Stewart getting looks from high majors

Former Sequoia High School star, Charles Johnson, went on to play at Cal and then the Golden State Warriors before joining Washington where he helped the Bullets win a championship in the late 1970s. Since then, Sequoia (Redding, Calif.) basketball has been down until Dominic Stewart stepped on the scene last year. The 6-foot-2 combo guard was second in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) in scoring, as he helped to lead the Cherokees to a 24-7 record and the school's first winning season in several years.

Stewart was an all-state selection as a sophomore last season and his recruiting is starting to pick up as the summer club season kicks into gear.

"It is preliminary right now, but he is getting a lot of PAC 10 looks," said Peter Simos, head coach at Sequoia. "At any Division I level he plays, he will be a scorer. That is his game. Now he is going to have to do it next year with a big X on his back."

Stewart plays for Frisco's Finest club team from San Francisco. According to his coach, Ray Kelly, Stewart is hearing from USC, UCLA, Oregon, Oregon State and Wyoming.

"He can score with the best players in the country," said Kelly. "No one can stop him from scoring. But he needs to work on other things."

Stewart averaged 21 points, five rebounds and four assist per game for his high school team. His strength is scoring, as he found ways to score, despite being double teamed for much of the season. When deciding on a school, Stewart said he wants to go to a school that lets their players play.

"I am weighing my options on what schools I want to go to," said Stewart. "But I want to play at a school that runs."

According to Kelly, Stewart is a gym rat, who can be found at various gyms along the Peninsula and San Francisco, but he needs to work on his playmaking ability to improve his game.

"He needs to improve on his defense and ball handling," continued Kelly. "He is a high mid major player right now. But if he improves on his skills, he will be a definite high major Division I prospect."