Sim Faces Tough Shoes To Fill

AD Smith, Fred Jones, Luke Jackson, and Maarty Leunen all were stellar prep high school basketball players in the state of Oregon. Each one won the state's Player Of The Year award for their respective classes. All of them brought their prep success to play for Ernie Kent at Mac Court in Eugene.

You can now add Garrett Sim of Sunset High School from the Portland area to this growing list of prep stars who take their games to Oregon. Sim was the Co-Player Of The Year for the 6A level alongside Brad Tinsley from Oregon City.

All four players mentioned above that starred at Oregon all finished their careers inking their names in Oregon glory and the record books.

Smith was the walk-on scholarship that Kent inherited who turned into the heart and soul scholarship starter of a NCAA tournament team in 2000 that lost to Seton Hall in the first round in OT. Smith brought the toughness to the court and pure heart. He was no where near as athletic as any other player on the court but night in and night out got the job done and became one of the most fundamentally sounded players ever to wear the green and yellow at Oregon. Smith left Oregon inside the top 15 in scoring at Oregon where he sits now at 16th scoring 1,234 points and averaging 10.5 a game and 15 a game his senior year.

Fred Jones came to Oregon as the athletic freak from Barlow High School outside of Portland and was Ernie Kent's first big time recruit he signed. He also was a two time state player of the year his final two years at Oregon. He left Oregon with a stellar Senior year being named a third team All American after having a stellar run through the NCAA tournament and guiding the Ducks to their first Elite 8 run in a very long time and first ever in modern basketball. Jones finished his career averaging 13 points but scoring 18 in his senior year that propelled him into the first round of the NBA draft and inside the top 10 in scoring at Oregon with 1,644 points and tied for 6th with Stan Love.

Luke Jackson followed Jones by becoming the State's 3A player of the year back to back and entered Oregon as a big recruit that Arizona so desperately wanted yet came to Oregon. While at Oregon Jackson quickly showed he was going to be special when he recorded his first triple double against Washington in 2001. Jackson was the unsung hero in 2002 when the Ducks had at one point three NBA first round draft picks in Jackson, Jones, and Luke Ridnour. Jackson was always second fiddle to someone until his Senior year when he became the man and finished his career at Oregon with a bang. Jackson scored 40 points and 29 straight in his last home game ever. Jackson rode his senior success at Oregon to a lottery pick to the Cleveland Cavs and being named a third team All American.

Maarty Leuenen came to Oregon much like Fred Jones, the state's top classification's best player, 4A. At the time the state's biggest recruit in a long period of time that signed with Oregon. Leunen will forever be known as the ultimate team player that played the center position for the Ducks his final two years taking on players sometimes 50 pounds heavier than he was and starring and even playing better. He played inside when he should have been a wing like he was recruited for most other teams. He was the ultimate team player always sacrificing the success of himself for the better of the team. Improved every year and became the team leader his senior season where he finished on the All Pac-10 team. Leunen like the previous players before him made Oregon's top 15 in scoring with 1,259 and averaging a career best 15 a game his Senior year. Leunen also finished inside the top ten in rebounding as he was one of Oregon's all time best at it.

Jackson and Jones have made it to the NBA, Smith played years over seas in Europe professionally, and the most recent Duck, Leunen, is trying to make the NBA this summer.

Will Sim live up to those same careers? Its unfair to say you expect him to accomplish similar careers as his predecessors but it is fair to say that when Oregon does sign the state's best player in that year's class the player turns out very good for Oregon.

Sim will be the first player from Oregon as a point guard and be the State's Player of the Year since Terrell Brandon did almost 20 years ago and before Ernie Kent was at Oregon.

Sim will take his athletic team first basketball game to Eugene next fall in hopes of challenging for the starting point guard spot and to continue the tradition of ex state players of the year at Oregon.