The University of Maine men’s basketball team entered the offseason with five scholarships to offer. That number has officially been reduced to three.
This past week, the Black Bears landed 6-foot-6 senior Chris Mantis from Appalachian State and 6-foot-10 sophomore Ridvan Tutic from the University of New Hampshire from the transfer portal, adding much-needed shooting and frontcourt depth to their roster.
Mantis is an Indiana native who averaged 13.5 minutes, 4.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 threes (34.2 3-point percentage) in his three years at Appalachian State, helping the Mountaineers to a 27-7 record and regular season Sun Belt Conference title this past season.
UMaine’s starting backcourt in 2023-24 — junior Kellen Tynes, sophomore Jaden Clayton and fifth-year Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish — combined to shoot just 30.2 percent from beyond the arc, and as a team UMaine (29.5 percent) was last in the America East in 3-point shooting.
“Mantis can make shots, guard the two through four, and fit a major need for us,” head coach Chris Markwood said. “He’s a high character kid with a great IQ that played a significant role on a top mid-major program. He’s gonna have an immediate impact for us, and will be in the mix for a starting spot.”
Tutic is a Serbia native who made the 2022-23 America East All-Rookie team alongside Clayton, before injuries sidelined him this past year. He played 29 games (22 starts) his freshman year at UNH, averaging 3.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists on 53.7 percent shooting. He had a solid net rating of plus-11.9.
UMaine’s frontcourt is pretty depleted with the departures of Kristians Feierbergs, Milos Nenadic and All-Conference second-teamer Peter Filipovity this offseason, so Tutic also plugs a big hole for the Black Bears.
“We recruited Ridvan out of high school, and he really liked us,” Markwood said. “He’s a good defender with budding offensive skills, and a European that understands the game. He’s a hard-nosed kid with three years left of eligibility.”
The only other big man currently rostered for UMaine is junior Keelan Steele of Ontario, who also sat out the 2023-24 season due to injury. He appeared in six games and played 30 total minutes for UMaine his freshman year, scoring six points.
UMaine is also a few days away from officially bringing 6-foot-10 junior Killian Gribben of Siena University on board. The Irishman played 32 games (18 starts) for the Saints last season, averaging 4.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks on 43.3 percent shooting.
