Mt. Blue High School, which returns two very talented guards in Ben Russell and Jamie Sawyer, was picked second in the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A coaches poll on Thursday.

Edward Little was picked first in the Top 8 poll, followed by Mt. Blue, Brewer, Hampden, Bangor, Morse, Skowhegan and Lawrence.

Russell and Sawyer are part of a change in the style of play in the conference, according to Lawrence coach Mike McGee.

"If you have two solid guards and can keep the ball in their hands, you are very difficult to beat," said McGee, who will be coaching his 25th season at Lawrence. "That is what has changed from when I first started to coach. It used to be the big men dominated the game. Now it's the guards."

Skowhegan, picked seventh, could be without junior forward Paul Verville, who suffered a neck injury in the football season.

"He's a junior, but he has been starting since he was a freshman," Skowhegan coach Troy Scott said. "He is an important missing ingredient."

Still, Skowhegan has a number of letterwinners returning, including Jordan Taylor and Billy Clark, who were named players to watch by the KVAC A coaches.

Meanwhile, Lawrence had three players, Ben Violette, Brooks Spaulding and Matt Perkins named players to watch.

"I thought we had a very good summer. We played without one of our better players, Matt Perkins, who was out with a back injury," McGee said. "We have a lot of solid seniors this year."