Rich Nye/Eyewitness Sports
Bridgton, Maine, Feb. 26 - "We go to class and eat, sleep and drink our sport." Bridgton Academy is a tiny prep school that sits on a cold, snowy hill in rural Maine. Eyewitness Sports went there to find Indiana's best high school basketball player.
Former Pike High School star Robert Vaden now plays in a little wood barn for the Bridgton Wolverines. He's the top player on a team loaded with division one recruits.
Just a year ago, as a junior, Vaden helped Pike go undefeated and win the state championship.
He was the clear favorite for Mr. Basketball this year. But just a few days after classes began at Pike High School last fall, Robert disappeared.
He showed up at Bridgton Academy in Maine. It's a one-year prep school where athletes get academically ready for college.
"Why am I here? I'm here basically so I can go to (Indiana University) next year and get an education and play basketball. That was like the main reason, because when I was at Pike I probably wouldn't have been able to do it."
Vaden believes he would have been academically ineligible as a freshman at IU if he stayed at Pike.
At Bridgton, there's a mandatory two-hour study hall every night, a 10:30 curfew and he can't leave campus on weekdays. And there's something missing at the school. "Girls, there's no girls. It's an all boys school."
"He wanted to play for us next year," says IU Head Coach Mike Davis. "That was the most important thing for him to play for us next year. He gave up a lot to go. But he wanted to be on the court next year. And it was so important for him to play next year that he did what he had to do."
Vaden's roommate is Mike Davis Junior, son of the Indiana basketball coach. "Everybody knows that Robert Vaden is the best player in Indiana, no matter where he's at, whether he's in Maine, California, it doesn't really matter.
"He's averaging 28 up here. This is way better competition than Indiana right now because these guys from all over are going to big name schools."
Most of Bridgton's 180 students are athletes. Most have already graduated from high school. Some need to improve their grades. Others need an extra year of athletic maturity before college.
Whit Lesure is the Bridgton Basketball Coach. "Believe me, they wouldn't want to spend three more days here than they had to. That being said, they didn't want to come necessarily, and they wouldn't want to come back. But for one year, it serves its purpose."
"In 34 years doing the magazine, we never ever had to do this before," says Garry Donna with Hoosier Basketball Magazine. The original artwork for this year's Hoosier Basketball Magazine featured Robert Vaden. His sudden exit from Pike delayed publication two weeks for a new cover design.
Donna believes, "He gave up a place in history. When you're Mr Basketball, you're Mr. Basketball forever."
Vaden agrees. "In Indiana, it means everything. You're the best player in Indiana. Being Mr. Basketball, nothing else would top that besides playing at IU. I'd love to be Mr. Basketball. But I think playing at IU is more important."
Officials at Pike High School declined an interview request.
Many players go to prep school before college. David Teague, who plays at Purdue, went to Bridgton. 1998 Mr. Basketball Tom Coverdale attended a prep school before he went to IU. But those players finished high school first. Robert Vaden's situation is more unusual.
This school cost over $29,000 for one year. Students do receive some financial aid based on need.
Indiana was not Robert's first college choice, and Pike was not his first high school.
"He told me he wanted to play here next year," says IU coach Mike Davis. "And the way it turned out, (Bridgton) was his only option."
Vaden is a key member of IU's top-ranked recruiting class. "Mister Basketball is a once in a lifetime thing. But so is winning a national championship," says Davis. "And to be a part of a history class is a good position to be in. I think we've got a chance to do something special, special."
Gene Keady first recruited number 24 at Cathedral for two years.
Vaden verbally committed to Purdue as a high school freshman before he ever played a varsity game. Last May he changed his mind and picked Indiana.
But the tiny Bridgton gym is a long way from Assembly Hall. "It seems like IU is a good place to play. It's got so much basketball tradition. It seems like there will be a lot of success in the future. I wanted Coach Davis to be my coach, so I just picked IU."
Purdue fans feel betrayed.
In Indiana, he probably committed the ultimate act of treason, at least if you live in West Lafayette.
"It's a rival. It's a big game," says Vaden. "They hate each other. Hey, I had to choose the situation that would probably be best for me."
And he feels one year at Bridgton was best for him, too.
Lesure, Bridgton basketball coach, says, "We've had a lot of guys out of here in the basketball program that have gone on and have good things to say about Bridgton and place a value on it. I hope that they leave a whole lot more ready to succeed in college and beyond than they were when they got here. In that respect, Robert is no different than anybody else."
After so many changes and tough choices, where is Mr. Basketball? He's comfortable where he's at.
Robert Vaden celebrated a state championship at Pike last season. The Red Devils try to defend the state title this year without him. Officials at Pike High School declined our interview requests for this story.
Indiana Coach Mike Davis expects Vaden to play 30 to 35 minutes a game next season as a freshman.
