Portland Team Camp – Day One Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The University of Portland held its annual team camp the weekend of June 21-22 and several of the state's top high school squads made the trip to the Bluff for some competitive games. We had the opportunity to take in some action on the Saturday of camp and here is a look at some of the top performers we saw.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1951856' first='Jaxon' last='Lawson'] (2026 Canby)</strong> - Lawson pretty much did it in an impressive Canby win over Jefferson in pool play. The rising senior masterfully managed the point, constantly looking to push the ball up the floor and find open teammates for scores. After focusing in on facilitating in the first half, he started getting his own offense going in the second. When it was all said and done, Lawson fooled around and almost notched a triple double with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2757024' first='Ben' last='Twitchell'] (2027 Canby) </strong>- A guy that's undoubtedly going to rise in the rankings this upcoming season is Twitchell. At 6-foot-4 he's well-built physically, is an outstanding athlete that runs the floor and finishes strong above the rim, and plays with toughness. The rising junior manhandled defenders down low with his strength and threw down some two-handed hammer dunks on the break that drew oohs and ahs. 11 points and 10 rebounds in the Cougars win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1582927' first='Adrian' last='Montague'] (2026 Parkrose) </strong>- There might be a change in uniform but there was no difference in the way that "Fuzzy" plays the game on Saturday. The rising senior point guard was super shifty with the basketball in his hands, keeping defenders off balance as he either got the rock to teammates for scores or drained his patented mid-range fadeaways. Montague seemed to play well both on and off the ball and was a pest with his on-the-ball defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2026486' first='Keone' last='Gates'] (2027 Parkrose)</strong> - One reason Montague may be playing both on and off the ball is because of the presence of Gates, who has been really catching eyes this summer. The rising 5-foot-11 junior was just as effective on the catch-and-shoot or creating off the bounce and getting to the hoop, using his raw speed to blow by defenders. His jumper was on from deep and he too was effective with his quick hands and anticipation skills in Parkrose's pressure defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Oliver Townsend (2027 Caldera) </strong>- It's going to be almost a new team at Caldera but one guy that's back that will be key is Townsend. In Caldera's win over Capitol (WA) at Team Camp, the 5-foot-9 point guard showed great poise and moxie at the point, doing a good job of mixing up setting the table for his teammates and looking for his own opportunities to score. The rising junior finished with 12 points and 5 assists in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2211742' first='Riggy' last='Khyungra'] (2027 La Salle) </strong>- As we fully expected, there was not a defender that could stay in front of Khyungra during the action we watched at Portland Team Camp. It takes a special defender to keep up with the all out speed and cat-quick dribble drive moves from the rising junior, and the point guard basically got to wherever he wanted on the court whenever he wanted to and had it going from three-point range as well. 28 points (including four threes) and 7 assists in an easy win over Capital (WA).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2539901' first='Matthew' last='Tesfa'] (2027 La Salle)</strong> - La Salle is far from a one-man squad and the Falcons will need others to step up, including Tesfa who put together a workmanlike effort in the win over Capital. Listed at 6-foot-1, he played way bigger than his size by battling inside for offensive boards and putbacks, and was effective with some buckets on the break. Tesfa didn't force the issue yet finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1604657' first='Liam' last='Rigney'] (2026 Lake Oswego)</strong> - Tremendous scoring effort from Rigney who got it done everywhere on the court. The rising senior wing was sharp from the perimeter with a number of shots from deep, but also capably got to the basket for finishes both in the halfcourt and in transition. At the end of the day he had thoroughly stuffed the statsheet with 24 points, while also pulling down 5 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2833446' first='Jackson' last='Freeman'] (2026 Lake Oswego)</strong> - Every time we've seen Freeman play this off-season he's impressed and that was again the case at Portland Team Camp. The rising senior point guard was pretty much able to get to the basket whenever he wanted to, using his athleticism to show off his advanced layup package around the hoop. There was great balance in his game as he finished with 12 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->