Mt. Blue High School can add two Maine Basketball Hall of Fame inductees to its list of alumni achievements.

Mike Adams from the Class of 1990 and Heather (Ernest) Bond, a 2000 graduate, are two of the 12 players and coaches to be honored on Sunday at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

Adams was named Mr. Maine Basketball in 1990, and went on to play at Thomas College before a 23-year coaching stint at Edward Little that came to a close earlier this year. Adams scored 1,521 points at Thomas and led the Red Eddies to two state titles and 330 wins.

He called the induction a huge honor, and said he was humbled by the recognition.

“Growing up in the ’90s, playing high school basketball, it was, just to me, one of the greatest times of high school basketball,” Adams said. “So many legends, in terms of players and coaches in the game, and to get into coaching afterwards, and see so many great coaches and players as well — you see the game differently as a coach and as a player.”

Bond earned Miss Maine Basketball in 2000 then played at the University of Maine, where she led the Black Bears in scoring all four seasons, 2000-04, and was named America East Player of the Year twice.

“It’s exciting and rewarding to be noticed for your hard work,” Bond said. “I love the game of basketball, and it’s been a love of mine for so long now. It’s super fun to be 20 years out of playing, if you will, from college, and then being able to go back and think about all the things that happened and what we accomplished, and where basketball led me into the rest of my life.”

After college Bond, then Heather Ernest, played professional basketball in Germany for five years. That’s where she met her husband, Chris Bond, who was also playing in Germany as a dual citizen. Heather joked that when she first met Chris he was shy and did not connect with her right off the bat like the other Americans in the league, but a Thanksgiving dinner hosted at her place for all the American athletes united the two.

“We started dating in 2005 and we got married in 2014,” Heather Bond said. “We have twin sons that just turned 7 years old, and slightly, no pressure on them, but they’re basically our NBA retirement plan, assuming they love hoops as much as their parents.”

Adams’ post-collegiate career took him to corporate America, instead of the court, since he was unsure what type of career he wanted to pursue.

A talk with his high school coach, Jim Bessey, changed everything.

“The money was fun and nice, but I was miserable and again, Coach Bessey sat me down and said, ‘Are you happy?’” And he goes, ‘would you want to coach and teach,’” Adams said. “I never really thought about it, but a light bulb went off, and my wife supported us making a huge career change and leaving corporate America and going back to school and getting my teaching certificate and finding a teaching job.”

Adams began coaching in Lewiston as an assistant under Jason Fuller, who now serves as the school’s athletic director. Once the Edward Little position opened, he applied despite hesitations about being a head coach.

“I took a leap of faith and applied, and was lucky enough to get the job,” Adams said. “It’s been just a dream since day one, the support from the kids and the community has just been absolutely incredible, and it’s been a fun ride, for sure.”

LOOKING BACK

Both Adams and Bond credited their high school coaches — Bessey for Adams, and Chandler Woodcock for Bond — for making them the players they became. Adams credited the sacrifices made by Bessey as the pinnacle of what he became as a coach.

“It’s not possible without my teammates and my coaches that I had, and as a coach, incredible players who sacrificed a lot themselves to make our program and themselves better, great administrators who supported me and the program all the way through,” Adams said.

Bond said Woodcock was a “master at really motivating” the team to have a common goal, and to have a good time while achieving that goal. Her junior and senior seasons, 1999 and 2000, ended with the Cougars winning state championships.

Adams and Bond both had humble basketball beginnings, Bond scoring her first ever basket for the wrong team, and Adams getting cut from his middle school team.

Adams called himself a “late bloomer,” changing positions his junior year and becoming obsessed with getting better at basketball, day by day.

“I think that’s one of the beautiful things about high school athletics is, college and pros, they can have a set system and they can recruit or draft to fill those positions,” Adams said. “In high school, you’re at the luck of the draw with whatever you get for kids, and I think what makes a great player is based on what the need of the team is. Sometimes it might be the score points, and everybody wants to think that’s what a great player is, but it could be rebounding or defending or being a playmaker and getting assists.”

For Bond, basketball greatness came at the rim, grabbing rebounds and scoring points for the Cougars and the Black Bears. She credited her UMaine teammates, including fellow 2024 Hall of Fame inductee Julie Veilleux, for complementing one another’s playing styles.

BASKETBALL’S LASTING IMPACT

Bond and Veilleux, a Cony High School graduate, were rivals in high school, but became teammates at UMaine. They remain close friends and plan to introduce and induct one another at Sunday’s ceremony.

“You get on a Zoom for the announcement of the meeting, and I’m sitting there and all of a sudden she pops in,” Bond said. “I was like, immediately, on my phone, and texting her. … I’m going to stand up and induct her and she’s going to stand up and induct me, which is absolute magic.”

Aside from the reunion at the induction, Bond said her life with basketball now includes watching Chris Bond’s weekend pickup games and sending her twin sons to shoot hoops with him at 5:30 a.m. She said, with a laugh, that she will catch her children watching NBA highlight reels on YouTube, but when she pulled up her own they were less than interested.

Adams finished his coaching tenure at Edward Little with the most wins in program history.

He now is looking forward to spending more time with his family, particularly his wife, Aimee.

“I can’t tell you how many years we put our schedules together for the year, and she would always comment, ‘Really, you have a game on Valentine’s Day?’ or practice on that day,” Adams said. “So, now, she gets Valentine’s Day, which she deserved for more than 25 years. I’m looking forward to those times and spending that time with my family as well.”

LEGACY

Adams hopes the state of Maine and everyone associated with Edward Little High School will remember him first as a good husband, then a good father, then a good teacher and finally a good coach.

“Having somebody call you ‘Coach’ is a really special feeling,” Adams said. “To now say you’re not ‘Coach’ anymore, well, you really are always coach.”

Bond hopes people remember her passion for the sport, and how hard she fought during every game for her team.

“Maine loves their basketball,” Bond said. “I remember watching the playoffs on TV, like, watching Cindy Blodgett, watching Amy Vachon, and all of those Maine players go through, and I was just like, ‘Man, I think this is what I want, I think I want to stay in Maine.’

“It’s a vibe, the people are cool, they’re chill, and they love their local basketball.”