There were 23 athletes in the York High School boys basketball program when Randy Small took over as head coach at the beginning of last season.

It was all new at the old gym known as The Pit at the University of Maine Thursday afternoon.

The New England Basketball Hall of Fame’s fifth induction ceremony on Oct. 9 will include many outstanding high school and college athletes and coaches from the state of Maine.

Maine Hoops, now known as MBNation, would like to announce the 14th annual Fall Basketball League. Last year the league consisted of over 70 teams from all overMaine and New Hampshire.

Ron Brown, a longtime basketball coach and author of the Bangor (Maine) Daily News' "Time Out" sports column, died Tuesday due to complications from renal failure at the age of 58. According to the Daily News, Brown first experienced kidney failure in 1984 before undergoing a successful transplant in 1989. The kidney lasted nine years, then failed. He had been undergoing dialysis treatment three times per week since 1998.

WATERVILLE -- Before Steve Clifford told a group of boys everything they could possibly want to know about running and defending a pick-and-roll, he told them a little bit about Rashard Lewis. Lewis is a two-time NBA All-Star who starts for the Orlando Magic. Clifford talked about how he prepares for a game, how he deals with coaches and how hard he works. Clifford, a former basketball player at the University of Maine at Farmington, has first-hand knowledge of Lewis's habits. Clifford has been an assistant coach with the Magic the last two seasons and has coached or scouted in the NBA since 2000. Clifford, 47, was in Waterville on Monday to help at the Pine Tree Basketball Clinic at Colby College. He was born in Lincoln, Maine, and grew up in Vermont before coming back to Maine to attend UMF. "I wanted to play, and I wanted to be a special ed teacher," Clifford said. "My degree was learning disabilities, and of the schools that recruited me, that was the best fit all the way around." At UMF, Clifford played for coach Len MacPhee and was named the Beavers' top defensive player two years in a row. "He was an ideal coach for me," Clifford said. "He was a disciplinarian. He was knowledgeable. He was very no-nonsense. I've said this before, but I can't imagine anybody having a better experience with their coach than I did playing for him."

SKOWHEGAN -- A former local high school basketball coach has requested a jury trial on a charge of drug possession. Scott C. Jones, 42, of Skowhegan, was arrested May 4 and charged with possession of hashish. The crime is classified as a Class D misdemeanor. Jones coached varsity girls basketball at Carrabec High School the last five seasons. He was the Mountain Valley Conference and Morning Sentinel Coach of the Year after leading Carrabec to 14 wins this winter. Carrabec had won nine games in the previous four years combined. Ken Smith, superintendent of School Administrative District 74, said Jones resigned as Carrabec coach, but Smith said he did not know the date or a time period. "All I know is, he resigned," Smith said. Smith said Jones was not asked to resign. The school posted the job opening on the Web site ServingSchools.com on Tuesday. According to Smith, assistant coach Josh Bishop has been coaching the team in its summer basketball program.

Some of Eastern Maine’s top schoolboy basketball players will be testing their skills at the national level this summer after contributing to AAU Division I state championship squads. Among the teams that will represent the state at the nationals are the MBR 17-and-under team and the MBR 16-and-under squad, both coached by Carl Parker of Bangor; and the Penobscot Pirates, a 15-and-under squad coached by Norman Poirier and Jean L’Italien. The MBR 17-U squad is led by Bangor Daily News first-team All-Maine choice Keegan Hyland, a guard who just completed his junior year at South Portland and is drawing considerable attention from Division I college programs. He is joined by BDN All-Maine second-teamers Indiana Faithfull, a guard from Cheverus of Portland, and 6-foot-6 forward Dominic Borelli of Westbrook. Both will be seniors in the fall. Others on the squad include Colton Gross of Hermon, Jacob Moore of Hampden Academy, Stefano Mancini of Falmouth, Trevor Tierney of Greely of Cumberland Center and Yusef Iman, Bo Leary and James Philbrook, all of Edward Little of Auburn.

SPRINGFIELD - Which AAU basketball teams north of the mid-Atlantic are the best of the best? That will be decided by Sunday. The Best of the Best Boys & Girls Basketball Tournaments will be held throughout Springfield Saturday and Sunday, with 48 teams in nine divisions vying for championships at the elite first-year event. "Every team that's coming to the event this weekend either had to finish high in their state tournament, a super regional, or another very high-level type of tournament," said Colin Tabb, General Manager for BasketBull, LLC, which is coordinating the tournament. "All these teams have credentials that back up their invitation."