Jack Brocke of St. Dom's pulls down a rebound during Wednesday's practice in Auburn. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Everything changed for St. Dominic Academy senior Jack Brocke a couple of years ago when he started to get air like never before.

“I came back from vacation one year in the summer, and then all of a sudden, I was just dunking with ease,” Brocke said. “I don’t know, just came out of nowhere.”

That was before Brocke’s sophomore year. Fellow St. Dom’s senior Jonathan Tangilamesu said it was impossible to not notice the change.

“Before that,” Tangilamesu said, “I was always, like, able to jump higher than him and everything. …. Then he just rose. Like, one day I saw him, he dunked, and I was like, ‘Whoa, I didn’t know you could do that,’ and then he just kept going, and it was, you know, he’s where he is now.”

The slender, 6-foot-4 Brocke has become an all-around force for the Saints (20-1), who last week earned the program’s first regional title and will take on Schenck (20-1) for the Class D championship at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor at 2:45 p.m. Saturday.

Brocke is averaging 10 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He’s also a Western Maine Conference first-team selection.

Brocke said he models his game after Edmond Sumner, a slasher and all-around player who previously played for the Indiana Pacers and Brooklyn Nets and now plays in the Chinese Basketball Association. Teammate Taylor Varney said Brocke is a unique player, especially at the high school level.

“He’s Jack. He’s his own type of player,” Varney said. “He can do whatever you ask for him, really. I mean, he’s the back of our 1-3-1. He’s vocal. He’ll lead. He’ll communicate on the back, like who’s behind us, where we need to be, and then on offense. I mean, he’s a shooter, so you got to watch out for him there.”

Brocke’s increased athleticism has increased his offensive versatility.

“He used to just be a 3-point shooter,” Saints coach Josh LaPrell said. “That was kind of his weapon, and now he’s probably our best dunker. He has the most dunks out of anybody. He’s looking to dunk more now. He’s looking to dunk in traffic. He’s getting to be more confident as a ballhandler and looking to not just shoot 3s or get dunks.”

Brocke also stands out on the defensive end, where he has 67 blocks this season.

“He definitely — someone comes in the paint, you know, that’s his paint,” Varney said. “He skies up for those blocks, and he defends it pretty good.”

Brocke showed off his skill and athleticism on one play during a regional semifinal against Telstar, when he drove to the hoop for a dunk attempt, which he missed, but he collected the rebound, then took a couple of steps back and hit a corner 3.

“I felt something tweak in my shin, calf area,” Brocke said. “I knew that I was not going to be able to dunk it. So, I just grabbed the rebound and then went to the corner and shot it.”

That was one of 29 3-pointers Brocke has made this season.

LaPrell said Brocke has become a player who opposing teams can’t afford to underestimate, like they might have early in his career.

“Now you definitely have to know where he is,” LaPrell said. “I think at first, he was very unassuming, especially last year toward the beginning of the year. And then as the season went on, this summer, this year, you need to know where he is at all times.”