Portland State Team Camp: Day 1 Top Performers
Portland State Team Camp kicked off on Monday afternoon and some of the top teams in the state arrived at the beautiful Viking Pavilion for some competitive play. We had the opportunity to soak in the action and here are…
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Continue ReadingPortland State Team Camp kicked off on Monday afternoon and some of the top teams in the state arrived at the beautiful Viking Pavilion for some competitive play. We had the opportunity to soak in the action and here are the top performers on the day.
Nate Rawlins-Kibonge (2021 Jefferson) – Rawlins-Kibonge only played one game, but it was a good one. With fellow post Kam Robinson out of town at an elite Nike camp, the 6-foot-7 post had the paint all to his own and he owned it. Rawlins-Kibonge was unstoppable around the hoop and his back-to-the-basket offensive moves are improving daily. On the boards and on defense, the Washington State-commit was his usual self and in the end he finished with 11 rebounds and five blocked shots in addition to his 21 points. Rawlins-Kibonge ended up sitting out Jefferson’s close-call victory over Sunset.
Lamar Washington (2022 Jefferson) – With Micah Garrett not present, Washington stepped into the main scoring role on the wing and he had things cooking in all phases. The 6-foot-3 rising sophomore knocked down threes, took it strong to the basket, and finished well in transition. But what continues to impress us with the top-ranked player in the Class of 2022 is his passing ability as he often dished some nifty dimes to open teammates for scores. Washington scored 32 points and handed out at least ten assists in the two games.
Trey Galbraith (2020 South Salem) – Exit Skinny, enter Trey. Jaden Nielsen-Skinner has moved on to play for Portland State but South Salem is in good hands with Galbraith and that was fully on display in the two games at camp. In the first game, the 5-foot-8 rising senior deferred to teammates and it was looking that way in their second contest in the first half. But when the Saxons needed a comeback in their second contest, Galbraith simply took over. He kept defenders off balance with his shiftiness and dribble, and either scored at all three levels or passed it off for assists to lead South Salem to a win over Roosevelt. When all was said and done, he ended up scoring 22 points in that said half.
Braeden Sato (2020 Sunset) – Sunset lost two close games, but you certainly couldn’t fault Sato for his effort. He was the camp’s high scorer so far with 54 total points and a lot of those came from deep threes, of which he hit eight of them. Sato has a quick release with a super high arc and he has the quick dribble to create space for himself to get it off against most defenders. The 5-foot-9 didn’t just bomb away either as he was able to get to the basket a bit and finish a few hoops around the rim. He wasn’t able to convert the last two possessions against King’s Way in their second game but overall it was a sizzling shooting performance from him.
Brandon Hopson (2021 Roosevelt) – Hopson has emerged as one of the top scoring point guards in the state in the Class of 2021 and he was able to showcase those abilities in Roosevelt’s two games, of which they went 1-1. The 6-foot point guard has a smooth handle which allows him to get past his defender on the drive and he has the length and creativity to finish effectively around the basket. Hopson quickly accelerated in transition and scored a lot of his points on the break but also canned a number of threes at a good percentage. Hopson finished with a total of 36 points in the two games.
Nick Zuro (2021 South Salem) – Zuro was the find of the day. At 6-foot-7 and well-built, when the transfer started to dunk in warmups he certainly passed the look test. After the game started, his raw athleticism and ability to run the floor were quite evident and he made a huge impact in South Salem’s opening win over King’s Way. Zuro had some basic post moves and while most everything is right-handed at this point in time, he was still able to finish effectively. He stepped out and hit a couple of jumpers and owned the boards on both ends. We caught up with him after the game and hope to post n update soon.