PureFocus Summer Slam - Saturday Morning Standouts

The PureFocus Summer Slam took place this past weekend at multiple sites on the west side of the Portland Metro area and we had the opportunity to drop by and take in some action. On Saturday morning, we caught a handful of games involving multiple teams at Century High School - here are some of the top performers that we saw.    With a handful of guys out for Canby, Roberts was called upon to do more and he delivered in a big way. In two wins for the Cougars, he pretty much did it all by averaging 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 7 assists, doing a great job of balancing his own scoring and finding teammates for chances - especially open shooters on the perimeter. What the rising senior also did a great job of was after grabbing the defensive rebound, immediately looking up and firing off outlet passes for easy transition buckets.     With star forward [player_tooltip player_id='2757024' first='Ben' last='Twitchell'] not in attendance, Ford stepped up huge as the main man inside. The 6-foot-4 rising senior used his physical bulk to bang around inside with post moves and on the boards, but also showed stepped out for a handful of nice face-up jumpers including a couple of threes. The big man showed a nice touch and feel with his interior passing.     The obvious temptation is to compare Lawson to older brother Jaxon, but the younger sibling is a different type of player. While he can operate with the ball in his hands, the rising senior is more of a shooter and may arguably be better at it than his older bro. He was solid with his stroke from three over the course of both games at the Summer Slam and ended up leading the Cougars in scoring in their second win with 17 points.     In addition to the varsity games we watched, we had the opportunity to catch the Mountainside incoming freshman team in action as they took on a varsity Nestucca squad - and more than held their own, as they won 79-42. The Mavs were quite proficient from the three-point line, but that had a lot to do with the play of Parker who was crashing the boards and keeping the ball alive for second chances. The combo guard scored 10 points of his own to go along with 11 rebounds and with his athleticism, it wasn't a surprise to learn he's a quarterback on the football field.     We intially heard about Vu during the season from good friend Luke Roth of Mid-Major Media, but the Summer Showcase was our first real eyes on him - and color us impressed. With Nestucca only having five players - and down to four during their second game - the rising senior guard was carrying a big load but was up to the task, especially offensively as he showed off a shifty handle and smooth lefty jumper from the mid-range on out past the three-point line. Despite a high volume of shot attempts, which were warranted, he had a nice feel for the game and did look for teammates when they were open.

The PureFocus Summer Slam took place this past weekend at multiple sites on the west side of the Portland Metro area and we had the opportunity to drop by and take in some action. On Saturday morning, we caught a handful of games involving multiple teams at Century High School - here are some of the top performers that we saw.