WASHBURN, Maine — Mike Hartford has what he calls “an interesting mix” of players on his roster as he enters his seventh season as the Beavers’ head coach.
The team has 10 players, with five of them being freshmen. Several received plenty of varsity experience last season after being called up as eighth-graders.
However, Hartford is going to rely heavily on his three seniors who were starters a year ago to lead the charge for Washburn.
Parker Corey is the main post player, but Hartford said he also has the ability to step out on the perimeter to handle the ball and hit some 3-pointers. Corey averaged over 10 points per game over the second half of last season.
Mitchell Turner also has the ability to drain 3-point shots, but Hartford also likes his ability to move well without the ball as a cutter to get easy give-and-go baskets.
The third senior, Derek Cruz, is an athletic wing player who can score in different ways and he is also one of the Beavers’ top defenders.
“All three could score in double digits at any time and will really need to step up as contributors and leaders for our team,” Hartford said.
Junior Roegen Rosi-Carney and freshmen Garrett Plourde started multiple games in 2021-22 and Hartford said they will be in the mix again. Rosi-Carney missed the last of half of the season with a foot injury but has looked good over the summer and during the preseason. Plourde has improved and is becoming more confident and aggressive with ball handling and scoring, according to the coach.
Freshmen Mitchell Hewitt and Brayden Worsley will also vie for starting roles and will definitely be part of the regular rotation. Hewitt plays up front and has a nice shooting touch and Worsley is a guard who can score in a variety of ways.
Rounding out the roster are sophomore Hunter Campbell and freshmen Gage Espling and Colt Curtis. All have made good progress from last year, according to Hartford, and should also get some junior varsity experience.
Mark Shea and Andrew Churchill will serve as Hartford’s assistant coaches.
Hartford said the team’s ability to improve on defense will be crucial in order to be able to compete in a lot of their games this season.
“We need to work on tightening up on the defensive end and work on getting better with trapping and pressing,” he said. “We will need to find some easier ways to score off turnovers and with pushing the ball to get quick offense.”
Washburn faces a challenging schedule, with Southern Aroostook, Easton, Katahdin and Wisdom among the top teams in Class D North.
“Solid defense, especially including solid defensive rebounding, and taking care of the basketball will be big factors for us to be successful,” Hartford said, “but we will look to play hard and compete every game.”
