2021 6A Preview: Metro League

<p>The season is about to start and without a true state championship, much of the pride in 2021 will ride on who brings home the league titles. This title certainly has meaning in the Metro League, which we take a look at in this preview. It’s not a balanced schedule as not every team plays each other twice. And some squads will play more non-league games than others. But given what we have, here’s how we see things turning out this year in the Metro League.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>League Predictions</strong></span></p> <p>1. Jesuit<br /> 2. Westview<br /> 3. Beaverton<br /> 4. Mountainside<br /> 5. Sunset<br /> 6. Southridge<br /> 7. Aloha</p> <p><strong>Player of the Year</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="855929" first="Dane" last="Erikstrup"], Beaverton</p> <p><strong>All-League Predictions</strong>: Erikstrup; [player_tooltip player_id="855934" first="Roy" last="Bunn"], Jesuit; [player_tooltip player_id="855931" first="Brady" last="Grier"], Westview; [player_tooltip player_id="857352" first="Dezman" last="Baker"], Mountainside; [player_tooltip player_id="942245" first="James" last="Lang"], Jesuit</p> <p><strong>Top Sleeper/Newcomer</strong>: [player_tooltip player_id="857364" first="Dimitri" last="Cohen"], Mountainside</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Analysis<br /> </strong></span>More often than not, Jesuit is the favorite in the Metro League and that doesn’t change this year. Head coach Gene Potter may have lost player of the year [player_tooltip player_id="625653" first="Matthew" last="Levis"] to college but his returning three-headed trio of guards in [player_tooltip player_id="855934" first="Roy" last="Bunn"] (9.9 ppg, 4.1 apg), [player_tooltip player_id="942245" first="James" last="Lang"] (13.5 ppg, .392 3pt%), and [player_tooltip player_id="855989" first="Liam" last="Ruttledge"] (13.4 ppg, .383 3pt%) should be enough to propel the Crusaders to another league title. There will certainly be resistance. Westview head coach Michael Wolf has a group that’s dreamed of winning a Metro League title since they were young and having two college-bound seniors in [player_tooltip player_id="855931" first="Brady" last="Grier"] (10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id="965076" first="Aiden" last="Grady"] (5.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg) certainly helps. Wolf will also be counting on guys like junior forward [player_tooltip player_id="857350" first="Keshav" last="Anand"] and varsity newcomers [player_tooltip player_id="1085790" first="Marchon" last="Marshall"] and Kadin Huppin to make an impact. Beaverton should be right there as well, with much of it due to the news that [player_tooltip player_id="855929" first="Dane" last="Erikstrup"] (15.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) is back from his stint down in Arizona and is eligible to play. The 6-foot-10 big man, who’s signed with Cal Poly Pomona, is stronger, more athletic, and will likely be the one guy in the league every opponent game plans for.</p> <p>Mountainside will have a new look as the Mavericks no longer will be oriented around their size but now their speed. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="855990" first="Nate" last="Mouzong"] (4.3 ppg, 3.1 apg) will lead the young bucks to battle, flanked by some talented sophomores like [player_tooltip player_id="857352" first="Dezman" last="Baker"] (8.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and [player_tooltip player_id="857364" first="Dimitri" last="Cohen"] (swung JV last season). Sunset, led by new coach David Saultz, lost the services of [player_tooltip player_id="855955" first="Kell" last="Estep"] and his 14 ppg who opted out, but still have some pieces in place notably senior [player_tooltip player_id="855961" first="Tate" last="Reese"] (6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and up-and-coming sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="861092" first="Jalen" last="Childs"] (3.2 ppg), who already has a scholarship offer from Portland. Phil Vesel is back at Southridge after a year off, and as he rebuilds the program he’ll center things around senior guards [player_tooltip player_id="855936" first="Jha-Barrie" last="Portis"] (10.9 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id="965075" first="Brett" last="Hanna"] (11.3 ppg). And Aloha is now under the guidance of Brett Vernon, who is also looking to build his program.</p> <p><strong>Best Non-League Game</strong>: 5/18, Jefferson at Jesuit</p> <p><strong>Best League Games:</strong> 5/22, Westview at Jesuit; 6/11 Westview at Beaverton</p>