College Commitment: Joe Juhala (2020 West Linn HS)
While the rate of college commitments has slowed down there are still a few more highly ranked seniors making their decisions. Joe Juhala Joe Juhala 6'7" | PF West Linn | 2020 State OR was one that recently went off the board. The springy 6-foot-7, 195-pound forward from West Linn had garnered plenty of attention with his combination of size and emerging skills but when it came down to it he decided to stay in-state by signing with Southern Oregon.
“All I want to do is continue playing ball,” Juhala said. “Southern gave me a chance and I took it.”
Juhala officially signed his letter-of-intent on Memorial Day. The emerging big man with the ability to not only throw down monster dunks but also knock down open perimeter shots, he averaged 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting almost 55 percent from the field this past year. He had been looking at a number of different D-III and NAIA options but found that the Raiders, led by head coach Brian McDermott, provided him the best fit.
“I really like Coach Mac and the environment down there,” Juhala said. “I feel like I can fit well with the way the team plays.”
Juhala follows a pipeline of sorts from West Linn down to Ashland. Tate Hoffman (2016 West Linn) just finished his career at SOU with 1,495 career points and named a Third Team NAIA All-American this past season. Jeff Bush (2010 West Linn) finished his four-year career ranked #2 all-time in school history in assists with 516.
Juhala finished as the #33 ranked player in the final Oregon Class of 2020 rankings.