Ann Hewitt isn’t sure where her son Peter Hewitt got his height.
The St. Francis rising senior star is 6-foot-9 ½, could dunk in the seventh grade and buys his shoes at www.bigshoes.com.
”He’s much taller than his other siblings,” Ann said. “He has trouble fitting into cars and he has to duck his head to get through doorways. He’s always been the tallest player of any team he’s been on.”
He’s also usually been one of the best. Last season Hewitt averaged 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game for a Lancer team that went 22-6 overall, won the West Catholic Athletic League title and came within an eyelash of capturing the school’s first Central Coast Section Open boys’ basketball title.
St. Francis led Serra late, but a foul just before the buzzer sent Serra’s Jake Killingsworth to the free throw line to shoot three. He made them all and Serra nabbed the championship by two points.
It left a bitter taste for the Lancers who defeated Serra twice during the regular season.
“Losing that CCS game was tough for us,” Hewitt said. “We were cocky and Serra was playing all-out. We should have played better. We should have a better chance next year.”
The Lancers, with their entire starting five returning, should battle Mitty for league and section dominance. And one can never count out Serra which loses a lot, but has an alchemist of a coach in Chuck Rapp always conjuring up the right blend.
There’s nothing like motivation, though, and St. Francis has it after losing in the
section title game and NorCal opener to end an otherwise splendid season.
In Hewitt, the Lancers have a shaggy-haired, whirling dervish of a big man who can do it all,
from score, to rebound, to defend, to block shots.
He not only made the All-WCAL team, but is ranked the 41st-best power forward in the nation by ESPN.
A B-plus student, Hewitt has been offered basketball scholarships by UC- Davis, Pacific, Montana, San Jose State and Southern Utah.
He also has enough dexterity to play the guitar in his free time, a self-taught activity.
“Peter loves to work on his game,” St. Francis coach Mike Motil said. “He has done a great job changing his body in the weight room over the past three years. One of the most impressive things is his flexibility and how quickly he gets up and off the floor. Those physical skills are rare in most 6-9 athletes. Peter is working hard on improving his offensive game, but he knows that his greatest impact thus far has been as an elite defender and rebounder.“
Hewitt plans to visit Brown University, an Ivy League school, soon, Motil said.
Attitude won’t be an issue for recruiters.
“Peter’s very friendly and every team he plays on he always says is “the best team he’s ever been on,’” Ann Hewitt said with a laugh. “He likes everybody and has a positive approach.”
Hewitt’s dad, Jon, played basketball at Terra Linda High. His older sister Caroline played a year of basketball at Mitty and older brother Chris played club roller hockey, also at Mitty – though the Hewitts live in Mountain View right down the street from St. Francis. Peter attended sports camps at SF as a kid.
Hewitt started playing at age 5 at the YMCA and was a quick study.
“I was pretty good,” he said. “I was better than the other kids. I understood the game and could get steals easily. I enjoyed it.”
Hewitt’s dad taught him the basics and a succession of other good coaches also guided him, including on the AAU circuit. The Lancer now plays during the off-season for the Lakeshow Elite 17U, where he teams with such standouts as De La Salle star Jordan Ratinho.
“I’ve improved a great deal from eighth grade to senior year,” he said. “I’m like a completely different player. I’m more athletic, I score more and I’m more aggressive, a better rebounder and I understand the game a lot more.”
By the end of Hewitt’s freshman season, he was pulled up to the St. Francis varsity. He’s been there ever since, including the difficult 2013-2014 season when the young Lancers showed promise, but didn’t fare well in the rugged WCAL.
“That year was difficult because we had a lot of sophomores playing in a hard league,” he said. “But it introduced us to the league and gave us experience.”
