The first thing you notice about Stesher Methelier is that he’s a physical specimen. A drop-dead, well-sculpted, high school physical specimen.
At 6-foot-7, 250-pounds he draws the eye of most fans the minute the Notre Dame High boys’ basketball team takes the court for warm-ups.
And once the junior center from Mercerville gains the hoops acumen to go along with his imposing size, there is no telling what can happen.
“In a lot of ways he’s still like coaching a freshman,” Irish coach Rich Roche said. “But he’s got the ability and if he learns how to use it, he shouldn’t have to pay for college.”
Earning a free ride to college is Methelier’s aim, if only to be a good son.
“Of course, that’s the goal, I’m hoping to get a scholarship to make my parents’ life easier,” he said. “And I also hope to help our team now.”
Academically, Methelier is fine as he sports a 3.5 grade point average, although he says “it could be way better, I have to work on that too.”
As for his basketball skills, they have looked pretty formidable to Colonial Valley Conference foes despite the fact this is his first full year of playing high school basketball. He is also playing in a program that has been guard-heavy for the past few years so it needs to adjust to such a post luxury.
“It’s the good news-bad news thing,” Roche said. “The good news is you have a 6-foot-7, 250-pound guy. The bad news is we haven’t had one in a while and how the heck do you use a 6-foot-7, 250-pound guy after you’re playing five guards? It’s a pleasant problem, but it’s an adjustment for our guards because they’re not accustomed to having anyone inside that they need to worry about throwing the ball to.”
There is also the fact that Methelier is fairly raw. But he still had enough unpolished talent to be the Irish’s leading scorer and rebounder as of Jan. 19. Through ND’s 7-4 start, the Our Lady of Sorrows product averaged 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game to go along with 15 blocked shots.
It is basically Methelier’s first real season playing against high level competition. As a kid, he was tall and everyone wanted him to go out for football or basketball. Since his father, Steve, played hoops in Haiti, he decided on that sport and played pick-up games at OLS while also playing for Hamilton PAL.
“I was kind of into the sport, even if we just played at recess,” he said. “I was still new to the game.”
Stesher joined Our Lady of Sorrows CYO team in seventh grade and learned some of the game’s nuances from coach Dave Larkin. He also played some AAU ball.
“Maybe in eighth grade, I was really starting to get going with the game, seeing how everything worked,” he said. “But even though I learned it, I still had to improve on it.”
His game went into somewhat of a hibernation for two years, however. Methelier made the ND varsity as a freshman, but soon left the team in order to focus on academics. Last year, he opted not to come out due to Covid concerns.
Thus, he is the proverbial work-in-progress this year.
“It’s like a whole teaching process with him,” Roche said. “Just teaching him where he belongs in the motion offense; and the simple things — catch the ball, chin it, don’t bring it down (to the waist); run the floor on the break as hard as you can every time; be the rim runner. Some days he’s locked in and he’s great, and other days it almost seems like he’s a freshman trying to learn things again.
“So he’s a little bit behind, but he’s a good guy and very coachable. He shows nothing but desire to get better. I have (former West Windsor-Plainsboro North coach) Tim Stevens working with him. The kid’s gifted, but I don’t think he realizes how much yet.”
Methelier did not play as a freshman, but still felt being exposed to varsity players helped. He also knew he needed to add more muscle to survive.
“When I was a freshman, I was a little weaker playing with the bigger guys and it felt harder,” Methelier said. “But over the years I got stronger and it feels way easier. Especially being in the weight room with coach Frank (Quartucci). He’s helped us work on endurance and strength.”
This year has been nothing but fun for the friendly giant.
“It’s been a great experience,” he said. “I kind of got a little taste of what’s going on freshman year. This year kind of cemented me more into the Irish basketball playing style. It’s a great experience. I have no complaints, everything has been on point.”
Roche noted that Methelier is also an immovable presence in the paint and slowly but surely he is learning the game.
“He’s getting it,” Roche said. “His mistakes aren’t because he’s not paying attention. His mistakes are just because of a lack of repetition.”
And his talent can sometimes offset those mistakes.
“He’s got a nice touch,” Roche said. “He’s athletic. Much more than you would expect a 6-7 guy would be. He had a nice dunk against Lawrence and the whole bench exploded; it took everyone by surprise. He hasn’t gotten to the point where there’s been any kind of consistency doing that. I think he’s still really scratching the surface of his ability and what he can be.”
One thing is certain: Stesher’s teammates are happy to have him on board.
“He’s a great addition to the team,” guard Ean Chambers said. “We run a lot of offense through him and he helps us get some points. It helps we know they might double him and get some open shots for us.”
Methelier has been learning from several different sources, including his dad. “He was a pretty good player in Haiti,” Stesher said. “He’s been with me from the start. He hired a personal trainer for me, he has experience and he passed it down to me.”
In looking at the big picture, Roche feels his big man is playing beyond expectations this year.
“It’s an adjustment, but he’s basically been a surprise in the beginning of the season,” the coach said. “He did make a lot of progress during the summer, so we’re ahead of where I thought we’d be with him.”
Notre Dame junior center Stesher Methelier averaged 12.8 points and 8.8 rebounds through 11 games this season. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
