Les Schwab Invitational: 2020 Under the Radar Guys

<p>There was plenty of star power at this year's Les Schwab Invitational - after all most of the state's top players in the Classes of 2020 and 2021 were present and accounted for. But there were a number of other seniors that made an impression with how they contributed in a more under-the-radar manner. Here's a look at the top unsung senior performers from this past weekend's action.</p> <p><strong>Matt Levis (2020 Jesuit)</strong></p> <p>It's hard to see Levis as unsung - after all, he holds a scholarship offer from Concordia and he started on last year's 6A title team. But the 6-foot combo guard is the senior leader of this usual team-oriented Jesuit squad and he quietly ended up either leading or tying for the team in lead in points (12.5), rebounds (5.0), three-point shooting percentage (.455), and steals (2.0). As always, Levis played tenacious man-to-man defense and you could count on him to fight and win practically every 50/50 loose ball. He's about a blue collar guard as you can find in the state and at the end of every game, you know he gave it his all, win or lose.</p> <p><strong>Jaren Hunter (2020 Barlow)</strong></p> <p>Hunter is definitely one of the more unique players you'll see in high school basketball today. The biggest thing that makes him unique - the senior doesn't look to score the basketball. Like, at all. Hunter rarely looks at the rim and when he actually does shoot, it really doesn't seem to have much of a chance. But what the future Oregon State baseball prospect does is share the basketball. He's constantly looking to pass the ball to the open man and he did that enough at the LSI to end up leading the event in assists (7.0). And Hunter does this without really doing much in terms of dribbling the basketball. As a result he only had two turnovers - an incredible 14-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. An incredible stat for anyone much less someone who doesn't play hoops as a main sport.</p> <p><strong>Gaige Ainslie (2020 Central Catholic)</strong></p> <p>Central Catholic had the benefit (or curse, depending on how you look at it) of playing two out-of-state powers in the LSI and for them, that meant going up either incredibly big (Mater Dei) or athletic (Bishop Gorman) frontlines. That meant the Rams really need to compete on the boards and that's where Ainslie got the job done. The 6-foot-8 senior worked hard this off-season to add some bulk and it showed at the tournament. He fought hard on the glass on both ends of the floor which really helped Central Catholic to compete in those two games, even though they ended up losing both. Offensively, Ainslie struggled a little with his finishes but showed good touch on his shot sinking three of his five three-point attempts.</p> <p><strong>Evan Pia (2020 Churchill)</strong></p> <p>Given the fact that three of his fellow senior starters (Brian Goracke, Kaelan O'Neil, and Silas Bennion) have all signed to play college basketball and the fourth starter is one of the top players in the state in the Class of 2022 (Samaje Morgan), it may be easy to overlook Pia. The 6-foot senior has been a key glue guy the past couple of years but at the Les Schwab he really emerged as an offensive threat. With many of his teammates struggling with their shooting, Pia was able to knock down several open jumpers and he did a good job of taking care of the basketball. The result - a sneaky 8.3 points per game, which ended up ranking second on the team.</p> <p><strong>Dylan Carson (2020 Churchill)</strong></p> <p>Carson is another Lancer who really came into his own during the LSI. The 6-foot-5 senior came off the bench in all four games but ended up playing 21.3 minutes per game - and the reason why is because he was productive. He ended up tying for the team-lead in rebounds (5.3) and was fourth in scoring (6.3) - mostly from his ability to knock down open corner shots from the three-point line on in. Carson has a big build - he plays football and third base in baseball - so it may have been easy for opponents to overlook him but he took full advantage when given the opportunity.</p> <p><strong>Grant Brauner (2020 Lake Oswego)</strong></p> <p>He didn't start a game for the Lakers all weekend long but if Brauner's role will be coming off the bench this season he showed at the LSI that he can be instant offense. The 6-foot-5 senior has some bounce to his step and also some range on his shot as he looked to score early and often whenever he got on the floor. He showed that he could catch and shoot from the corner, attack off the bounce, and finish at the rim. While Brauner was a bit one-dimensional with his play, there's no doubt that Lake Oswego needs guys that can go and get a bucket when needed and he's capable of doing that.</p> <p><strong>Parker Durbin (2020 West Linn)</strong></p> <p>One thing's for sure - there are no shortage of guys that can put the ball in the basket at West Linn. So what the Lions need are guys that are willing to do the dirty work and that's exactly what Durbin does. Often undersized up front, the 6-foot-3 senior backs down from no one and scraps for everything down low. He fought hard on the glass and when he did get a touch - he converted and at a high rate (.650). Durbin moved the basketball to the right guys on the offensive end and played hard on the defensive side of the basketball.</p>