ORONO – They know. They’re intelligent women who don’t turn a blind eye to what’s written about them. They don’t plug their ears to what’s said by outsiders.

Samantha Wheeler and her University of Maine basketball teammates do not live in a parallel universe. They feel your impatience.

“People point fingers,” Wheeler said after her third or fourth interview on media day. “I’m not interested in that. I’m a positive person and a very competitive person. I just want to win.”

She wouldn’t make promises, even on a day heavy with promise. Smile for the cameras, speak positively as pens scribbled and recorders recorded. Wheeler wasn’t into false hope.

Does Maine have the potential to surprise its America East rivals this season? Yes, said Wheeler. Yes.

She grew up in Derry, N.H., but there’s Maine blue and white in her veins. Her grandfather is Manch Wheeler, the Maine quarterback some 50 years ago from Manchester, outside Augusta. Uncle Jeff was captain of the men’s basketball team 25 years ago. She might have chosen New Hampshire but opted for Maine. She heard the stories of Cindy Blodgett, the Maine player, and believed in her as a coach.

Wheeler has not had a winning season at Maine. Did she ever consider transferring or walking away? No.

Neither did Tanna Ross, the senior guard from Newburgh, just down Route 202 from Hampden. She was a freshman when Blodgett arrived to coach. Ross was also a teammate of Emily Rousseau, the former Biddeford star who got caught in a public spat with the university when she wanted out of her scholarship. Maine eventually released Rousseau, allowing her to join a few others in exiting the program.

Ross stayed. “I’ve watched Maine basketball since I was a little girl. I wanted to be part of the history. It means something to me.”

She was in the fourth grade when she won a basketball signed by Maine players. Amy Vachon’s name is on the ball, along with Jamie Cassidy, Katie Clark and Kelly Bowman. “Do I still have that ball? Of course.”

Corinne Wellington, a sophomore forward, can appreciate the history but doesn’t have the connection. She grew up in Rochester, N.Y. When Blodgett came calling, the emphasis was on opportunity and a chance to remake a program that’s seen very hard times.

“There’s more chemistry this season,” said Wellington. More motivation. Newcomer or old hand or something in between, she and her teammates have their age-old desire to prove critics wrong. Blodgett hit that theme when the preseason poll came out. Eight other America East coaches picked Maine to finish no better than eighth, one spot ahead of last-place New Hampshire.

It’s time, Blodgett told her players, to restore some respect in the program.

“I was scared,” said Wheeler, remembering her first season. The transition from high school senior to college freshman was more difficult than she imagined. In Blodgett’s rookie season as coach, Maine had hit bottom. When Wheeler arrived a year later, there wasn’t enough on-court leadership from peers to go around.

Now she looks at five new faces in the locker room. “This team is really young,” said Wheeler. “We still have a lot to work on.”

Blodgett has asked her leading scorer with the leadership abilities to be “courageous” when talking with her teammates. From Ross she’ll get the perseverance of a player who has seen the worst and come back for more.

“I matured very quickly. I looked at it as a challenge.”

It’s their challenge, from Blodgett down to the freshman who must fight for playing time. Win games, win back the fans who lost their patience. It won’t be easy.

It’s not impossible.

 

Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at: ssolloway@pressherald.com

 

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