Summer League – Lake Oswego 62, Clackamas 42 – Top Performers

<p>As June summer ball continues on, we've tried to get a glimpse of what we feel will be next year's contenders at the 6A level around the Portland metro area. On Friday night, we dropped by Lake Oswego to see the Lakers host Clackamas in a very competitive, at times intense matchup. After a slow start, Lake Oswego got into a groove - especially defensively - and ended up winning going away, 60-42.</p> <p>Here's a look at the top performers on the night:</p> <p><strong>Trace Salton (2021 Lake Oswego)</strong> - In a mild surprise, Salton was the most impressive player on the basketball floor on Friday night. The 6-foot-5 forward actually got off to a slow start as he was floating on the perimeter and quite honestly looked a little lost. But after some tough encouragement from head coach Marshall Cho, Salton got into the groove and it he was flat out dominant, especially in the second half. He found the right balance of posting up inside and attacking on the perimeter, and knocked down a couple of step-back threes with confidence. Salton spent most of then night matched up with Rebels teammate and friend Ben Gregg and he more than held his own, scoring a game-high 19 points.</p> <p><strong>Ben Gregg (2021 Clackamas)</strong> - Despite some of Clackamas' early successes at Oregon State team camp, it's still a brand new team trying to figure things out - and that goes for the talented junior-to-be as well. Gregg struggled to get touches within the offense and when he did, things didn't quite go his way. The 6-foot-8 forward couldn't quite find a rhythm scoring around the hoop and while he was effective drawing fouls, strangely missed quite a few free throws. While offensively things may not have been clicking, Gregg made up for things by dominating on the boards and on defense where he rejected at least five shots. He ended up with a double-double with 11 points and ten rebounds.</p> <p><strong>Sam Abere (2020 Lake Oswego)</strong> - With last year's starting point guard Wayne McKinney out of action - his status for next year remains unknown as the family is considering a move down to Southern California - others like Abere will be called upon to man the point. The 6-foot-1 guard handled the responsibilities when he had them well, taking good care of the ball relatively turnover-free. His outside shot was on target, as he knocked down three catch-and-shoot threes and ended up with 13 points, while providing super-tough perimeter defense as always.</p> <p><strong>Jack Chlumak (2020 Lake Oswego)</strong> - Chlumak is the main newcomer for Lake Oswego coming over for his senior season from Newberg. The 6-foot-3 wing is still working on fitting in, and he blended in just fine on Friday night. He helped a little with point guard duties but largely focused on doing a lot of the little things. Chlumak got a couple of baskets inside and did a credible job guarding Gregg when given the opportunity.</p> <p><strong>Jack Woolf (2021 Lake Oswego)</strong> - Woolf was the pleasant surprise of the day. With the number of graduation losses at Lake Oswego, some younger players will need to step up and the 6-foot-3 junior-to-be looks like a great candidate. Woolf played with a lot of energy on both ends and if there was a 50/50 ball, he would win it. He also contributed with a little bit of offense with five points.</p> <p><strong>Damonte Burns (2021 Clackamas)</strong> - To be honest, we have definitely seen Burns play better. For most of the game it looked as if the 6-foot-1 guard seemed uncomfortable, playing hesitant and scared of making mistakes as he's been trying to mold himself into more of a point guard. But not all was lost as near the end of the game when things started to open up, Burns started to play more freely, hitting a smooth jumper and getting to the line for some points.</p> <p><strong>Tre Anderson (2021 Clackamas)</strong> - Like Burns, Anderson comes over to Clackamas from Parkrose and he came off the bench on Friday night. While he didn't register much in terms of points, the 6-foot-4 junior-to-be certainly made an impression with his raw athleticism and motor. He was up and down the court and on one defensive play on the break, he leaped so high on the block attempt that his hand was well above the rim on the backboard.</p>