Open Gym Report: Barlow Bruins
PrepHoops Oregon is hitting up open gyms in the Portland Metro area this next month to get an early look some of the top teams. Tuesday’s visit was to see the Barlow Bruins. It’s a long drive out to the school, but well worth it as head coach Tom Johnson has a squad full of experience from last year’s state tournament and should be in any Top 5 team conversation this season.
Barlow is still waiting for a number of football players to have a full squad – most notably Dominic Jacoby (2019) and Nathaniel Koenig (2019), but many of the other key top guys were in the gym. Here are observations on the several players that were present:
Jesse White (2020)
We all know that White can shoot – and he certainly filled it up from the outside in this open gym. But the 5-foot-11 junior also did his share of taking it to the basket, finishing acrobatically with both hands. White didn’t just hog the ball either as he drove into the lane and kicked it out to shooters as well – something he no doubt will be doing a lot of this season as Barlow will surely be taking a lot of threes. According to Coach Johnson, a whole host of GNAC schools including Central Washington, St. Martin’s, and Western Oregon will be watching White close this season.
Evan Inglesby (2020)
Inglesby may be one of the biggest sleepers in the Class of 2020 in the state. At 6-foot-3, he was draining threes but also taking it hard to the basket and dunking it with two hands. Defensively when he matched up against White he did a credible job on him. At times he may have been a little too unselfish on offense but Inglesby will have a bigger role on the offensive end this year. A fact we did not know – Inglesby’s father Trent, who also played for Coach Johnson at Barlow, played at Oregon State in the early 90’s and was a roommate of Brent Barry.
Joey Wolcott (2020)
A third member of Barlow’s talented junior class is Wolcott, who at 6-foot-4 will be seeing the majority of his time in the post. He’s lanky but also athletic, capable of getting out in transition and dunking the ball. At this open gym, he shot the ball fairly well from the outside as well.
Jared Vedus (2019)
Vedus served as a spot-up shooter last season and his role should be the same this year. He has a nice touch from three-point range which is almost close to a set shot as he doesn’t jump very high. He didn’t do much with the ball but didn’t turn it over either.
Trevor Jones (2020)
At least 6-foot-3, Jones is another possible spot-up shooter for the Bruins. He has a smooth lefty stroke and he hit a number of catch and shoot jumpers from mid-range and behind the three-point line.