Give the Mr. Maine Basketball award to this ‘prime-time’ player now

This year’s Mr. Maine Basketball award winner won’t be crowned until early March, but it’s already clear who should get the nod as the state’s top senior boys player.

No matter what happens for him and his Camden Hills Windjammers teammates in Saturday’s Class A State championship, guard Nolan Ames has already left little doubt that he is the worthy choice.

That’s not a reflection on the similarly fantastic years and careers that fellow finalists Akol Maiwen of Edward Little and Tyrie James of Windham have had for their teams. It’s just the reality of how dominant Ames has become.

Already a 1,000-point scorer and Bangor Daily News All-Maine second team member a year ago as a junior, Ames entered this season with sky-high expectations on his back. And if anything, he’s exceeded them already.

Ames led his conference in scoring during the regular season with over 26 points per game. He was also among the league leaders in rebounds (7.6), assists (3.5), steals (3.2) and blocks (1.1).

And as the best players do, Ames has also been big for Camden Hills in the biggest moments.

The senior guard has averaged nearly 24 points per game in his team’s three tournament games so far, to go with over eight rebounds per game. He was just two rebounds short of a triple-double in the Windjammer’s Class A North regional title win over Brunswick, with 21 points and 11 assists to go with his eight rebounds.

“This is the time for prime-time players to show up, and he certainly did,” Camden Hills coach Joel Gabriele said after the regional final win. “We’re thankful that he’s got Camden Hills on his jersey, that’s for sure.”

Any team would be thankful to have a player like Ames leading the way. And he’ll be taking his game to Colby College next season.

But first, he’s looking to bring a gold ball back for Camden Hills. And the No. 1 Windjammers from the North will be facing the No. 6 Portland boys on Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.

The two teams met once during preseason action, and Camden Hills got the victory. But that was a long time ago.

“We played Portland in the preseason, but that’s the preseason,” Ames said after the regional finals. “Every team is different now. So we’re going to scout, we’re going to watch film, and we’re going to come in prepared.”

Camden Hills only dropped one regular season contest, a late loss to Cony of Augusta, and this will be Ames’ first state championship appearance of his high school career.

“It means the world,” he said about the opportunity for a state title. “We’ve just got to win it now.”