Open Gym Report: Sherwood Bowmen
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 evening’s visit was to see the Sherwood Bowman. Head coach Rahim Tufts is excited about the move to the new Pacific Conference and the chance to compete for a league title.
Several of the Bowmen’s top players were out due to football, notably Jamison Guerra (2020) and Blake Jensen (2020). Here are observations on three of the players who will be playing varsity that were present:
Braden Thorn (2019)
Thorn was the best player on the basketball floor and everyone knew it. The lanky 6-foot-5 wing basically scored at will, whether it was hitting from long range, creating off the dribble, or backing down smaller defenders and then hitting turn-around fadaways. Despite his scoring acumen, he did not play selfishly and was more than happy to get his teammates involved. A two-sport star with baseball and basketball, he is hoping to play both at the next level and is getting recruited by much of the Northwest Conference. We will have an update posted on him soon.
Asher Krauel (2021)
Krauel was a key player for Sherwood’s successful freshman team last year and will be moving up to the varsity squad. The sophomore is a pure point guard with a solid handle who is looking to make the right pass both in the halfcourt and transition settings. His shot was a little off from the outside this open gym, but you could tell he had pretty good form on the release. At first glance, it looks like he’ll be Guerra’s backup at the point.
Tyler Hix (2019)
Hix is an all-around defensive-minded guard who spent the majority of his time trying to keep Thorn in check, and honestly was able to force Thorn into some difficult shots that he ended up missing. Offensively, he took what the defense gave him and was able to nail some outside jumpers. Tufts noted that Thorn did a great job guarding First Team All-State honoree Alexis Angeles of Tualatin last year.
Coach Tufts noted that he expects Guerra to take on more of a scoring load this year and wouldn’t be surprised to see the junior score over 20 ppg.