The last boys basketball season had a storybook ending for longtime Barlow coach Tom Johnson, who won the first state championship in his 42-year career when the Bruins beat Jesuit in the 6A final.
The title could have been the perfect send-off for Johnson, the sentimental favorite at the tournament. But Johnson has opted to return to the Barlow bench this season, embracing the challenge of shaping a new squad after graduating four starters.
“I thought about it,” Johnson said of retirement. “I've got a great staff, and I like our kids coming back. We're going to drop off talent-wise, obviously, but I felt like I wanted to go another year. So here I am.”
That doesn't mean that this season is the curtain call for Johnson.
“It's been year-to-year for quite a while, actually,” Johnson said. “Every year I've kind of been evaluating. I got out of teaching a year ago in June, so I've got more time. Really, it's been nice to have more time to plan for games, do scouting reports. It's about the process. You remember the journey more than the destination. I'm enjoying it.”
Barlow graduated two 6A first-team selections in guard Jalen Atkins (state player of the year) and forward Brayden Barron and a second-team pick in forward Mason Bierbrauer. Atkins is playing at Biola University in Los Angeles, Barron is at Portland State and Bierbrauer is at Oregon Tech.
Those losses mean that the Bruins, with three seniors on the roster, are in for a major rebuild. The only returning starter is junior guard Maddyn Cummings.
“It's like starting over again,” Johnson said. “It's kind of fun. It's a new kind of challenge for us. We're young. If you look at the rosters of a lot of teams in the state, there's a lot of good, young talent out there.”
Barlow, No. 10 in the OSAAtoday 6A preseason coaches poll, opened the season on a positive note Friday with a 79-75 home win over West Salem, the 712th victory of Johnson's career. Cummings poured in 32 points.
“He plays with a real high level of confidence,” Johnson said of the 6-foot-1 Cummings. “He just loves basketball. He's put in an awful lot of time in the last year working on his game. He can get to the hoop, he can pull up, he can shoot the three. He's kind of a three-level player, offensively.”
Joining Cummings in the starting lineup Friday was junior guard Silas Gentry (6-0), senior forward Maddox Young (6-5), senior guard Caleb Perry (5-10) and junior forward Stan Bozhduga (6-4). Gentry, Young and Perry saw varsity action last season.
“We have the ability to score some points,” Johnson said. “We've got to get better defensively on the boards, but it's easier to do that than to coach offense.”
The Bruins will have their hands full in a stacked Mt. Hood Conference that includes No. 1 Central Catholic, No. 2 Nelson and No. 8 Clackamas. Before starting conference play in mid-January, they must navigate a treacherous nonleague schedule.
“If we can survive our preseason, by January, hopefully we'll be competitive in league,” said Johnson, whose team will play in the Les Schwab Invitational Dec. 26-29.
Johnson is 712-351 in his career, which started with three seasons at Lebanon. At No. 4 on the state's all-time wins list, he is poised to pass the late Craig Rothenberger (715-520) for third place this season.
jerryu@osaa.org
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