Meet McQuaid freshman sensation Isaiah Stewart

There is a freshman at McQuaid Jesuit named Isaiah Stewart. He is tall for a 14-year-old, 6 feet 7 inches, with room to grow. That is the exciting part and, so are some of the tales that come with it.The word is rushing out among area high school basketball fans, like the Golden State Warriors on a fast break.

“A 40-point game, as a freshman?” Bishop Kearney coach Kevin Goode said after a win over McQuaid. “That’s something to talk about.”

And, yes, that was Mike Hopkins, the top assistant basketball coach at Syracuse University, who watched him play in another game recently. There was an appointment for Stewart to talk in front of television cameras Friday, after McQuaid’s practice.

The basketball junkies here in Rochester, quickly noticed small details. Look how a 14-year-old remembers to slow down, collect himself and shoot near the basket with some technique, even if a sloppier move would have worked against a much smaller defender. And if Stewart is set up near the basket and receives a pass, the ball may very well come back out for a teammate to shoot.

“It’s hard to remember sometimes that he’s 14 years old,” area youth coach and Stewart family friend Michael Maloney said. “He’s been able to handle it so far.”

Drop steps and double-team recognition does not grab everyone’s attention. There are fewer video clips of that type of technique being passed around Twitter, than highlights like a recent dunk by Stewart, where he appears to launch himself toward the basket from near the free-throw line.

“I played 17s, sometimes 18s. I played up an age group against a lot of great players,” Stewart said about how he spent last spring and summer. “Then also, I went to a lot of camps. CP3 (NBA all-star Chris Paul endorses a variety of camps and tournaments, including an invitation-only event Stewart attended in Winston-Salem, North Carolina), John Lucas (International Middle School Combine, an invitation event in Houston and Jim Couch (National Training Showcase, for nationally-ranked players by graduation class in the Bronx).

“I just developed and performed and just showed everyone that I can hang with the best, that I’m one of the top players in the country (at his age).”

Dela Stewart, a construction worker who moved from Florida to Rochester 20 years ago, said the youngest of his two sons (and one of six children) was about 6 feet tall at the age of 12. Isaiah Stewart’s father, a native of Jamaica, is 6-3 and his mother stands 6 feet.

“But my dad was tall (6-9), until he bent when he got old,” Dela Stewart said about Isaiah’s late grandfather.

Dela Stewart did not play basketball, but was well aware of countryman and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing, who starred at Georgetown before he reached the NBA. Isaiah Stewart, like Ewing, wears jersey No. 33.

“Well, I just stand guard,” Dela Stewart said. “He has the opportunity to play the basketball. When I was growing up, I never got those kind of opportunities. I’m very happy for him and I love him. And he has people who are behind him. Dr. (Michael) Maloney took him to Georgetown (University). (Isaiah) talked to Patrick Ewing.

“Well, what I do next is, I just try to tell him to work hard. Education, work hard. Everything you want, will come to you. Just trust in God and stay strong. And I cook good food, and I give him the Jamaican food, the West Indies food, the boiled banana, steamed fish and Irish moss.”

The first time Isaiah Stewart spread his hands around a basketball, in organized play, was as a 10-year-old elementary student at School 9 in the Rochester School District.

“I just really liked it a lot,” Isaiah Stewart said. “Once I started playing, I wanted to get better at it. I kept practicing, staying in the gym, you know, just kept grinding and staying humble.

“Hopefully, more big things can come.”

Maloney, who has a medical practice and is the team physician for the Rochester Red Wings professional baseball club and area college teams, coached against a squad that included Stewart two years ago, then again a year later.

“He made such incredible progress,” Maloney said.

Maloney and Dela Stewart chatted after the game. When Stewart shared that he was from Jamaica, Maloney, a native of Rhode Island, wondered if he heard of Ewing. Maloney is a graduate of Georgetown, where he was a walk-on player with the college team.

“My freshman year was with Patrick Ewing,” Maloney said.

Stewart’s freshman year on the court at McQuaid has been outstanding.

His scoring average is up to 18.5 points, along with 11.9 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game. He has produced double figures in two of those categories in six consecutive games. That double-double streak included 41 points, 21 rebounds and 12 blocks against Edison and three days later, 42 points and 19 rebounds in a loss to Leadership Academy. McQuaid plays at Wilson, 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“With Isaiah, he’s such a special talent,” McQuaid coach Jack Leasure said. “He’s a kid you won’t see very often around here. It’s natural that attention is going to come, but he’s a very grounded kid. He’s very focused on his future, on his academics. He’s a good person.

“I’m not too worried about (attention), he’s pretty mature for his age. He’s so focused on getting better. With all of his talent, the excitement is that where he can be. He knows that there’s a lot of things he needs to improve to get there.”

There have been letters addressed to him from Stanford, Virginia, Ohio State, Arizona and Georgetown, although who knows what that really means. It’s early, but there appear to be possibilities.

“It’s going pretty well, it’s more than I expected,’’ Stewart said. “I just keep trying my best and playing my hardest. I came from modified last year to varsity.

“I played against a lot of great players during the summer so I just walked into the season confident, just ready to play.’’

JAMESJ@DemocratandChronicle.com

5 Section V boys basketball players you should see play

Isaiah Stewart

Age: 14.

Resides: Rochester.

School, class: McQuaid Jesuit, Class of 2019 (freshman).

Fun facts: Stood about 6 feet tall when he was 12 years old, according to his father. ... Dunked a basketball for the first time last year. ... "I focus on schoolwork, but you know I'm 14, so I try to do fun things, like go to the movies, hang out with good friends, go to the mall.'' ... His favorite junk food: "I love chips (Doritos or Lays, flavor does not matter). ... Wears jersey number 33. "I wear it because I'm a big fan of Patrick Ewing.''