There’s a thin line between following in someone’s footsteps and walking in their shadow. Kaden Bedard knows this. Choosing to play college basketball at the University of Maine, where his father, Andy Bedard, is regarded as one of the top players in the program’s history, isn’t pressure.

“I view it more as like, I’m going to continue his legacy,” Kaden, 19, said.

Last week, Bedard, a 6-foot-1 point guard at the Newman School in Boston, announced he’ll play his college hoops at UMaine. His father played the same position for the Black Bears for two seasons after starting his college career at Boston College.

With Andy Bedard at the point, Maine had arguably its best season in 1999-2000. The Black Bears went 24-7, earning the No. 2 seed in the America East tournament. The case can be made that had Bedard not broken his wrist in the quarterfinals of that tournament, Maine had the goods to beat top-seeded Hofstra in the finals. The Black Bears had gone 11-1 down the stretch, the loss a three-point defeat at Hofstra.

Alas, without its point guard, Maine fell to Delaware in the semis, and the season became the biggest “what if” in team history. Kaden said he and his dad have talked about that Maine team and that injury.

Ancient history, Andy Bedard said. It’s been 26 years since that season and 19 years since he was inducted into UMaine’s Hall of Fame in 2007. His career should have no bearing on how his son is received in Orono.

“I’m sure he’ll hear that, but people will see how hard he plays and his willingness to do anything to win. I think the Maine Black Bear family will just appreciate how tough and how much energy he brings and how selfless he is,” Andy said.

Maine loves its history, and holds its basketball heroes tightly. People in Rumford and Mexico still talk about the night Andy Bedard dropped 53 points on Camden-Rockport to win the Class B championship for Mountain Valley. His son is playing for Maine? Cue the Stein Song.

Father and son are both 6-foot-1 and play the same position, but that’s where the comparisons end. Andy could as easily score as he could find an open teammate for a better shot, averaging just under 13 points and nearly seven assists per game in his final season at Maine. Kaden didn’t grow up in Rumford like his old man, but he still plays with that mill-town-kid tenacity. In a self-scout, Kaden described himself as a good defender and passer, and a player who will dive on the court for any loose ball. A collection of the little things in one body.

Andy expects that his son will often guard an opponent’s best player.

“I don’t think Coach Giannini (John Giannini, Maine’s coach when Bedard played) ever put me anywhere near the other team’s best player,” he said.

He’s excited that Kaden will play for Maine coach Chris Markwood, whom Andy described as a high-character guy who isn’t entirely devoted to just the Xs and O’s, a coach who will help his son mature as a player and a man. Kaden said Markwood and his staff stayed on him, even after he tore his ACL last summer. He knew if he was going to play college ball, it was going to be at Maine.

History had less to do with Kaden’s decision than finding the right fit.

“When I was making my decision, (my father) did a really good job of staying out of the way. I asked him for advice and he gave me an honest opinion and wasn’t trying to persuade me in any way,” Kaden said. “It just so happens that Maine is the right spot.”

It didn’t hurt that his best friend, Ace Flagg, is already there. Kaden, who lived in Maine until his family moved to Florida when he was 14, played for the Maine United club team (coached by Andy) with Ace and Cooper Flagg, and at Montverde Academy with the twin brothers, too. Kaden expects the on-court chemistry with Ace to pick right up — they’re like brothers, Kaden said.

And if that chemistry clicks? If, with Flagg and Bedard, among others, the Black Bears put it all together sometime in the next few seasons, they could find themselves securing their first NCAA tournament berth in program history. With a new arena being constructed on campus, can Maine finally win that elusive conference title? That would be writing the coolest chapter in the history of Maine men’s basketball.

“That would be better than me doing it,” Andy said. “I really hope it happens. How great would that be?”

Kaden will walk past his father’s picture, hanging in the Memorial Gym lobby, many times as he enters “The Pit.” It won’t be a shadow he’s walking out of. It will be an opportunity to run toward.