Despite his gaudy blocked shots total (roughly one and a half per game), John Hepburn probably can't shake his reputation.

And despite his seven boards per game, John Hepburn still has one tag that will follow the sophomore for the rest of his time as a Boothbay Region High School Seahawk.

“He's a natural scorer,” Head Coach I.J. Pinkham said. “He wants to score; he's one of those guys who has a nose for the ball.”

The 2012-13 season saw the evolution of Hepburn from a solid forward to one of the Seahawks' primary offensive weapons.

“Between Anthony (DiMauro) and John, that's where we get a lot of our points,” Pinkham said. “John has definitely worked at it. He's bigger, stronger this year. He brings a lot of energy out there and he keeps working on it.”

Last year, Hepburn averaged slightly better than 8 points for the Seahawks. This year, the lanky sophomore has more than doubled his output to a robust and team-leading 16.8 points per game.

So what changed?

“I just kept practicing,” he said. “I practiced shooting over the summer. I got stronger at making layups.

“Everything came together; we started playing like a team.”

When Hepburn gets the ball where he wants it and sees a bit of open floor, he's gone; his style is reckless abandon with an eye for 2 points.

“I want to go hard in the paint,” he said. “I want to get layups, get rebounds.”

While he admits to thinking about breaking the 1,000-point barrier, it's certainly not the first thing on Hepburn's mind, especially with a date with Penquis Valley High School looming and a state title on the line.

“I might think about it more later,” he said. “But right now I'm just focused on winning.”

Ben Bulkeley can be reached at 207-633-4620 or bbulkeley@boothbayregister.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BBRegisterBen.