2022-23 6A Preview: Central Valley Conference

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2022-23 season is upon us and PrepHoops Oregon has you covered. We're doing pre-season previews for all of the 6A leagues across the state, giving you some insight into the teams and players you should be watching this year. With the Bend-area teams moving to 5A, what was the Mountain Valley Conference is now known as the Central Valley Conference. The league is now all Salem-area schools with North Salem joining the mix (McKay also moved to 5A) and due to the low number of teams, it will be a triple round robin format for conference games. Here's how we see it turning out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>League Predictions</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1. West Salem<br>2. South Salem<br>3. McNary<br>4. Sprague<br>5. North Salem</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player of the Year</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id='1268431' first='Connor' last='Oertel'], West Salem</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>All-League Predictions</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id='1268431' first='Connor' last='Oertel'], West Salem; [player_tooltip player_id='1464497' first='Greg' last='Comer'], South Salem; Trenton Ferguson, West Salem; [player_tooltip player_id='1458080' first='Brody' last='Roth'], McNary; Matthew Weiner, Sprague</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Sleeper/Newcomer</strong>: Steven Adams, McNary</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>State Tournament Threats: </strong>West Salem</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Post-Season Teams: </strong>South Salem, McNary, Sprague</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Analysis</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Summit no longer around, there's a consensus on who should win the league this season and West Salem gets that honor. Head coach Travis Myers has a squad filled with returnees from last year's third place finishing team and its core is in the junior class. [player_tooltip player_id='1268431' first='Connor' last='Oertel'] (10.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.4 apg, .430 3pt%) made a tremendous debut last season on varsity and you can bet his numbers will increase in 2022-23. The 6-foot-3 wing can pretty much score from anywhere on the court and has added above-the-rim athleticism to his game over the summer. 6-foot-7 big man Trenton Ferguson (9.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, .559 fg%) is practically unmoveable in the paint but has a real soft touch to his shot. He's easily the best post in the entire league. [player_tooltip player_id='1565735' first='Jackson' last='Leach'] (5.2 ppg, 2.0 apg) will take over the reins at the point and is extremely quick off the dribble. There are a couple of key seniors in last year's leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1382407' first='Tommy' last='Slack'] (12.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.2 apg, .526 fg%), who will snipe away from the outside, and [player_tooltip player_id='1096112' first='Jimmy' last='Lathen'] (7.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, .600 fg%), a hustle-guy-plus up front. Myers likes to play a lot of guys so look for others to contribute as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Salem experienced growing pains last season but should be back in the discussion. While head coach Travis Brown doesn't have a ton of size at his disposal on this year's roster, there's plenty of speed and he's definitely planning on using that to the Saxons' advantage. The junior guard duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1464497' first='Greg' last='Comer'] (15 ppg, .383 3pt%) and [player_tooltip player_id='1110576' first='Eli' last='Gabriel'] (13 ppg) should once again lead the way in the scoring department. Comer was one of 6A's leaders in threes made per game at just under 2.5 and can really catch fire from long range. Point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1256722' first='Charlie' last='Rapp'] will get them the ball and the senior is as gritty as they come. Brown is high on another senior, 6-foot-3 Rylan Davidson, who makes up for his lack of height with his strength and leaping ability. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='1368249' first='Josh' last='Feik'] played some quality minutes last season and don't be surprised if you see one of the talented freshman trio of Jackson Lapray, Teagan Scott (Oregon State baseball commit), and [player_tooltip player_id='1671256' first='Tko' last='Westbrook'] (younger brother of Evina Westbrook) see some court time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As always, McNary will be right in the mix for the post-season. Head coach Ryan Kirch is amazingly enough now the dean of the league and he has perhaps the most experienced backcourt in the conference. [player_tooltip player_id='861080' first='Jando' last='Gonzalez'] (8.1 ppg, 1.5 apg, .391 3pt) is now in his fourth year as a starter and is as dependable as they come. His backcourt partner in crime, [player_tooltip player_id='1382422' first='Jabol' last='Balos-Mesey'] (6.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg) is in his third year and will once again be one of the top athletes in the league getting to the hoop. Leading scorer [player_tooltip player_id='1458080' first='Brody' last='Roth'] (10.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, .403 3pt) is back and ready to do even bigger things with his all-around offensive game. As solid as this trio is, watch out for Steven Adams (2.2 ppg, 2.0 apg in 7 games). Kirch gushes about the off-season development of the sophomore point guard, who lit up the scoreboard for the Celtics in summer ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the first time since he took over in 2018-19 head coach Jordan Graneto has a team that lacks varsity experience as last year's squad was senior dominated. Senior guards [player_tooltip player_id='1496191' first='Matt' last='Weiner'] (2.1 ppg, 0.8 rpg) and Liam Spencer (1.9 ppg) are the leading returning scorers and there's no question their production will have to increase for the Olympians to be competitive. Both are solid all-around shooters and scorers that played well during June ball. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1531536' first='Jarod' last='Stanley'] (1.0 ppg) got into a handful of games as a freshman and his athleticism will help out on both ends. Seniors Orion Powers (1.0 ppg) and Nate Tesfu (0.2 ppg) will also have increased roles in the rotation. A player worth keeping an eye on is senior Jake Horn, who didn't play last season. While he's still somewhat learning the game, standing 6-foot-9 Horn is one of the tallest players in the conference and he's also a good athlete.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Finishing out the list is North Salem, who moves up to 6A for 2022-23. The Vikings are led by brand new head coach Bryan Huber, who starred at West Salem in the mid-2000s. Top returnees include point guard Gio Ramirez and star running back Josiah Davis in the backcourt and Tito Garibay up front, but most of the roster is brand new and very young. The Vikings do have hope for the future with a heralded freshman group, of which guard [player_tooltip player_id='1602196' first='Rafael' last='Ochoa'] turned some heads at this fall's PrepHoops Oregon Top 250 Expo.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->