt is one of them, along with the 1947 Patten Academy boys’ basketball team. Others entering in this category are Terry Healey, the 1995 Cony of Augusta girls basketball team and the late Jim Connellan, Dick Doyle and Eddie Griffin.
The bios for the other local inductees and legends, as compiled by the Hall, are as follows: Rossignol is a Maine high school legend as this high-scoring performer delighted hoop fans during his entire playing career. Rossignol, who played for Van Buren High School, scored 2,257 points in his career, and he tossed in 51 in the 1985 Eastern Class B semifinals against Schenck of East Millinocket. That year he set two regional records that still stand: points (103) and field goals (37).
He was a three-time Bangor Daily News All-State player and was the tournament MVP his senior year as well as being named the state’s player of the year and a Converse All-American.
After high school, he attended UMaine, where he played for Hall of Famer Skip Chappelle. While playing for the Black Bears, he started a record 105 consecutive games and scored 1,297 career points, placing him seventh all-time. He also had a big hand in perhaps the program’s signature victory, an 84-81 win over Michigan State in 1986 at the Bangor Auditorium. In that game, he scored 23 points, hitting five of nine 3-point shots.
“I think making the Hall of Fame is a testament to having had good coaches and teammates, as well as to how rich a tradition Aroostook County has in basketball,” Rossignol said, who expressed appreciation to his two high school coaches, John Parent and Bob Hebert, and his two college coaches, Chappelle and Rudy Keeling.
He has coached at the high school level for 24 years and has accumulated 252 victories, with stints as the Houlton boys’, Van Buren boys’ and Madawaska boys’ coach as well as his current position at the helm of the Van Buren girls’ team. He was voted Eastern Maine Class D Coach of the Year by the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches during the 1997-98 season while coaching the Crusader boys.
Rossignol was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Bradstreet is a Bridgewater native who graduated in 1988 as the all-time leading scorer at CAHS with 2,164 points. She also hauled in over 1,000 rebounds during her high school career. After being named a second team All-State selection her junior year, she was a first-team choice as a senior. As a member of the Black Bears, she co-captained coach Trish Roberts’ team her senior year. She was a second-team All-North Atlantic Conference choice for two years and was also a two-year NAC All-Academic team selection.
She added that she was thankful for the many people in just the Bridgewater-Mars Hill area who played a huge role in her success, from her junior high and high school coaches, Sylvanus Pierce and Dick Barstow, “who gave me a chance to be the best that I could be,” to Roger Shaw, Bill McAvoy, Chappy Clark, Steve Shaw, Bruce Boulier and her father, Wayne — all serving as major influences in a variety of ways. “It is quite an honor when you think back at all the people that have played basketball in the state and the amazing performances people have had in games or overall in their playing careers,” said Bradstreet, who resides in Waterville and is a kindergarten teacher in Sidney. “It seems a bit amazing to even be considered.”
“These are just the people who first come to mind … there have been so many others,” she added.
Marks coached for 20 years in Eastern Maine at Sherman, Katahdin, Schenck and Foxcroft Academy. His teams won 312 games including 36 tournament games, and he had a winning percentage of 78 percent. He won three state championships, six Eastern Maine championships and was named coach of the year three times. He also was an official for 40 years, officiating in the tournament 20 seasons.
Dewitt is a legendary sports writer and announcer in Aroostook County. In The County, he is a legend in the sportscasting genre. For decades, he called play-by-play, interviewed and reported on all the great names of Aroostook County coaches and players. He is a member of the Maine Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
The 1947 Patten Academy boys team pulled of one of the most stunning basketball upsets of its time on April 22, 1947, when it upset Massachusetts powerhouse Boston Latin 35-32 for the New England high school championship at the Boston Garden. Patten Academy boasted 88 students, 27 of them were male students, while Boston Latin had an enrollment of 1,800 male students.
