Team Preview: Sutherlin

By: Oregon3aPredicit Sutherlin was a 4a school last season but made the drop down to 3a this year with the reclassifications. Sutherlin will return three all-leaguers Senior Payton Hope, Junior Mason Gill, and Junior Brandon Carr, they helped lead Sutherlin to a 17-9 record to go along with a first-round playoff appearance. Last season Junior Mason Gill was the player of the year for the 4a Sky-em league and also received second team all-state honors. Last season Sutherlin managed to finish second in the 4a Sky-Em league and earned a spot in the first round of playoffs eventually losing to Newport. Also, Sutherlin returns senior James Bailey a 6’7 big man who is pretty bulky and didn't quite figured it out last year but has improved his game this offseason and is looking for a breakout year. Sutherlin got a transfer from 6a Roseburg Junior Tanner Marlin who’s a solid 6’ 3 wing. Besides the new transfer, this group of players have been playing together for a while now, they know each other tendencies and what they each will do in certain situations. With Sutherlin moving down from 4a they should have a solid year and look for them to make a big run for the playoffs, they return a good group of players that made a statement in 4a last season. The Juniors Mason Gill and Brandon Carr are going to need to be leaders this season, they will play in the 3a Far West league one of the weakest leagues in 3a Basketball. Mason Gill who averaged 17 points per game last season should be Sutherlin’s go-to guy again this season, he wants the opportunity to play in Coos Bay and prove Sutherlin can be of the better 3a basketball teams this seasons. We will be watching this Sutherlin team grow up this season as they will be a hard team to beat all year, they play in a league that is one of the easier leagues, they should be able to win this league outright. The toughest opponent in the league will be St Mary's. Look for this team to be fun to watch and one of the better teams that dropped a classification to play in 3a.