2021 6A Preview: Metro League
In this article:
The season is about to start and without a true state championship, much of the pride in 2021 will ride on who brings home the league titles. This title certainly has meaning in the Metro League, which we take a…
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Continue ReadingThe season is about to start and without a true state championship, much of the pride in 2021 will ride on who brings home the league titles. This title certainly has meaning in the Metro League, which we take a look at in this preview. It’s not a balanced schedule as not every team plays each other twice. And some squads will play more non-league games than others. But given what we have, here’s how we see things turning out this year in the Metro League.
League Predictions
1. Jesuit
2. Westview
3. Beaverton
4. Mountainside
5. Sunset
6. Southridge
7. Aloha
Player of the Year: Dane Erikstrup Dane Erikstrup 6'10" | C Beaverton | 2021 State OR , Beaverton
All-League Predictions: Erikstrup; Roy Bunn Roy Bunn 5'9" | PG Jesuit | 2021 State OR , Jesuit; Brady Grier Brady Grier 6'5" | SF Westview | 2021 State OR , Westview; Dezman Baker Dezman Baker 6'3" | SF Mountainside | 2022 State OR , Mountainside; James Lang James Lang 6'0" | CG Jesuit | 2021 State OR , Jesuit
Top Sleeper/Newcomer: Dimitri Cohen Dimitri Cohen 5'11" | CG Mountainside | 2022 State OR , Mountainside
Analysis
More often than not, Jesuit is the favorite in the Metro League and that doesn’t change this year. Head coach Gene Potter may have lost player of the year
Matthew Levis
Matthew
Levis
5'11" | CG
Jesuit | 2020
State
OR
to college but his returning three-headed trio of guards in
Roy Bunn
Roy
Bunn
5'9" | PG
Jesuit | 2021
State
OR
(9.9 ppg, 4.1 apg),
James Lang
James
Lang
6'0" | CG
Jesuit | 2021
State
OR
(13.5 ppg, .392 3pt%), and
Liam Ruttledge
Liam
Ruttledge
6'2" | CG
Jesuit | 2021
State
OR
(13.4 ppg, .383 3pt%) should be enough to propel the Crusaders to another league title. There will certainly be resistance. Westview head coach Michael Wolf has a group that’s dreamed of winning a Metro League title since they were young and having two college-bound seniors in
Brady Grier
Brady
Grier
6'5" | SF
Westview | 2021
State
OR
(10.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and
Aiden Grady
Aiden
Grady
6'7" | PF
Westview | 2021
State
OR
(5.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg) certainly helps. Wolf will also be counting on guys like junior forward
Keshav Anand
Keshav
Anand
6'4" | PF
Westview | 2022
State
OR
and varsity newcomers
Marchon Marshall
Marchon
Marshall
5'10" | PG
Westview | 2023
OR
and Kadin Huppin to make an impact. Beaverton should be right there as well, with much of it due to the news that
Dane Erikstrup
Dane
Erikstrup
6'10" | C
Beaverton | 2021
State
OR
(15.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg) is back from his stint down in Arizona and is eligible to play. The 6-foot-10 big man, who’s signed with Cal Poly Pomona, is stronger, more athletic, and will likely be the one guy in the league every opponent game plans for.
Mountainside will have a new look as the Mavericks no longer will be oriented around their size but now their speed. Senior Nate Mouzong Nate Mouzong 6'0" | CG Mountainside | 2021 State OR (4.3 ppg, 3.1 apg) will lead the young bucks to battle, flanked by some talented sophomores like Dezman Baker Dezman Baker 6'3" | SF Mountainside | 2022 State OR (8.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and Dimitri Cohen Dimitri Cohen 5'11" | CG Mountainside | 2022 State OR (swung JV last season). Sunset, led by new coach David Saultz, lost the services of Kell Estep Kell Estep 6'4" | CG Sunset | 2021 State OR and his 14 ppg who opted out, but still have some pieces in place notably senior Tate Reese Tate Reese 6'4" | SF Sunset | 2021 State OR (6.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and up-and-coming sophomore Jalen Childs Jalen Childs 6'3" | PG Beaverton | 2023 State OR (3.2 ppg), who already has a scholarship offer from Portland. Phil Vesel is back at Southridge after a year off, and as he rebuilds the program he’ll center things around senior guards Jha-Barrie Portis Jha-Barrie Portis 6'1" | CG Southridge | 2021 State OR (10.9 ppg) and Brett Hanna Brett Hanna 6'2" | CG Southridge | 2021 State OR (11.3 ppg). And Aloha is now under the guidance of Brett Vernon, who is also looking to build his program.
Best Non-League Game: 5/18, Jefferson at Jesuit
Best League Games: 5/22, Westview at Jesuit; 6/11 Westview at Beaverton