SHARE Known as the “Grafton gunner,” Marquette’s Jeff Sewell led all scorers with 22 points in the 1970 NIT championship game. Jeff Sewell during the 1968-’69 season.

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Whether you remember him from his days as a basketball star at Grafton High School or for helping lead Al McGuire's Marquette Warriors to the 1970 NIT championship, there's no doubt that the same skill comes to mind when you think of Geoffrey "Jeff" Sewell.

He was a one-of-a-kind shooter.

Sewell, who was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2012, passed away unexpectedly Saturday at his home. He was 68.

Sewell, who was 6 foot 3 and wore black horn-rimmed glasses, was remembered by former teammate Jim Wegner for his combination of size and shooting at the high school level.

Wegner, who like Sewell graduated in 1966, was part of Grafton's state tournament team that year and witnessed Sewell's run of three straight 50-point games during that regular season, a campaign in which he averaged 30 points and 14 rebounds per game.

"I just remember running a bunch of clear outs," Wegner said with a laugh. "Coach (John) Bliese's offensive strategy was stay out of Jeff's way. He was just a pure shooter. He could pretty much put the ball in the hole from anywhere on the court."

Wegner played Little League Baseball with Sewell and played against him in basketball in grade school before teaming up with him in high school. The two were among the players who returned to Grafton in February to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their trip to state.

They watched Grafton's basketball game with Cedarburg, went to the old gym where they used to play their games for pictures and then continued at Edgewater Golf Club for the reunion.

"I hadn't seen him in several years," Wegner said, "so it was fun catching up on old times, some of the on-the-court stories and off the-court stories, reminiscing, joking, laughing, having a good time."

After his stellar career at Grafton, Sewell received a scholarship to Marquette where he lettered from 1968-'70. There, his reputation as a long-range shooter — there was no three-point shot at the time — only improved as McGuire often used "the Grafton Gunner" to spread the court and break zone defenses.

Marquette went 73-14 in Sewell's three seasons with the Warriors, culminating in a 65-53 victory over St. John's to win the 1970 NIT after McGuire turned down an NCAA Tournament bid. In that game, Sewell led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting.

Following his time at Marquette, Sewell was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the 15th round of the 1970 ABA draft. The NBA's Golden State Warriors and the NFL's Dallas Cowboys also asked him to try out, but he turned down all three offers.

Sewell and his family spent 32 years living in Las Vegas before moving back to Wisconsin last November to be closer to family and friends.

A funeral service will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Mueller Funeral Home in Grafton following a 4 p.m. visitation.