The prolific scoring of senior guard Kaiden Ford has been integral in Cascade's boys basketball team navigating a challenging transition from last season.
The Cougars, 4A champions in 2022 and 2023, have been in flux since falling in the state semifinals last season. They not only lost two of last season's starters to transfers, but they had limited time to adjust to a new coach in BJ Dobrkovsky, who was hired in late August.
But as Cascade approaches the start of Oregon West Conference play next week, the Cougars are 8-3 and ranked No. 4 in the OSAAtoday 4A coaches poll.
The 6-foot-3 Ford has been outstanding, averaging 28.0 points and 8.3 rebounds. He opened the season by scoring 43 and 39 points and has had games of 37 and 33 points.
“I've been really impressed with Kaiden's ability to work,” Dobrkovsky said. “He competes. It's been fun to watch the different ways he can score. He's a three-level scorer. And he can be really effective in transition.”
Ford is aggressive in taking the ball to the basket and drawing fouls.
“He puts the pressure on the three guys who have the whistles,” Dobrkovsky said. “He has the ability to do things at the rim. He's pretty dynamic that way.”
As Ford keeps putting up numbers, he becomes more of a focus for opposing defenses. In Friday's 62-55 loss at 5A Summit, the Storm made it a priority to keep Ford from receiving the ball and getting to his spots, holding him to a season-low 10 points. Plagued with foul trouble, he also played a season low in minutes.
“There were some things that impacted him that he didn't have a lot of control over,” Dobrkovsky said. “I think he did a pretty good job of handling that adverse situation and still being effective for his team. He's going to see some different looks.”
Ford benefits from playing alongside senior guard Landon Knox, who is averaging 20.6 points and 4.4 assists. Ford and Knox are the only two starters back from last season.
“They're both very dynamic,” Dobrkovsky said. “They make it a whole lot easier to coach.”
Cascade suffered a blow when two starters from last season transferred out in 6-7 senior post Anthony Best (Sprague) and 5-10 senior guard Droiy Comstock (North Salem). The Cougars' three new starters are 6-4 junior post Bryce May, 6-5 senior wing Cruz Shank and 6-1 senior guard Hunter Anundi.
Dobrkovsky, whose last head coaching job was a 12-year run at Sprague (2005-17), has been working to get up to speed since his late hire. He is the team's fourth coach since 2022, following Calvin Molan (2019-2022), Justin Amaya (2022-24) and Travis Myers, who was hired to replace Amaya in the offseason but left to take the job at 6A West Linn.
Due to a late football season – Cascade lost in the state semifinals – the Cougars didn't have a full team practice until after Thanksgiving.
“This is a unique experience for me, being hired so late,” said Dobrkovsky, who is on sabbatical from the Salem-Keizer School District this year. “We're still a ways away in terms of learning each other and putting everything in. I think we'll play our better basketball down the stretch.”
Cascade opened the season 7-0 but has lost three of its last four games. The Cougars have fallen to co-No. 5 Stayton 55-54, No. 3 Marist Catholic 72-64 and Summit.
Up next for Cascade is a Friday home game against top-ranked and reigning state champion Baker (8-6). It is a semifinal rematch from last season, when the Bulldogs won 74-54.
Wildcats win NWOC duel
No. 1 Wilsonville rolled to a 77-38 win over visiting Parkrose on Monday in a game between teams tied for first place in the 5A Northwest Oregon Conference.
Senior guard Cole Hammack had 18 points, seven assists and four steals to lead the Wildcats (11-2, 4-0). Sophomore wing Jett Bruce had 15 points and six steals and freshman post Michael Ratcliffe added 12 points, seven rebounds and two blocks for Wilsonville, which outscored the Broncos 25-8 in the second quarter to lead 42-21.
Junior guard Izaiah Glover and senior forward Sonny Brown scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Parkrose (6-6, 3-1). The Broncos played without their leading scorer in senior guard Julius Blair (22.9 points per game), who was ill.
“We were lucky to catch them on a night when Julius was not available, and I'm glad our guys took advantage of that situation,” Wilsonville coach Chris Roche said. “But we know the next time we play them at their place, it will be a very tough challenge."
The Wildcats have won seven in a row since falling to 6A West Salem and Chatsworth (Calif.) in the Capitol City Classic.
Roughriders avenge loss
Roosevelt got payback for a loss to 6A Portland Interscholastic League rival Grant on Saturday night.
Junior Adrian “Fuzzy” Montague scored 26 points as the No. 10 Roughriders (5-6, 3-0) posted a 75-70 win over the Generals (6-5, 2-1) in the PIL Showcase at Franklin High School. The victory came nearly two weeks after Grant beat the Roosevelt 67-60 in a nonleague game at the Les Schwab Invitational on Dec. 30.
Montague scored 12 points in the first quarter – making two three-pointers – as the Roughriders took control. Grant got back into the game, eventually taking a 63-62 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
Roosevelt responded to retake the lead and held on late despite shaky free throw shooting. Montague hit two free throws to make it 73-70 with 25 seconds left and the Roughriders closed out the win with solid defense.
Senior Omar Eno added 10 points for Roosevelt, which is tied for first place with Benson (7-4, 3-0). Sophomore guards Keone Gates and Varryk Hardges scored 24 and 16 points, respectively, to lead the Generals.
Roosevelt is tied for first place with Benson (7-4, 3-0).
Notes: Senior guard Landon Bailey is having a big season for 2A Stanfield (10-5), averaging 19.0 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 4.4 steals. In Friday's 74-66 win at Grant Union, he put up 33 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and seven steals. … Leven Whitbeck, a 6-4 senior, made six three-pointers and scored 43 points to lead Wheeler to a 78-48 win at Trout Lake in a 1A Big Sky League game Saturday. Whitbeck also had 34 points in a loss to Condon on Jan. 7. He is averaging 28.4 points for Wheeler (5-6). … Senior guard Josh Peterson sparked 2A Knappa (10-2) to wins over Gaston on Jan. 7 and Faith Bible on Friday. He had 18 points, five rebounds and five steals against Gaston and 28 points, 19 rebounds, four assists and five steals against Faith Bible. … Senior guard Dane Peterson had 36 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and five assists as 3A Portland Adventist (8-2) won at Horizon Christian 83-79 on Jan. 9.
jerryu@osaa.org
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