Recruiting Update: Joe Juhala (2020 West Linn HS)
Aiming for a big senior season is Joe Juhala. The springy 6-foot-7, 195-pound forward cut his teeth on the varsity squad last season but is now ready for the next step in his evolution as a player. Juhala has high…
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Continue ReadingAiming for a big senior season is Joe Juhala. The springy 6-foot-7, 195-pound forward cut his teeth on the varsity squad last season but is now ready for the next step in his evolution as a player. Juhala has high goals for himself and his West Linn team in 2019-20 and he’s coming off a strong off-season that helped him get to where he is today.
“Summer went good and I really enjoyed playing with (Jordan Team) Fly,” Juhala said. “I think that with having so many great players from all the other teams it really help me build as a player and as a teammate. It also developed my hustle playing against huge guys like guys from Lakeshow. It really helped prepare me for this season.”
He went into more detail about how his individual skills have improved. “I think my rebounding has gotten a lot better,” Juhala said. “My goal is to be the number one rebounder in the TRL this year. And I think with putting more weight on and doing a lot of drills where hustle is required, that’s helped me get closer to my goal. My finishing ability has also gotten a lot better.”
“I still have to work on my left hand a little bit but my shooting has gotten a lot better than it once was,” Juhala continued. “It’s far from perfect, from done, but I can still get better.”
In addition to his development as a player, Juhala’s goal was to increase his college recruitment. From a recruiting perspective, two schools seem to stand out to him right now – and they’re both in Southern California. This fall he made visits to both Chapman and Redlands and had good conversations with both coaching staffs. “They’re both interested and I’ve applied there and I’m on their lists,” Juhala said. “So we’ll see how that goes.”
Things will continue developing for Juhala in that regard, especially if things go the way he feels they will for the Lions and himself. “I think we’re going to come out and really surprise some people this year after losing a couple of really good seniors,” Juhala said. “As a team, I think we’re going to be competing as one of the most athletic teams in the state when all of our guys are healthy. And I want to get five triple-doubles. I know it’s a far stretch but we’ll see.”
Juhala currently ranks as the #21 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2020 rankings.