Southridge Summer Showdown - Fresh Faces

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 guys we got a closer look at with their high school teams for the first time.    The son of former Jefferson standout [player_tooltip player_id='2886625' first='Ray' last='Peterson'], Peterson Jr was certainly a young player we had not only heard about but seen small glimpses of in AAU basketball. Now fully playing with the Demos we quickly saw why the young man already nicknamed "Big Baby" is considered by many one of the top Class of 2030 prospects in the entire country. The incoming freshman is extremely well-built physically and is extremely skilled with the basketball in his hands for his age. In a close loss to Central Catholic, he was able to use his handle and speed to get downhill and utilize his strength to finish at the hoop through contact. But what we caught right away with Peterson was his court vision and passing ability. He consistently made good decisions and found open teammates for easy buckets, whether out on the perimeter or near the basket. With his father standing at least 6-foot-6, he certainly may not be finished growing. He finished with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists.     Peterson wasn't the only Demo freshman that caught our eye at the Summer Showdown. Brown played some major minutes for Jeff in their close loss to Central Catholic, coming off the bench and showing great confidence in not only shooting from the perimeter but getting to the basket. His soft touch led to him draining a couple of threes and he finished with 9 points and 3 rebounds.     Yet another freshman that made an impact in the action we saw was Simpson, who was playing point guard for Lincoln. In a win over Central Catholic, he displyaed great maturity, a nice perimeter jumper, and a great feel for the game as he made good decisions throughout. It wouldn't be surprising to see him getting major minutes for the Cardinals this season. He finished with 10 points including three threes, and dished out 4 assists.     When Central Catholic first got their game going against Jefferson, it was Khaw that was the one putting up the points. The rising senior combo guard was capably getting downhill into the lane for finishes, both in the halfcourt and pushing the ball in transition. His outside shot looked fairly smooth and was a smooth operator, handling defensive pressure and hitting some key free throws at the end of the game. 15 points in the close win.     With a number of players sitting out against Prairie in the Summer Showdown, it gave some other Southridge players who will likely come off the bench this year an opportunity to play and Birkes took full advantage. The rising senior guard simply spotted up on the outside and joined in on the three-point shooting fun, hitting three from deep. He also got a few other baskets in transition and helped out on the boards in his extended playing time. 17 points and 5 rebounds when it was all said and done.

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 guys we got a closer look at with their high school teams for the first time.