Prospect Spotlight: Finn Barkenaes (2021 Beaverton)

<p>[player_tooltip player_id="855997" first="Finn" last="Barkenaes"] had the opportunity of a lifetime this past year. The hard-nosed 6-foot-1, 181-pound combo guard from Beaverton the opportunity to train and play at the United States Basketball Academy that also competed in Arizona at the ultra-talent-laden Grind Session. It was an incredible experience the senior won’t soon forget and he’s hopeful it will lead to a big year and college playing opportunities afterward.</p> <p>"It was crazy," Barkenaes said of his time with USBA. "It was a great experience playing against competition that I’m not used to at all and also training at the facility with Oregon guys such as Mookie (Cook), Lamar (Washington), Trace (Salton), Darius (Gakwasi) and them, it was great to go hard against each other every day. You can play against good competition that will help but if you’re grinding it out every day in practice it’s going to make you a lot better."</p> <p>"So it was really cool to be out there and have that experience," Barkenaes continued. "While in Arizona it was a whole another level and I was really happy with how we played toward the end of the year. As a team we played really well and I’m thankful to the coaches that helped me get better."</p> <p>The time spent on basketball at USBA’s Blue River facility was fruitful. Barkenaes was a solid floor leader last year who specialized at getting to the basket on offense and really shining as an on-the-ball defender on the other side of the floor. He used the opportunity to really work on certain facets of his game.</p> <p>"Every day, once or twice a day, I’ve been working on my jumper," Barkenaes said. "It’s no secret that was one of my main flaws last year, so I’ve been trying to get that dialed in as best as I can before this season. And I’ve definitely been working on my athleticism as much as I can, trying to transform my body and getting stronger."</p> <p>The hope is that the improvement will lead to some college basketball playing opportunities. A high-academic performer - Barkenaes boasts a 4.22 GPA - he’s currently keeping all options open as he hopes to catch the eyes of coaches this year.</p> <p>"I’m just waiting to see how things play out," Barkenaes said. "I’m looking to go wherever that will be the best fit for me and wherever I can go and improve. I’m not one of those guys that needs to be the man right away so I’d like to go anywhere I can continue to get better and I don’t think I’m even close to my ceiling yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to stand out this upcoming season and we’ll see from there."</p> <p>Barkenaes broke down his thoughts on the upcoming year with the Beavers. "I’m really looking forward to it," Barkenaes said. "We have a couple of solid returners and we have a lot of newcomers that were on JV and some incoming freshmen that not a lot of people know about that are going to surprise the Metro League. We have a lot of hard workers that are going to make an impact for sure."</p> <p>Barkenaes currently ranks as the #106 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2021 rankings.</p>