March 14, 2001
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Metro/ ?orts
Four-A Tournament is an Oregon Showcase
B y B illy M oore
F or the P ortland P e s k i er
T h e S tate F o u r-A B a sk etb all T o u rn a m e n t got
u n d e r w a y th is p ast w eek an d on d isp la y w as the
le a d in g s c o r e r in s ta te 4 -A h is to ry , S a lim
Stoudam ire.
T h e L ak e O sw eg o sen io r ec lip sed the record set
b y c o lle g e “ P la y e r o f th e Y e a r” an d o u r s ta te ’s
h ig h e st p ro -d ra ft ch o ice to d ate, U C L A an d A ll-
A m eric an , R ic h a rd W ash in g to n .
S alim p u t o n a p erfo rm an ce in g am e on e ag ain st
B en so n th a t w as if n ot the fin e st h ig h sch o o l
b a sk e tb a ll g a m e 1 ev er w itn e ssed , it w as a th in g o f
b ea u ty as h e p a sse d , d ro v e an d sh o t h is w ay into
o u r h earts. H e sco red 38 p o in ts in as 62-61 loss and
d isp la y e d a flo o r gam e th at w a rra n te d him b eing
selected into the M c D o n ald ’s A ll-A m erican T eam ,
oo p s th ey m ad e a m istake and left him o f f the te a m .
W ell, d u h , it re a lly d o e s n ’t m a tte r at th is p o in t
an y w a y , h e ’s set to a tte n d U n iv e rsity o f A rizo n a
on a fu ll b a s k e tb a ll sc h o la rsh ip and th e w ay has
been p av ed b y h is first co u sin , D am o n S toudam ire.
(Y o u re m e m b e r h im d o n ’t y o u ?)
Je ffe rso n , th e d e fe n d in g c h a m p io n s, co u ld n ot
do th e e x p e c te d re p e a t as a F o u r-A c h a m p io n sh ip
in a m u c h a n tic ip a te d ru b b e r m a tc h w ith B enson
T ech.
T h e D e m o s fell 83 -7 2 en d in g a 51 in -sta te w in
n in g stre a k an d p ro v in g to ev e ry o n e th a t it’s aw ful
h ard to b e a t a g o o d b a s k e tb a ll te am th ree tim es in
a ro w , e v e n w ith a M c D o n a ld s A ll-A m erican .
B e n so n led fo r m o st o f th e g am e an d p ro v ed to
e v e ry o n e th a t y o u c a n ea t at M c D o n a ld ’s b ut it Salim Stoudamire led his Lake Oswego team in the state tournament and
d o e s n ’t m e an th e y h a v e th e b e st b u rg e rs ev ery finishes his high school career as Oregon's all-time leading scorer.
(P hoto by D avid G iezyng /P ortland O bserver )
n ig h t.
O n th is n ig h t, D arre n C o o p e r, w h o g rew up on
b ack -to -b ack state title? I th in k not. In th is case, Je ffe rso n , w h o co u ld n ot
th e sam e b lo c k as A aro n M iles, o u tp la y e d the
get past B enson, su rely w o u ld ’ve had its h an d s and feet a n d legs full w ith
K an sas-b o u n d guard. H e p lay ed like an A ll-A m eri
a C h u rch ill team that has size an d ab ility . B en so n w as no m atch and n ot
ca n o u tsc o rin g A aro n M iles 2 6 -2 1 . D o n ’t forget
even a M cD onald A ll-A m erican co u ld have m ad e a d ifferen ce. D id so m e
B e n so n w as a v e ry ta le n te d b a sk e tb a ll team as
b o d y say M cD onalds?
w ell. L e t’s fac e it, th e P .I.L . w a s n ot as stro n g as
T he D em ocrats b o u n ced back to tak e ho m e th e 3rd p la ce tro p h y , 84 -6 0
w e h o p ed .
ag ain st G ran ts Pass. A aron M iles set a to u rn am en t rec o rd w ith 27 steals.
B e n so n w as sh o t d o w n an d o u tp la y e d in all
C oach M arshall H askins said, ”1 th in k w e had a rem ark ab le run, our goal
a sp ec ts o f th e sta te title g am e in th e ir 78 -4 6 loss to
w as to do so m eth in g sp ecial at Je fferso n w h ich I felt w e a c c o m p lish e d .”
a v e ry fin e C h u rc h ill b a sk e tb a ll te a m .
So the A aron M iles/M ich ael L ee b ask e tb a ll era co m es to an end at
C an w e b la m e th e O .S . A. A. an d its in stitu tio n al
Je fferso n , b o th p lay ers are K an sas b o u n d . W e w ish them w ell an d g o o d
rac ism in th e b ra c k e tin g fo r th e lo ss o f a co v eted
luck.
Jefferson High School's Michael Lee leaves no doubt about it with a stam Junk in the opening
game o f the state 4A Tournament
(P hoto by D avid G iezyng /P ortland O bserver )
Dunleavy: The Blazers Are
Moving in Right Direction
(AP)— The Portland Trail Blazers,
mired in a season-long three-game los
ing streak, took a step in the right
direction with a meeting and a practice
praised by coach M ike D unleavy as
the best he could remember.
Portland (42-21) lost to V ancouver
twice during a four-day span last week,
with a defeat to the San A ntonio Spurs
sandwiched in between.
“ It w ould really disappoint m e if we
are not out there energy-wise, playing
a g g r e s s iv e ly a n d d e f e n d in g ,”
D unleavy said. D unleavy said that
during the meeting before Sunday’s
practice, he talked mostly about chang
ing the team 's m ental state.
“I f you w ant to be a champion, you
have to forget about making excuses,”
Dunleavy said. “Y ou have to be in
position to say, You know what?
W hatever it is that I have to do to right
the ship, I’ve got to do it. I ca n ’t worry
about everybody else.’”
After practice, D unleavy huddled
with team leader Scottie Pippen for
about 10 minutes. “I was ju st talking
about what a good practice it was, and
he was agreeing,” Dunleavy said. “W e
thought there was a lot o f energy. It
was a very positive step forward.”
Despite the losing streak, which has
further strained a team already troubled
by players grumbling about playing
time, Dunleavy said he still has the
players’ respect. “As far as how the
players and I are getting along, and
whether I have authority, is an abso-
lute yes,” he said. “W hether I have
respect for m y players, that’s an abso
lute yes. A nd as far as our guys quit
ting on the season, that’s an absolute
no.” Damon Stoudamire said the los
ing streak has m ade the season feel too
much like work, and that the team needs
to start having fun again.
“O ver the course o f the last week, I
haven’t seen anybody smile on the
court, I haven’t seen any high-fives, 1
haven’t seen any chest-bumping,” he
said. “It’s become more like ajob for us.
This shouldn’t be considered a job,
and we have to approach it like that.
W e’ve got to start having fun. Be
cause when we have fun, w e are mov
ing the ball around and everybody is
enjoying it.”
March 17, 2001
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