Noah Hebert, left, Nate Hebert, center, and Aidan Hebert together on the Gray-New Gloucester boys’ basketball team. All three are 16 years old, Noah and Aidan are twins and Nate is their uncle. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
When one sees Nate, Aidan and Noah Hebert’s names on the Gray-New Gloucester boys’ basketball roster – all juniors, all 16 years old, all 6-foot-1 – the first instinct is that they’re brothers. Cousins, perhaps.
The truth, however, is an oddity. Aidan and Noah are twin brothers, but Nate, only three months older, is their uncle. It’s an unusual circumstance, and when asked about it, all three can’t help but crack a smile.
“People don’t believe us. They think it’s crazy,” Nate said. “I’ll tell anyone. It’s unique.”
The three are key players for the Patriots, who head into the Class A South tournament as the second seed with a 15-3 record. Nate Hebert, at 20.6 points per game, is the Western Maine Conference’s leading scorer. Noah is averaging 13.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest. Aidan is the point guard and top defender, and is averaging 3.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
When people watch the three play, the family connection is often brought up.
“This year, because of the years they’ve had and the year we’ve had, it’s just been a lot of questions from other people,” Coach Ryan Deschenes said. “There are some really curious people out there.”
Nate’s brother, Ian, 38, is the father of Aidan and Noah, who are twins. It’s easy to tell which one is not the sibling – Nate has black hair, Noah’s and Aidan’s is brown – but the three have gotten used to puzzled expressions when they explain their relation.
“My whole life, people just ask me how it works. Even now, people still don’t know,” Noah said. “We have a really good connection. Even though we aren’t (all) brothers, we’re all family still. It’s really tight.”
The Heberts are around each other frequently away from the basketball court, and grew up participating in the same activities. Nate said the three feel like brothers, and his nephews agreed.
“It doesn’t feel different at all. We’ve all grown up spending nights with each other, it’s the same connection,” Aidan said. “I honestly think it’s just normal. I can definitely see how it’s weird, it’s a weird circumstance, but it’s just another day for me.”
Like brothers, the three have a type of sibling rivalry.
“Oh, for sure. We’re always competitive with each other, no matter what we do,” Aidan said. “Basketball, board games, chess. Anything we do together.”
The Heberts were in second grade when Deschenes took over at Gray-New Gloucester. He’s watched them build their chemistry while playing together.
“They know where each other are, for sure,” he said. “They know when one’s cutting, they know when one’s spotting up for three, they know when to trap together.”
THE OCEANSIDE BOYS have been one of the top teams in the state all season, with a 17-1 record and the top seed going into the Class B South tournament.
But when you share the basketball spotlight with the undefeated and defending state champion girls’ team, top billing can be hard to get.
“The girls are the gold standard for basketball around here,” said Oceanside boys’ coach Larry Reed. “We’re just happy that we’re kind of being talked about in the same category as them. … We’re their biggest fans, and they’re ours.”
There’s a strong bond between the two teams. Matt Breen was the Oceanside boys’ coach for 15 years before taking over the girls’ team in 2019, and Reed was his assistant for the whole run.
“He’s taught me everything I know,” Reed said. “It wouldn’t be wrong for me to say, without him, I wouldn’t have this opportunity. I’ve learned everything from him.”
The Oceanside boys helped out the girls on their way to the state title last year, practicing with them to help prepare them for York’s press. The Mariners won 56-49 to reach the Class B final.
“They were great in helping out. They worked us hard,” Breen said. “Anything they can do to help us or we can do to help them, we’re more than happy to do.
“I still am a huge supporter in boys’ basketball around here, I wish them all the best. … I hope they can get the job done.”
NORTH YARMOUTH ACADEMY’S hopes for a Class C South title took a hit when Angel Huntsman, one of the best players and athletes in the state, went down with a torn ACL in a Jan. 28 win over Dirigo.
The Panthers are 17-1 and the top-seeded girls’ team in the region, but were looking like the overwhelming favorite in the tournament before Huntsman’s injury.
“She’s definitely the one that makes us go,” Coach Tom Robinson said. “We didn’t believe it was a shoo-in (for us). … Now I think it’s pretty much up in the air.”
The Panthers are deep, but Huntsman will be missed most as the leader of NYA’s lethal transition game, which helped the Panthers average 71.5 points before the Dirigo game.
Charlotte Harper-Cunningham has taken over as point guard since Huntsman’s injury.
“I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who runs transition as well as (Huntsman) does,” Robinson said. “We’re going to make some adjustments. It’s going to have to be ball movement, and a little more patient on offense.”
THE WISCASSET BOYS defeated Vinalhaven 47-43 in their season finale. It ended the state’s longest losing streak; the Wolverines had dropped 68 straight games going back to the opener of the 2018-19 season.
“It was a huge relief,” Coach Rick Larrabee said. “It was quite a thrill for the guys. … I think it is a starting point for the players realizing if they want to be more competitive in games and win games going forward, they’re going to have to put their own time in in the offseason.”
The Wolverines built a 41-21 lead, then saw it whittled to 46-43 before hanging on in the final minute. Larrabee said he hopes the win will spark a program that has athletes but has been short on experience in the sport.
“We’re implementing stuff little by little,” Larrabee said. “We’ve got to take small steps. A win against Vinalhaven was a small step.”
Deering also got its first win in its season finale, beating Scarborough, 68-53.
THE GIRLS’ AA SOUTH bracket will see an oddity: a fourth matchup between teams.
After Massabesic dropped out of the varsity schedule, Class AA South teams needed to scramble to find a replacement on their schedules.
For South Portland and Scarborough, that included scheduling a third game with each other. The teams ended up seeded fourth and fifth in the region, and will play each other for the fourth time in a quarterfinal game on Wednesday night at South Portland.
South Portland leads the season series 2-1, with 49-35 and 45-31 victories on Jan. 7 and 24. Scarborough won 47-30 on Jan. 14.
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