College Commitment: Blake Jensen (2020 Sherwood HS)
On Wednesday, Sherwood High School held a signing ceremony for the seniors who had secured their college futures. Blake Jensen was in the crowd looking on then but two days later, the mobile 6-foot-7, 180-pound forward has done the same. Jensen has made the decision to join his teammate Jamison Guerra at OIT and while he was definitely inspired by seeing his classmates sign on the dotted line, in the end it was his own personal choice.
“It was good to see them do their thing first,” Jensen said. “But I made the decision for me.”
Jensen detailed what made OIT the right fit for himself. “When I went down there on my visit I really liked the coaching staff and the players,” Jensen said. “I really like what they’re doing with the program and the way they run their stuff, their offense and defense. I just felt like I could fit in there.”
Part of the fit was what OIT had to offer off of the court as well. “I think it’s a good school and they have some good academics there,” Jensen said. “The area is a little far out but I think it’s cool.”
Jensen was pretty sold on OIT when he made his official visit a few weeks ago, but did take another trip to Embry-Riddle in Arizona before making anything final. “I just wanted to make for sure that I wanted to go to OIT,” Jensen said. “I wanted to make sure that I didn’t leave any questions unanswered, but I’m excited to go there.”
The Hustlin’ Owls play at the highest level of NAIA basketball and Jensen knows there are areas of his game where he would like to focus on this season. “I really want to improve my outside shooting and my overall ball-handling because I know at the next level you have to be able to do all parts of the game of basketball,” Jensen said. “I think those are two areas where I can really improve.”
But with his decision behind him, Jensen – who incidentally is still in the middle of Sherwood’s football playoff run – can now look forward to his last year with the Bowmen basketball team. “I think we’re going to have a great season and do really well,” Jensen said. “I think we have all the pieces this year.
Jensen currently ranks as the #33 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2020 rankings.