Fall League: Grant/West Linn/Westview Top Performers

On Saturday morning we had a few free hours so we dropped by Milwaukie High School to catch a few Hoopsource Fall League games between three teams that figure to be 6A state tournament contenders this season: Grant, West Linn, and Westview. Some key players from all three teams were missing - largely due to football such as Jackson Shelstad (West Linn), Donald "Chili" Stephens & Adrian Mosley (Grant), and London Smalley (Westview) - and others like Eric Fraser (Grant - college visit) and Joe Juhala (West Linn - illness). But there was still good group of college prospects that were in action that Western Oregon grad assistant coach Emanuel Morgan and others were able to watch. Here are the top performers that we saw: Tai Warner (2020 Grant) - One thing is clear with Warner - he's trying hard to fit in with his new high school team. Earlier in the summer it was pretty evident the 5-foot-11 guard was looking for his own and it wasn't a surprise to see him pulling from 30-feet out. On Saturday he wasn't doing that but rather balancing his own offense - which included some strong drives to the basket - along with passing the ball to open teammates. In particular, the drive and kick was working well for Warner as he had the strength to get into the paint effectively. And when his feet are set from the outside, you can pretty much count it. Emanuel Steward (2020 Grant) - We noticed something immediately about Steward when we saw him - he's flat out bigger. The now 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard has started to fill out his body and it's clear he's been spending some time in the weight room. The added strength has only helped his game as Steward isn't just content with spotting up for threes but he's doing a great job of getting to the basket and converting. The senior was also getting it done on defense, both with steals and coming over with some help side blocked shots. Garrett Brown (2020 Grant) - Brown played JV last season but he's not going to be playing varsity by default this year because he's a senior but because he's going to be a key contributor. At an estimated 6-foot-7, he's easily the biggest player on the team and on Saturday he was good in the paint, converting hoops on dump-offs and entry passes inside. The thing about Brown is that at heart he's really a wing as he has a very nice shooting touch from the perimeter and he knocked down a couple of open threes. Andre Lawrence (2022 Grant) - It remains to be seen how much playing time Lawrence will get as Grant is pretty deep in the backcourt, but when he plays there's no doubt the sophomore will make an impact when he's in there. Lawrence simply has a good nose for the basketball and his effort and motor were infectious. He made some good plays with the rock, getting into the lane, and converting a couple of buckets over bigger players. Micah Garrett (2020 West Linn) - Garrett had it going offensively at all three levels. More comfortable creating off the dribble, he pulled up from distance and mid-range, as well as finished near the basket - putting in a two-handed dunk on the break on one occasion. The thing with Garrett is that he's doing things more within the framework of the offense - perhaps coming from experience from playing with Seattle Rotary and with Jefferson this spring and summer. So now instead of forcing the issue, his shooting percentages are higher and his overall game is quite efficient. Kelton Herrick (2020 West Linn) - A lot of the buzz around the point guard spot surrounds incoming incoming Jackson Shelstad - for good reason - but there's a pretty solid senior guard in Herrick there as well. The 5-foot-11 was rock solid in both games we saw, but also had the ability to turn it on offensively when needed. Herrick prefers the spot-up three - he even pulled up for one on a wide open fastbreak - but he has also the ability to score off the dribble a little and converted a couple of those in the halfcourt set. Gus Michelon (2020 West Linn) - When we first saw Michelon in June he started to grow on us. The reason why - he's long, he's active, and he's productive. The best descriptor we can come up with at the moment for the 6-foot-3 senior is rangy. He was constantly around the basketball when he wasn't handling it, and when he did have the rock he was aggressive getting to the hoop and finishing plays. It wouldn't be surprising to see him as a small college prospect when it's all said and done. Mason VanBeenen (2022 West Linn) - VanBeenen was unquestionably one of the top performers at the PrepHoops Oregon Top 250 Expo last weekend. The 6-foot-8 sophomore wasn't necessarily as dominant on the surface this time around but it was because he was pretty focused on playing within the team concept. He looked to attack from the perimeter and showcased some advanced ball-handling skills for a player his size. VanBeenen ran the floor well both on offense to get some easy buckets but also getting back on defense. Brady Grier (2021 Westview) - Westview lost both games that we watched but you can't fault Grier for his effort. The 6-foot-3 junior was the Wildcats top player on the day and it was good to see a little more diversity in his game. While his calling card will likely always be his outside shot, it wasn't really falling for him on Saturday so he used his body to get to the basket where he converted some tough shots absorbing contact. Jalen Grable (2021 Westview) - We are pretty convinced that Grable is one of the top run-and-jump athletes in the class. The 6-foot-3 junior runs the floor so effortlessly and simply plays above the rim. His ability to get up in the air helped him get rebounds both in and outside of his area and he's able to come over from the help side to reject shots. Grable didn't quite have things going offensively for himself but especially from up high, threw some really nice bounce passes to cutters for some easy layups.