Practice Report: Central Catholic/Clackamas/Oregon City/Beaverton

<p>With a limited number of days available this year between the official start of practice and the first game of the season, many schools used Thanksgiving break to get in some practices. On Friday, we had the opportunity to drop by practice at Central Catholic, Clackamas, Oregon City, and Beaverton and here's a look at some of the top players we saw.</p> <p><strong>Isaiah Amato (2020 Central Catholic)</strong> - The Rams will be deep and talented but will require leadership and Amato seems up to the task. The senior guard was going at it fairly hard and was especially impressive with his slick ball-handling and passing, constantly looking to set up the open man.</p> <p><strong>Darius Gakwasi (2021 Central Catholic)</strong> - Gakwasi was solid all-around, shooting the ball fairly well from the outside but also looking for opportunities to attack the basket. He handled the ball well in the open court and made good decisions.</p> <p><strong>DeRay Seamster (2020 Central Catholic)</strong> - Seamster is the X-factor for the Rams. The combo guard was hitting his perimeter jumpers, getting loose in the open floor, and finishing at the rim in transition. Defensively, he was all over his assignment playing tough in the man-to-man.</p> <p><strong>Ben Gregg (2021 Clackamas)</strong> - Despite still recovering from a bum ankle, Gregg was absolutely dominant in practice as he could do pretty much anything he wanted offensively. But where the junior forward may have been most impressive was with his passing - he played unselfishly and often found teammates who had a better look than he did.</p> <p><strong>Damon Erickson (2021 Clackamas)</strong> - Gregg will need some help on the offensive end, especially when he's double teamed, and Erickson may be a guy that will benefit. The 6-foot-1 junior showed a good shot from the perimeter both on the catch-and-shoot and dribble pull-ups. He's also got a solid body able to absorb contact on drives.</p> <p><strong>KJ Horsley (2021 Clackamas)</strong> - It appears that Horsley will be the team's primary point guard and ball-handler and he handled pressure well and made sure to get his teammates involved. Where he made the most impact was defensively as he showed potential of being a blanket man-to-man defender.</p> <p><strong>Michael Vorobets (2021 Clackamas)</strong> - Vorobets is one of the better athletes on the team and the junior made some acrobatic plays on both ends of the floor. He finished around the hoop, was able to step out and hit some jumpers, and also come over on the help side to block some shots.</p> <p><strong>Andre Best (2020 Oregon City)</strong> - Best was as usual, a tough individual defender and a distributor on offense. But what impressed us most is the work he put in this summer on his jump shot was quite evident as the senior was draining threes left and right from all over the court.</p> <p><strong>Jake Gettels (2020 Oregon City)</strong> - Gettels is a hard-nosed wing who not only showed off a smooth looking lefty shot from deep but also the ability to hit pull-ups as well as finish near the basket. The 6-foot-1 senior is fairly well-built and displayed some tenacity on the defensive end as well.</p> <p><strong>Dane Erikstrup (2021 Beaverton)</strong> - The Beavers offense may very well revolve around Erikstrup who has grown to 6-foot-9 and knows how to establish himself down low. He finished around the basket using both hands, and has an affinity for using the backboard on shot attempts and using it well. While there weren't really any game situations that required him to step away from the basket, in shooting drills he showed a soft touch from the perimeter.</p>