Jonas La Tour, North Kitsap backing up preseason 2A expectations: 'I don't feel pressure, I do feel responsibility'
PORTLAND — It took some adjusting for Jonas La Tour to feel comfortable playing with a NBA 3-point line, a court 10 feet wider than he’s used to, an expanded key and the cavernous backdrop of thousands of seats cascading in background of every shot release.
But it sure didn’t show.
The Seattle Pacific-bound senior scored 31 points and pulled down 14 boards to lead a North Kitsap team playing in midseason form to a 72-51 win over Kelso on Saturday at the Moda Center, home of the Portland Trail Blazers.
“I’m confident shooting it from anywhere, no matter what the court is,” La Tour said. “I’m just going to pull up and if it’s open, shoot it.”
After winning a state championship in 2020, the last time one was held in Washington, North Kitsap returns as the 2A favorite in the early season, according to SBLive’s 2A coaches poll. Again on Saturday, the showed why.
The Vikings (5-0) roll out a lineup full of tall, athletic guards — all of whom can score, starting with La Tour. But when La Tour checks out, there’s not much of a drop-off.
“We can play every position,” La Tour said. “We can guard every position. Coach knows that. We know that.”
Added Kelso coach Joe Kinch: “They’re so good in transition, because you have to guard them one-v-one and guarding them one-v-one is so difficult. They were 6 of 10 in the first half from 3, and I swear the 3s were all behind the pro line. When they can space the floor that way and shoot the ball that way, they are a terrific team.”
They return the bulk of its core from a group that went 14-2 in the COVID-shortened spring season and added three impact pieces. Aidan Olmstead, a 6-foot-4 senior, is eligible again after sitting out in the spring following a move to Georgia to play a basketball season while sports in Washington were shut down.
Harry Davies, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who scored 10 points on Saturday, has showed lots of promise as a scorer and on-ball defender, and head coach Scott Orness likes junior guard Jalen East’s early contributions after moving from California.
“Anyone can have a big night,” La Tour said. “The great thing is we’re not mad at ourselves, we’re not upset if one of us has a down night, everyone contributes every game … that’s what makes us so tight, so hard to beat. We don’t care, we’re going for a ring and that’s our only mindset.”
He bulkier, more athletic and polished than he was as a sophomore starting on the Vikings’ 2A state title group. Two years ago, La Tour was a sophomore on a team led by upperclassmen. Now he's the team's centerpiece, and is shouldering more responsibility as a scorer, and a leader.
“I don’t feel pressure, I do feel responsibility, though,” he said.
And he’s still playing through pain stemming from a spinal fracture and wedged vertebrae he thinks he first suffered after falling on his back after a dunk in the spring.
He led Seattle Rotary’s top 17U team in scoring at the start of Nike EYBL’s Peach Jam, widely regarded as the nation’s top grassroots basketball tournament, in July. But back pain forced him to take an early flight home. He couldn’t move much for three weeks, and spent much of the summer in physical therapy. He still plays through significant back pain, but has learned to manage it.
For La Tour, playing through pain is a small price to pay.
“He didn’t disappoint,” Kinch said. “He’s a really difficult to guard because of the way he shoots and physically, he’s tough to guard off the dribble, like we thought he would be.”
