How are Clackamas freshmen so good, so fast? Easy: ‘They eat, drink and sleep basketball’
By Dave Ball | Photos by Dan Brood
PORTLAND — A youth movement has hit the Clackamas girls basketball program this season with freshmen filling four of the team’s five starting spots in Thursday’s 70-48 quarterfinal win over Lakeridge.
“It’s all them — they eat, drink and sleep basketball,” Clackamas coach Korey Landolt said. “They are little gym rats, and you get really good at something when you devote a lot of time to it.”
The group of rookies accounted for 70% of the team’s points Friday night, led by point guard Avery Peterson with a game-high 17. She went 4 for 5 from behind the arc.
Peterson has eased right into her floor general spot, directing the Cavaliers’ potent offense that features a multitude of scorers.
“We’ve asked her to do a lot, and she’s bought in,” Landolt said.
“I want to make my teammates look good and control the tempo,” Peterson said. “No one on this team looks at us as freshmen — we all see each other as equals.”
Jazzy Davidson is the most highly decorated newcomer to the program. She had drawn the attention of Division I power programs coming up through the youth levels, and she received an offer from Stanford before playing her first high school game.
“I’ve been playing against people three and four years older in AAU, so this is no different,” Davidson said. “I want to make the McDonald’s All-America team. I want to play college basketball. I want to get to the WNBA.”
Davidson is putting up more than 20 points per game and is a force on the boards, earning herself player of the year honors in the Mt. Hood Conference.
“I’ve learned to give her challenges,” Landolt said. “She’s like a talented and gifted student and can get bored. We’ll give her a tough defensive assignment that forces her to rise to the occasion or if we see her being passive, we’ll tell her to do X, Y and Z and she’ll rattle of 8 or 10 points in a row.”
Sara Barhoum is a steady contributor, highlighting her game Friday with 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions that put Clackamas in command up 24 late in the first half.
Much of the Clackamas roster plays for the Northwest Select program during the club season. That includes Barhoum, Peterson and twin sisters Dylan and Reyce Mogel.
“That chemistry we’ve built during AAU translates to the school season,” Barhoum said.
Clackamas looked plenty comfortable in its first appearance at the Chiles Center, rushing out to a 10-point lead in the opening minutes against Lakeridge and only widening the gap the rest of the way.
“I had the butterflies going into today, but I could tell in that first minute that we were ready for the fight,” Landolt said.
Davidson showcased her skill in the open court with a hesitation move on a fastbreak to beat the last defender on her way to a layup.
She wasn’t done.
Davidson curled under the hoop and chased down a Lakeridge shooter on the far end of the court, blocking her 3-point try out of bounds.
The Cavaliers pushed their lead past 30 points midway through the third quarter when Peterson swished a corner 3-pointer.
“We were really nervous, but excited at the same time,” Barhoum said. “You walk into this big stadium with all of these people, and we see it as a chance to prove ourselves.”
The Clackamas defense squashed Lakeridge inside the arc, where the Pacers shot only 3 for 25 (12%) on two-point tries.
The influx of club players has allowed Landolt to focus her energy on fine-tuning her squad and implementing advanced levels of strategy.
“They came in very skilled, so I don’t have to worry about whether they can make a layup,” Landolt said. “In practice, we focus on accountability and the way we want to look. They can get giggly and goofy, and you remember they are freshmen, but every time you ask them to refocus, they do.”
Clackamas (25-2) takes on No. 1 Beaverton (24-1) in the 6:30 p.m. semifinal game Friday.
“It’s a great opportunity to get better — we are here for the chance to compete against the best teams,” Landolt said.
Photo by Dan Brood
