2021-22 6A Preview: Pacific Conference

<p>After a non-traditional season in 2021, the 2021-22 campaign is highly anticipated as it will be back to "normal" for just about everyone across the state.  The Pacific Conference has been Sherwood’s domain the past few seasons - will the Bowmen have it in the bag again this year? Here’s a quick look.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>League Predictions</strong></span></p> <p>1. Sherwood<br /> 2. Century<br /> 3. Newberg<br /> 4. McMinnville<br /> 5. Glencoe<br /> 6. Liberty<br /> 7. Forest Grove</p> <p><strong>Player of the Year</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="1232163" first="Jared" last="Sucher"], Sherwood</p> <p><strong>All-League Predictions</strong>: Sucher; [player_tooltip player_id="1202059" first="Owen" last="Caudle"], Sherwood; [player_tooltip player_id="861082" first="Axton" last="Wongsomadi"], Century; [player_tooltip player_id="1346573" first="Sol" last="Byles"], Newberg; [player_tooltip player_id="964547" first="Ben" last="Thornbrue"], Glencoe</p> <p><strong>Top Sleeper/Newcomer</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="1382408" first="Matthew" last="Verkamp"], Sherwood</p> <p><strong>State Tournament Threats: </strong>Sherwood</p> <p><strong>Other Post-Season Teams: </strong>Century, Newberg</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Analysis<br /> </strong></span></p> <p>Yes indeed, it appears the Pacific Conference will once again be the domain of the Bowmen but the race will be tougher this year for head coach Rahim Tufts and crew. Sherwood lost quite a bit to graduation but as they say next man up and if you haven’t heard the name [player_tooltip player_id="1232163" first="Jared" last="Sucher"] by now you should. The 6-foot-4 junior wing may have only gotten bit minutes last season but his pure scoring abilities helped earn him an invite to the Prime Time 40 camp this fall. He’s likely the Bowmen’s top scorer and he’ll have point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1202059" first="Owen" last="Caudle"] (16.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg in 7 games) helping him get him the ball. Caudle was dominant last season until suffering an injury but the senior is back at full strength. Fellow seniors [player_tooltip player_id="964549" first="Bjorn" last="Bergstrom"] (7.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id="964541" first="Baydon" last="Kullowatz"] (5.8 ppg, 5.4 rpg) will be key contributors, as will varsity newcomer [player_tooltip player_id="1382408" first="Matthew" last="Verkamp"] who adds size and skill at 6-foot-4. The Bowmen have knocked on the door of the state tournament; could this be the year they break through?</p> <p>Sherwood is by no means a shoo-in as they will have competition. Century is back in full force and while veteran head coach Scott Kellar will once again lack size, they will have plenty of shooters ready to bomb away the leader of whom will be [player_tooltip player_id="861082" first="Axton" last="Wongsomadi"] (15.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, .390 3pt%) who led all of 6A in threes made per game at over four per game. [player_tooltip player_id="964537" first="Kyle" last="Hamnes"] (11.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.0 apg) will be back at the point and on the other wing will be Wongsomadi’s cousin, sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="1111363" first="Jordan" last="Johnson"] (6.9 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 2.2 apg).  Johnson is a young athlete who turned some heads at the PrepHoops Top 250 Expo and should see all his statistics increase.</p> <p>Newberg will also be a formidable challenger as head coach Mark Brown has another hard-working squad ready to execute. Senior do-it-all guard [player_tooltip player_id="1346573" first="Sol" last="Byles"] (7.9 ppg) should be a consistent contributor and expect his numbers to perhaps double. He’ll be flanked by a number of experienced seniors such as Sam Murphy (3.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg), Cody Burger (3.6 ppg), and Christian Buck (2.9 ppg) who all know their roles well. Sophomore guard newcomer Malachi Muthiah may get some key minutes off the bench.</p> <p>Head coach Willie Graham has stayed the course with the Grizzlies the past couple of tough years but things are looking up for McMinnville in 2020-21.  All-league guard Terrin Seibel (15.9 ppg) is the only true loss to graduation. Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1256719" first="Brandon" last="Bomberger"] (12.1 ppg, 3.5 apg) is back as one of the more dynamic playmakers in the league and he’ll challenge for all-league honors. 6-foot-4 [player_tooltip player_id="1401977" first="Cody" last="Dauterman"] (12.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg) is also a very productive player and Zach Donahoo (6.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg) provides additional size at 6-foot-7 in a league that doesn’t have a lot of height to counteract.</p> <p>Glencoe has been slowly rebuilding under head coach Kevin Bloodsaw and they could sneak up on some folks. The biggest reason why is they have some size, led by the versatile [player_tooltip player_id="964547" first="Ben" last="Thornbrue"]. The 6-foot-6 athlete worked hard on developing his perimeter skills over the summer and will be a hard matchup for opponents. The rest of the roster is filled with scrappy, hard-working rotation guys who could step up on any given night.</p> <p>After one of their best seasons in the school’s history, Liberty starts over with young head coach Mike Gregory taking over the reins. As a former Falcon player and assistant coach, he understands the program well but has some work to do to repeat any of last year’s success. Senior guard Charlie Rask (3.1 ppg, .367 3pt%) and forward Nate Smith (3.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg) are the main holdovers to watch out for. Finally, Forest Grove will also be starting afresh with head coach Marc Roche after longtime head coach Greg Evers announced his retirement. Roche had incredible success at 4A Banks including a state title and has some talented young players coming up with the Vikings, but they will likely take some lumps in 2021-22.</p>