CAPE ELIZABETH – When Cape Elizabeth High basketball coach Jim Ray runs his youth programs, he often tells players to watch Theo Bowe.

“Watch how he fakes, watch how he shoots,” says Ray.

Additional Photos

Defenses haven't found a way to stop Theo Bowe of Cape Elizabeth – who scored 34 points against Greely last week and leads Class B teams in the Western Maine Conference with a 26-point-per-game average. John Ewing/Staff Photographer

In Bowe, a senior forward, Ray has an excellent role model.

Bowe is fundamentally sound, and his attitude, character and competitiveness are also to be held up and admired.

Ray, with a team of character players, said a player like Bowe makes coaching worthwhile.

Ray coached Theo’s older brother, Alex, and said he might stick around long enough to coach the next Bowe boy, Finn, who is a fifth-grader.

“Theo looks you in the eye and gives you a firm handshake,” said Ray. “He’s a quality young man.”

It’s no surprise that Bowe is off to a fast start for the Capers, who are 7-1. Bowe honed his game playing countless hours on the family’s driveway court with Alex and his friends.

After averaging 12 points as a junior, his first year starting, Bowe leads the Western Maine Conference Class B in scoring at 26 points per game, with a high of 34 against Greely last week.

Alex Bowe, an All-Stater for the Capers, is two years older than Theo, which is short for Theodore.

When watching Theo, certain mannerisms of both are evident, like their ability to draw fouls with fakes while scoring.

“I think there are some similarities between us,” said Theo Bowe.

Not the least of which is their ability to score. Alex averaged 15.8 points as a senior and led Cape to back-to-back regional titles.

But there also are differences.

“Alex’s shot was different than mine and I’m more of a ballhandler than he was,” said Theo Bowe.

That probably stems from the fact that when they were freshmen, Alex was 6-foot-1 while Theo was 5-9. Alex was 6-3 as a senior; Theo is 6-1. Both worked on the parts of their game that suited their size.

Theo Bowe has a traditional jumper — ball shot out front, straight elbow, while Alex shot the ball high and behind his head, fading away. Alex is more laid back and craftier on the court while Theo is more hyper, intense and likes to run.

“Because Alex is taller, I had to learn how to create space with my fakes,” said Theo Bowe.

The Bowes elected not to play AAU in the spring and summer. Instead they learned the old-fashioned way, putting up lots of shots on their own or with friends. Theo Bowe said he and his brother are like “throwbacks” in that regard.

“There’s nothing wrong with AAU, it’s just not my style,” said Theo Bowe. “It takes a lot of your time and I prefer to have more free time so I can do different things.”

Since the seventh grade, the brothers would play what seemed like every day after school. During summers they would play for hours under the hot sun.

“Sometimes we would play six hours a day,” said Theo Bowe. “No one wanted to lose. You develop a lot of mental toughness.”

The fact the Bowes gravitated toward basketball isn’t surprising. Their parents, Chris and Stephanie, were high school basketball standouts at the same school in their native Wisconsin.

Chris was an all-conference high school player three straight years and his wife, also a sharpshooter, once made three straight 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Chris, who has been a frequent shoot-around partner with his older sons and has offered advice when appropriate, said: “I wasn’t nearly as good of a player as Alex or Theo in high school.”

When Theo scored 34 points, it wasn’t only a career high but a family high. Chris Bowe and Alex’s high games were both 31 points.

“Alex wasn’t too happy when he heard Theo had surpassed him,” said the father.

The Bowes, who have four other children — Allison, 14, Maddie, 12, Finn, 10, and Will, 6, who all play basketball, moved to Maine in 1999 for Chris Bowe’s training in emergency medicine (he’s an emergency-room doctor at Maine Medical Center).

After his residency, they returned to Wisconsin for a year, but moved back to Maine permanently in 2003 because they missed it.

Stephanie teaches preschool at Maiden Cove Children’s Center in Cape Elizabeth.

“One of the best stories about the boys and basketball was our return to Maine,” said Chris.

“When we were looking for a house, we looked at homes all over the area. We actually found a house in Falmouth that we really liked, but it had a very short and steep driveway.

“Our realtor couldn’t believe we wouldn’t take this great house only because I couldn’t put a hoop in the driveway, but that was the only reason we didn’t make an offer on the house.”

Instead the family found a house in Cape Elizabeth with a long and flat driveway.

“I was able to have my dream hoop,” said Chris.

Theo said he hasn’t seen defenses do anything special to try and stop him, but that could change in the second half of the season.

As for the Capers continuing to play well and making another run at a regional championship, he said: “We have to make sure we don’t let up and keep playing like we have been.”

Theo, who carries a 93 average in his courses, already has been accepted at Boston College and Northeastern.

He hasn’t ruled out playing basketball in college but if he did, it would probably be at a smaller school. Neither Alex, who attends West Virginia, nor Chris, play or played in college.

“If it works out, fine. If it doesn’t, that’s OK too. Even if I don’t play in college, it’s not like I’m going to stop playing. There are intramurals and club teams in college,” he said.

Bowe said he’s interested in studying medicine and becoming an emergency-room doctor like his father.

“Theo has always liked Boston and the possibility of going to school there,” said his father.

Staff Writer Tom Chard can be reached at 791-6419 or at:

tchard@pressherald.com

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