Pelotte proved doubters wrong

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Here's an All-America vote for Nick Pelotte, guard from Plymouth State University via Bingham's Valley High School.

The kid who has spent his entire basketball career proving to you that he can play is almost done. Pelotte has at best a handful of games left in his collegiate career. That should be plenty of time to convert anyone who is still doubting him.

"We all knew he was a great player," Valley head coach Dwight Littlefield said, "but to see how well he's done in college. I didn't expect this."

Nick Pelotte is 5-foot-10 and he's driving the lane against guys whose shadows weigh more than him.

"Take a look at him," Nick's father, Roy Pelotte, said. "He's not a very big guy or a thick guy. If you don't look at him play, you'd think he's weak."

Weak? Since his freshman year of high school, Nick's teams are a combined 164-32. Eighty-four of those wins came at Valley, where with Pelotte on the team, the Cavaliers never lost a game.

"Take a season that any parent would dream about seeing their kid in, and times that by four," Roy said.

At the University of Southern Maine on Tuesday night, Pelotte scored a team-high 25 points. And grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, six offensive. And had a team-high six assists. But it's the result that will haunt him. Tuesday's 88-87 loss at USM, won by the Huskies' Jason Levecque with a layup with 6.9 seconds left (following a Pelotte 3-pointer with 17 seconds left that gave Plymouth an 87-86 lead) is a rare occurrence. Rare as they may be, the losses all sting.

"They're tough, every one," Nick said. "If we had won on Saturday (a 106-103 loss to UMass-Boston) and here, the (Little East) tourney would be at our place."

The Panthers are now 17-7, and at 9-4 in conference play, are in a three-way tie for the top spot. Last season, the Panthers finished with a 24-6 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament. The fewest number of wins Plymouth has had with Pelotte on the roster is 18, in an 18-11 season Pelotte's freshman year.

Weak? Entering Tuesday night's game at Southern Maine, Pelotte averaged a Little East Conference high 26.5 points per game. In the latest Division III statistics released by the NCAA, Pelotte is fourth in the nation in scoring. Tuesday was the 39th straight game he has scored in double digits. Many of those points come by flinging his small frame into the paint, where 5-10 guys are used for kindling.

"The players we see in the NESCAC, the players in our league, get bumped around pretty good," said Roy, an assistant coach at Colby. "Nick is playing in the Little East, a similar conference, and is getting banged up. To watch it is absolutely phenomenal."

Weak? Off the tip against Southern Maine, Pelotte drove to the hoop for an easy layup. On the Panthers' next possession, Pelotte took a pass from teammate Peter Hutchins, jumping into the paint to catch the ball before laying it in. Midway through the first half, Pelotte missed from outside, followed his shot like the ball was attached to him on a string, and sank his putback for a 10-point Plymouth lead.

"I thought with Nick's size, I thought the banging would take a toll on him," Roy said. "What I noticed right off the bat is he's so darn quick, nobody can catch him."

Weak? With Tuesday night's 25 points, Pelotte is 71 points away from 2,000 for his career. He doesn't care.

"It doesn't mean anything to me. It means nothing without an LEC championship. That's something that Plymouth State has never had, and that's something I'm trying to bring to them," Nick said.

The kid who has spent his entire basketball career proving to you that he can play has nothing left to prove.

"If I haven't proven people wrong, they haven't been paying attention," Nick said. "I don't care what people think anymore. I've only got a few games left. I'll just keep playing hard until it's over."

To do anything else would be one thing.

Weak.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com