2021 6A Preview: Portland Interscholastic League

<p>The season is about to start and without a true state championship, much of the pride in 2021 will ride on who brings home the league titles. We take a look at the PIL in this preview. It’s not a balanced schedule as not every team plays each other twice. And some squads will play more non-league games than others. But given what we have, here’s how we see things turning out this year in the PIL.</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">League Predictions</span></strong></p> <p>1. Jefferson<br /> 2. Grant<br /> 3. Cleveland<br /> 4. Roosevelt<br /> 5. Benson<br /> 6. Wells<br /> 7. Franklin<br /> 8. Lincoln<br /> 9. Madison/McDaniel</p> <p><strong>Player of the Year</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="787678" first="Lamar" last="Washington"], Jefferson</p> <p><strong>All-League Predictions</strong>: Washington; [player_tooltip player_id="861099" first="Marquis" last="Cook"], Jefferson; [player_tooltip player_id="861078" first="Adrian" last="Mosley"], Grant; [player_tooltip player_id="861096" first="Kavon" last="Bradford"], Benson; [player_tooltip player_id="857358" first="Leo" last="Sewell"], Wilson</p> <p><strong>Top Sleeper/Newcomer</strong>: Raysean Seamster, Roosevelt</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Analysis</strong><br /> </span>Ever since they returned to 6A, Jefferson has basically been the team to beat in the PIL and despite some of the departures from the squad (most notably 6A POY [player_tooltip player_id="606248" first="Nathan" last="Rawlins-Kibonge"]) the Demos remain on top. [player_tooltip player_id="787678" first="Lamar" last="Washington"] (14.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.0 apg) and [player_tooltip player_id="861099" first="Marquis" last="Cook"] (13.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg) are arguably the two best players in the state and the one-two punch will be incredibly hard to contain much less stop. Grant has some solid experienced returnees, led by do-it-all performer [player_tooltip player_id="861078" first="Adrian" last="Mosley"] (12.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.9 spg). Cleveland made some noise last year and returning league coach of the year Dondrale Campbell has key guys back in seniors Oskar Christansen (9.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id="965078" first="Eli" last="Mesulam"] (8.8 ppg, .533 3pt%). Roosevelt will be young but has some length and athleticism, especially up front with [player_tooltip player_id="857345" first="Donatello" last="Tupper"] (6 ppg) and perhaps one of the best-kept secrets in the state, 6-foot-6 junior Raysean Seamster.</p> <p>Benson will be led by [player_tooltip player_id="861096" first="Kavon" last="Bradford"] (15.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg) who was one of the state’s top freshmen last season. He rebounds extremely well for his size and could very well end up averaging a double-double. After a few years of struggle, Wells (formerly Wilson) is trending upward and a big reason why is shifty junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="857358" first="Leo" last="Sewell"] (12.4 ppg, 5.9 apg) who led 6A in assists. Franklin, behind new coach Osa Esene, will rely on their size with seniors [player_tooltip player_id="965074" first="Trenton" last="Rymal"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1069454" first="Henry" last="Grassman"]. Lincoln, with new head coach Joel Lincoln, hopes to continue rebuilding with junior [player_tooltip player_id="964545" first="Henri" last="Perrin"] as their standout while Madison/McDaniel, with the dean of the PIL Chuck Matthews at the helm, will play hard and be competitive with senior [player_tooltip player_id="965077" first="Tavon" last="Wilson"] (12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg) as their go-to guy.</p> <p><strong>Best Non-League Game</strong>: 5/18, Jefferson at Jesuit</p> <p><strong>Best League Game</strong>: 5/27, Grant at Jefferson; 6/18, Jefferson at Grant</p>