SACO — After whipping the basketball to his teammates for open shots, he stepped back beyond the 3-point arc and took his own. The ball kicked off the rim.

Andy Bedard missed the shot. What's up with that?

"Age," said Bedard, letting a small, familiar grin reappear. He is a husband and a father and a businessman living in Gray. He is a 32-year-old man with a surgically repaired knee who won't pretend he's 17 anymore, even if you can't move on from 1994.

He was the kid from Rumford who could score like no other that year. He scored 53 points against Camden-Rockport to lead Mountain Valley High to the state Class B title.

He averaged 41.5 points in the Western Maine tourney. He made fans and sports writers work to describe the intensity and outrageousness of his performances.

Bedard's quickness beat others down the court while his leaping ability made his 6-foot-1 frame appear to sky over everyone. No one remembered his misses because the hits kept coming.

Except for Ralph Mims at Brunswick High five years ago, no one has matched Bedard's on-court charisma. That's why I was at courtside Thursday night at the Southern Maine Sports Zone. I heard Bedard was playing for Class Acts in the semifinals of a summer basketball league tournament. The opponent was an unbeaten team called Prompto, the defending champ.

Maybe a dozen people watched. Nearly all were related to the players by love or by blood. Despite a last-second 3-pointer by Andrew Duncanson, Class Acts lost, 63-62.

"The competitive juices are still there, but this is a lot more fun. I blew out my knee two years ago. Broke the femur, tore the meniscus (cartilage) and other stuff. Had two different surgeries. I can't play like I used to but I love playing."

Bedard left Mountain Valley for a senior high school season at Maine Central Institute, playing with future Division I stars on the prep team. Two seasons at Boston College, two more at Maine. He wasn't dropping 50 points in a game, but he was scoring and Maine was winning.

In 2007, Bedard was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame with Garth Snow, the goalie on the 1993 title hockey team, Brian Flynn, the offensive lineman who earned a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Ravens, and Kevin Buckley, who reached the majors with the Texas Rangers.

"I'm pretty much under the radar now," Bedard said. "If I'm back home, someone might recognize me, but that's different. I'm the kid from Rumford who just wanted to play hoops and worked at my father's bottle depot. I was so busy, I didn't have time to think I was anybody."

Bedard is playing the modest card. Besides the love of the game, he plays to keep his hand in it. His son, Cade, not yet 3, can better understand the stories told about his father when Bedard starts bringing him to the basketball courts.

Thursday night, Travis Seaver took a pass from Bedard and scored. Seaver, a former Greely High and St. Joseph's College star, was in the Augusta Civic Center that winter of 1994, watching the Western tourney.

"I was in eighth grade and remember thinking he was unstoppable," said Seaver, now 28. "When I was younger, Andy was Mr. Basketball to everybody. He still can see the floor so well and he's got so much basketball knowledge. He's a step slower, maybe two, but he still has that competitive drive."

Six years ago, Bedard was named the men's basketball coach at St. Joseph's College. Three weeks later he resigned. Friday, he said he had differences with the administration. "I realized it wasn't a good fit. I found out I had better options to start my life in business."

His business wouldn't be basketball. It remains his game.

Staff Writer Steve Solloway can be contacted at 791-6412 or at:

ssolloway@pressherald.com