High-flying Gresham a team to watch in Oregon boys basketball: ‘We are free to be basketball players and not robots’
By Dave Ball
Arrive early enough to a Gresham Gophers boys basketball game and you will see what resembles the NBA dunk contest.
There are lobs to the rim, off-the-backboard passes and high-bouncers all leading to jams. Almost everyone on the squad can rattle the rim.
Once the referees arrive on the floor, the dunks switch to high-flying finger rolls. Gresham’s backboard is covered in fingerprints before the game starts.
“It’s an athletic group, and we worked hard in the weight room during the offseason and it’s showing up,” said first-year Gresham head coach Corey Lockhart.
The Gophers are off to a high-flying start, leading 6A in scoring at almost 80 points per game.
“We are able to go to anyone to get a bucket, so it takes a great defensive effort from the other team’s entire starting five,” Gresham point guard Scotty Riddle said. “It’s amazing. We are free to be basketball players and not robots.”
“When we start hitting shots, it brings everyone’s energy up,” RJ Alexander said. “I’ve been shooting like that since I was a kid. I’ve been working on it a long time.”
“We have more seniors, more leaders and a lot of basketball IQ,” star guard Esyah Pippa-White said. “The coaching staff lets us play smart and free — we get out and run the floor a lot.”
Lockhart’s goal is to see his team put up 20 points in each eight-minute quarter. The Gophers (7-2) have checked that box more often than not this season.
“Togetherness is something that we preach every day. They are always communicating, always checking in with each other — it’s a super positive group,” Lockhart said. “We have a bunch of veterans, they have all played a lot of basketball, and I feel like now it is their turn.”
The Gophers finished third in the Mt. Hood Conference last season and went out in the first round of the playoffs. This senior class has higher expectations for where they want to go.
“The Chiles Center,” Pippa-White said. “We want to go 16-0 and lead the league. A lot of people are still looking at us as underdogs, so it’s up to us to prove ourselves.”
Gresham opens the conference schedule at 7 p.m. Tuesday at home against crosstown rival Barlow.
