If the Tualatin basketball team has its way this year, they’re going to be hard to keep up with.
“We want to push the ball into the transition,” Tualatin Head Coach Bubba Lemon said. “We could be a pretty fast team. That’s the way our guys like to play.”
That’s primarily because the Timberwolves are led by a trio of speedy, athletic guards: senior Jemai Lake and juniors Pat Vialva Jr. and Carter Lemon.
Lemon said their combination of speed and playmaking makes it difficult for opposing defenses.
“If they were on different teams, they would be getting double-teamed, triple-teamed by everybody, but because they’re together, everyone has to play them one-on-one,” Lemon said. “Any of those guys, they can take matchups one-on-one and exploit them. They love it because they know they don’t have to worry. Please, if someone’s going to double, one of these other guys is ready.”
For Lake, this is his third year as starting point guard. The senior standout is committed to play collegiately at University of Montana after high school. Lake was named to the All-State Second Team last year as a junior.
Lake said he views his role on the team as making sure he and the Timberwolves keep the energy up.
“I’m just trying to be a leader as much as I can, trying to get through as many wins as we can,” he said. “We’re going to have ups and downs, and I just want to keep being there for my team. Not every day’s a good day. Even if they’re having a bad day, I want to just keep the energy good.”
Lemon said Lake has already done that in his time with Tualatin, so he expects it will continue throughout his senior season.
“He’s a good political leader, and you want to be on his team,” Lemon said. “He’s one of those guys you just want to play with. Montana’s so lucky that that they’re getting him next year.”
Last year, the Timberwolves made it to the Chiles Center and the quarterfinals of the state championship tournament, where they lost to Westview. The year prior, they reached the state semifinal game and lost to eventual-champs Central Catholic. The two years prior to that, Tualatin won back-to-back state titles.
If Tualatin wants to turn around that downward trajectory, the Timberwolves are going to need some production from some new players in the rotation. Lemon is confident they have the right pieces to make a deep run.
The newest addition to the team is senior Takeo McCrae, a transfer student from a high school in Arizona. In Tualatin’s season-opening win against Centennial, McCrae made his presence felt. He fit right in with the Timberwolves’ running style. He took a few fastbreaks and threw down some huge slam dunks as Tualatin cruised to a 78-45 win.
“Today is just a glimpse of what he’s really going to be,” Lemon said. “He’s got one season to do it big with us, and he’s going to have a really good year. He’s one of the best-kept secrets right now.”
While McCrae will see time on the wing, he’ll also be asked to get down low and pull in some rebounds. Last year, Tualatin lost both Javier Diaz and Nolan Keeney to graduation. Those two players handled a lot of the dirty work in the paint and on the boards.
Along with McCrae, junior Damian Olvera will step into the starting lineup as the team’s big man.
“Those are very hard guys to replace,” Lemon said. “Damien has done an unbelievable job. He is working his butt off all off-season. (McCrae), he’s going to be one of those guys that can go get any rebound he wants. It’s going to be hard for everybody else.”
