HS Notebook: Putting Max Millette’s scoring tear into perspective

Frontier’s Max Millette drives to the rim while guarded by Pioneer’s Brayden Thayer earlier this season at Goodnow Gymnasium in South Deerfield. STAFF PHOTO/THOMAS JOHNSTON
Published: 01-30-2025 8:41 PM |
Since the return from the COVID-hiatus in 2020, there have been 15 occasions where a Recorder Area boys basketball player eclipsed 30 points in a game.
Turners Falls’ Marcus Sanders did it twice during the eight game COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, scoring 38 against both Franklin Tech and Frontier. Once normalcy finally returned, Greenfield’s David Carey was the lone area player with a 30-point outing as he dropped 32 against Lenox during the 2021-22 season.
Franklin Tech’s Ty Sadoski accomplished the feat three separate times during the 2022-23 season, finishing with 32 against Smith Academy, 34 against Lee and 32 against Turners. Greenfield’s Jon Breor had a 31-point performance against Duggan that same season.
Thirty-three was seemingly the magic number last winter, as Athol’s Ben Kearney scored 33 against Lee, Turners’ Branden Truesdell also scored 33 against the Wildcats while Mahar’s Jayden Delgado put up 33 against Lenox.
I wrote last week about scoring being up this year and that showed early this season, with three players recorded 30-point outings. Greenfield freshman Grayson Thomas dropped 32 against Drury, Pioneer’s Brayden Thayer recorded 30 points against Lenox while Turners Falls’ Jackson Cogswell went off for 35 points against Mount Greylock.
That’s a long way to put in perspective just how unprecedented Max Millette accomplishments from earlier this week are.
The Frontier junior went off for 39 points against South Hadley — the No. 10 ranked team in the MIAA Div. 4 power rankings — on Monday, the most in the area since at least the 2020 season.
Playing back-to-back nights, it would have made sense is the scoring cooled off on Tuesday against a talented Greenfield team. Instead, Millette exploded for a second-straight 39 point contest, carrying the Redhawks to an overtime victory over the Wave.
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Despite those insane scoring numbers, Frontier coach Josh Morse said Millette is the opposite of a selfish player, instead looking to get his teammates involved and only looking to score when it’s the right play within the offense.
“He’s not hunting shots,” Morse said. “He’s trying to find the open guy to get everyone on the team involved. He only takes good looks. He’s a very efficient player and as someone who has the ball in his hands a lot, that’s a big win for us as a team. The guys love when he scores because of that. He’s a culture guy and the guys really love playing with him. He gets his points in the flow of the offense and doesn’t try to force things.”
Millette tends to save his best for when his team needs it most. Trailing going into the fourth quarter against the Tigers, Millette scored 16 of his 39 points in the final eight minutes to make keep it competitive.
Against Greenfield, 18 of his 39 points came in the fourth quarter and overtime as he dug the Redhawks out of a 50-39 hole going into the fourth.
“He loves to win but hates to lose,” Morse said. “In the fourth quarter, your best players need to deliver. It’s the mark of a great player. Max is a gamer who steps up in the biggest moments and when the game is on the line.”
Millette — who Morse also mentioned is an underrated defender — is less than 200 points away from hitting the 1,000 point milestone. With many games left this season and with his senior year to come, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Millette has his name up in the banners at Goodnow Gymnasium.
With just a few weeks left before Western Mass. tournaments get underway, here’s where things stand in the league title races.
Just a week ago, it looked like Lee was going to run away with the Hampshire League North, holding a two-game lead over Athol and Hampshire. Since then the Wildcats dropped games to both the Bears in the Raiders, leading to Lee and Athol currently tied in first in the league while Hampshire is just a half game back from first.
Pioneer hasn’t been beat yet in the Hampshire League South, holding an 8-0 record in the league. With four league games to go, only Drury is under four losses. The Blue Devils face off against the Panthers on Feb. 4 in North Adams.
Lenox’s victory at Goodnow Gymnasium gives it a leg up over Frontier in the Franklin County League North race. Nobody else in the FCL North has been competitive with either team and barring a major upset, Feb. 10th’s game betweeen the Millionaires and the Redhawks in Lenox will determine whether Lenox wins the league outright or if Frontier earns a share of the title.
Ware has a two-game lead over Franklin Tech in the Franklin County League South heading into Thursday. The Eagles would need to win out in their final two league games — one of which is against Ware — while Ware would also have to lose to Mohawk Trail for Tech to earn a share of the league title.
How about the Greenfield hockey team? The Wave have made quite a statement in their first year in the Berry League and are just one point behind Westfield — who Greenfield beat Wednesday — for first place in the Berry. The Wave have played one less league game than the Bombers.
In the pool Holyoke and Turners are battling it out in the Constitution Division, the Thunder boys tying the Purple Knights on Monday while Holyoke picked up a win over the Turners girls.
On the wrestling mat, a Franklin Tech victory over Granby next Wednesday would give the Eagles the outright Suburban League title as Tech is currently 4-0 in league matches.