The state's top two basketball players last season, Winthrop's Sam Leclerc and Maranacook's Ryan Martin, are discovering life at the Division I college level is a much tougher environment than high school.

Both certainly knew that coming in, but there are at least some fans out there that expected them to succeed or fail right away. Leclerc is certainly is a better position to begin with since he was recruited by Bryant University and received a full scholarship. The team, playing its first season in Div. I, is currently 1-7. Leclerc has yet to start but is averaging 15.9 minutes and 1.8 points a game.
Martin was guaranteed a spot on the University of Maine's roster but is the team's only non-scholarship player. He's only played in four of 10 games. He's scored 30 points, but 20 of those came against Div. III University of Maine at Presque Isle. He did, however, play 10 minutes and score five points and record a steal this week against Oklahoma, the fifth-ranked team in the country.
Martin's future at Maine is far from guaranteed. At 5-foot-9, Div. I coaches thought it too much of a gamble to recruit him. He is, however, determined to succeed and so is Leclerc. I've seen both play since their junior high days and followed them throughout high school.
I have yet to see anybody put in more time and effort on their games (much of it on their own) than these two. That was the reason we selected them as Kennebec Journal co-players of the year last season. It's just too hard to differentiate between their skills and desire. Should Martin transfer, he'll succeed at another school, and Leclerc will eventually earn his minutes. Right now, I wouldn't bet against either of them.