HAMPDEN – Fifty years later, there are still only a couple degrees of separation between the first and last boys basketball state finals for Maine’s largest schools to be played at the Bangor Auditorium.

Consider that 6-foot-10 center Jordan Cook, who will lead Hampden Academy into Saturday’s 3:05 p.m. Class A title game against Deering of Portland, is the son of Paul Cook, who starred at Lubec High School in the late 1970s before going on to play at the University of Maine.

Paul Cook’s coach in Orono? Thomas “Skip” Chappelle, who led Old Town to a 75-69 victory over Edward Little of Auburn in the 1957 Class L state final, the first large school state final played in the “new” Auditorium after it opened in late 1955.

The younger Cook, named MVP of the Eastern Maine tournament after leading Hampden to its first Class A regional crown, hopes to cap off Bangor’s Class A tournament history in the same manner his dad’s mentor began it.

“It would mean everything,” said Cook. “That’s what we want to do, and Hampden’s never won one, so that would be cool, too. It’s something we’ve always wanted to do since we started playing basketball and watching the high school team. I’ve always dreamed about playing in a state championship game, and winning it would be great.”

Cook averaged double figures in points and rebounds during his junior season, and also ranked as a top shot blocker in drawing Hampden within one victory of its first boys basketball state championship.

His value was never more evident than in the Eastern Maine final, when he scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in the second half to rally Hampden to a 47-40 victory over Oxford Hills of South Paris.

“His biggest improvement probably has come in being more assertive, his understanding that he can be the man for us,” said Hampden coach Russ Bartlett.

Cook finished the game with 16 points, 19 rebounds, and seven blocked shots.

“It’s rare to have a 6-10 kid as good as Jordan is,” said HA junior guard J Uhrin, “so it’s pretty special to play with him.”

One of Cook’s greatest assets is a stoicism that serves him especially well when challenged by multiple defenders seeking to deny him the ball or lure him into foul trouble.

The tactic hasn’t worked. Cook has drawn as many as four fouls only twice this season – including in the EM final, when he played the final 7 minutes, 10 seconds without picking up his fifth.

“I just have to stay focused and not worry about it,” said Cook of the physical defensive attention he attracts. “Usually the refs will see it and call some fouls.”

Early in the season, Hampden didn’t utilize its primary interior resource to his full potential. In a 20-point homecourt loss to Bangor, the Broncos had 27 one-touch possessions, meaning it was one pass followed by a shot, usually from the perimeter.

That loss served as a wakeup call and reinforced the notion that working the ball inside would create not only added pressure on opposing defenses to deal with Cook, but more opportunities for the Broncos’ outside shooters.

“We try to get Cook the ball first and then our shots will come,” said Uhrin. “He makes everyone so much better because when the defense collapses on him, everyone else gets wide-open shots.”

Cook also serves as a one-man safety net for the Hampden defense, though Bartlett, for one, prefers that he doesn’t have to serve in his capacity but merely play his role within a team defense that has sparked the Broncos’ postseason run.

In four playoff games, including a victory at Mt. Blue of Farmington that earned Hampden its short trip to the Auditorium, the Broncos have allowed an average of just 38 points.

“As much as coach doesn’t like it, when we go for steals and don’t get them, he’s a huge kid back there protecting the basket,” said Uhrin. “He just makes shots so much tougher for the offense.”

Cook’s size and success have drawn the attention of many college coaches. For now, he’s content to work to improve his game with high school success on his mind.

“I’ve worked on moving without the ball, on getting open when guys are focusing on me defensively, and just trying to use my body more to get to the basket,” he said.

Cook is likely to draw considerable defensive attention from Deering, which has its own low post threat in 6-foot-6 junior Martin Cleveland.

“Obviously Cook is outstanding,” said Deering coach Dan LeGage. “He’s a very good big man. He’s got good fundamentals, and they do a good job of getting him the ball.”

But Cook sees Saturday’s game as something much larger than an individual battle.

“I think we’ve come together as a team,” he said. “Everybody’s on the same page on defense and on offense. It’s not one guy trying to do things, we’re working as a team.”