Southridge Summer Showdown - Top Performers

Southridge hosted its summer showdown on June 19-20 with some of the top teams in the Portland Metro area participating. We had the opportunity to drop by and catch a few games and here are some of the top performers that we saw.    With the graduation losses at Central Catholic, Bongen now steps into a leading role for the Rams and that was clear in the two games we watched him play at the Summer Showdown. The rising senior looked super smooth with his jumper but was also mixing things up by taking the ball to the basket, where he was able to utilize his strength and immense athleticism to create contact and free throw shooting opportunities. In fact, one play where he didn't even score showed off his elite leaping ability yet drew oohs and aahs was where he skied with his head above the rim in an attempt at a putback dunk but just missed the ball and ended up hanging on the rim. Bongen recently earned a scholarship offer from the University of Portland.     Fresh off receiving his first D-I offer from San Diego, it was easy to see why Weatherspoon was clearly worthy from his play at the Summer Showdown. The rising senior is athletic, tough, plays with an intense motor, and makes shots. He was Central Catholic's leading rebounder in both games we watched at Southridge and while his jumper was solid, his willingness to drive into the lane and absorb all kinds of contact was noticeable as well. The combo guard looks to create for others as much as for himself too and racked up a number of assists.     We only got to catch Thompson play once with Southridge, but it was a good one as the Skyhawks sprinted out early and ran off with a 40-point win over Prairie. The rising senior point guard was a big part of the fast start as his perimeter shot was completely locked in, especially from deep as he knocked down three frmo beyond the arc in the first half. While his focus was more on scoring the ball - he finished with 22 points - he helped move the ball on offense and was also tough with helping out on the boards, grabbing 8 rebounds.     There's an argument that could easily be made that Fortune is easily one of the top five three-point bombers in all of 6A, if not the best. The lefty has a super smooth stroke with deep, deep range and his release is super quick. Add in the fact once he gets in rhythm he's incredibly difficult to stop and he was absolutely on fire from the jump in Southridge's big win over Prairie. Four threes within the first part of the first half, five in total, and 23 total points of instant offense from the rising senior.     The big story of the first day of the Summer Showdown was Lincoln's 69-65 upset of Central Catholic in bracket play and Lindsey played a huge role in the win. The rising senior guard had it going offensively, not only hitting from deep with four threes, but was also effective attacking off the dribble both for himself and his teammates. Great motor on defense as well and he finished with a team-high 18 points.

Southridge hosted its summer showdown on June 19-20 with some of the top teams in the Portland Metro area participating. We had the opportunity to drop by and catch a few games and here are some of the top performers that we saw.