In three games last season, Jason Tarr saw all he wanted to see when it came to Hodgdon High School basketball player Jered Stewart.
This season, Tarr won’t be able to see enough of the 6-foot-3 senior swingman.
While Tarr was coaching the Limestone Eagles to an Eastern Maine Class C championship last season, he watched Stewart average 25 points per game in three matchups between his Eagles and Stewart’s Hawks. This year, however, Tarr will be coaching Stewart as Hodgdon’s first-year head coach.
“I want the ball in his hands as much as possible,” Tarr said of his star player, who is looking to take the Hawks a little farther than last year’s Eastern Maine Class C tournament quarterfinal appearance.
“He’s one of the top two or three players in (Aroostook County), that’s for sure,” added Tarr. “He causes so many matchup problems for other teams. I’ll try to keep him out of the lane as much as possible so nobody can double team him. He can shoot over people or go past people.”
“He’s a helluva player,” said Steve Levasseur, head coach at Schenck High School. “He’s got some kids around him that complement him real well.”
Tarr is looking to use Stewart at the spot on the floor where he would do the most damage. Stewart is big enough to play center, strong enough to play power forward, has the shooting ability and the moves to play either the small forward or shooting guard spot, and he has the ball-handling abilties to play point guard.
“It doesn’t matter (where I play) as long as I’m on the floor,” Stewart said. “The thing I’m going to go along with is if a guy is 5-10 is guarding me, I’ll be in the post. It just depends on the situation.”
Stewart, an All-Maine honorable mention selection a year ago, has worked hard to improve his game during the off-season.
“I’ve been working on my shot a lot, getting the 3-point shot down,” Stewart said. “I think with the offense the way it is, they’ll be more openings and I think we’ll be putting more points on the board.”
Tarr said Stewart is a stronger player.
“He’s hit the weights harder,” Tarr said. “He’s such a tough player and defensively he’s very solid, as is the rest of the team.”
In addition to being a fine basketball player, Stewart is an outstanding overall athlete. He was a state champion high jumper in track (6-6 was his winning height) while also competing for Hodgdon’s baseball team during the spring.
While basketball is in his immediate future, Stewart is looking more closely at track and field when it comes to college. Stewart, an honor student, is looking at Colby and Bowdoin as his possible school of choice.
The irony of Tarr leaving Limestone to coach Hodgdon is not lost on the star player.
“Yeah, it is (ironic),” Stewart said, “but, as a team, we’ve made the adjustment pretty well.”
Stewart also thinks that Tarr could help lead the Hawks farther into the tournament this season.
“I think that (last season) just proves we can be there,” Stewart said. “I think we have the confidence just to have to get there first, then anything can happen.”
Just like last season when Stewart’s 31-point effort almost led the Hawks to an upset of the Tarr-led Eagles of Limestone.
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