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DBinder, The Oregonian, November 30, 2009 2:46 p.m.
In the early morning darkness, the first signs of life along North Commercial Avenue are the headlights of vehicles that pull up alongside Jefferson High School.
The basketball players unfold themselves out of SUVs and sedans and make their way into the school, up a flight of stairs and into the building’s “old” gym.
It is 5:45 a.m. on a Monday. The lights overhead are bright. The noise of bouncing balls echoes against the tiled walls.
Pat Strickland, Jefferson’s coach, hands out boxes like early Christmas gifts: dark blue basketball sneakers embroidered with the Jordan Brand logo.
“I don’t want to see any of these boxes in the hallway or outside on the street,” Strickland said. “And I’ll know if it’s your because your initials are on the box.”
There is no back-talk in this group of 11 players. They get down to work quickly. There is no frivolity this early in the morning.
Jefferson is the two-time OSAA Class 5A champion, but the 2009-10 season holds the promise of something special. Senior Terrence Jones is one of the highest profile players in the nation, and the coming season could stamp him as one of the best players in state history.
The high school basketball season begins Monday. The Democrats, who open the season Monday night at Lincoln, have received preseason top 25 acclaim from several sources and are poised to take on a national-caliber schedule designed to prove their mettle.
“As a team we set a lot of goals,” said Jones, the team’s 6-foot-8 point guard. “Everyone is dedicated and working hard to achieve them. This is probably going to be one of the best teams ever at Jeff.”
Strickland, in his second year as the head coach, has determined that the way to hold his players accountable is to ask more of them. Hence, the 5:45 practice.
“Going early in the morning benefits us in a bunch of ways,” Strickland said. “First, you see who’s committed and who’s not committed. At this age, you hate getting up, period, and especially this early when everyone else on the West Coast is asleep.”
Additionally, players have their afternoons free and are encouraged to spend that time studying.
It also works for Strickland, who can go directly from practice to his day job as a Department of Human Services case worker several blocks from the high school.
On the court, Strickland barks orders with a style that is both approachable and no-nonsense. When it’s time to line up on a baseline and run suicides – conditioning drills sadistically designed to hurt – the grimaces tell the truth about earnest effort.
Come February, Strickland wants his players to remember how much it hurt in November.
Jones, for one, is pouring everything he has into this season. He knows it will not only define his own legacy as a possible three-time state champion, but it also could help his teammates earn scholarship money to continue their educations.
Jones spent much of the fall traveling to campuses, taking visits designed to acquire the information and build relationships necessary to pick a school. But the early signing came and went and Jones still has five that he is considering – Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Oklahoma and Kentucky.
“The coaches that are recruiting me have been doing a good job and making it really hard (to choose),” Jones said. “I have a great relationship with the coaches of all five schools.”
Jones said the weight of his recruiting decision will not diminish his commitment to the team.
“My main focus is to win every game,” Jones said.
In addition to eight returning players from last season, Jefferson added transfer Stephen Madison, a versatile 6-6 player with an accurate outside shot from Prairie High School in Southwest Washington. Madison has offers from Colorado State and Eastern Washington.
Senior guard Antoine Hosley has offers from Montana and Sacramento State. Another guard, Alex Johnson, is being recruited by Air Force. Noah Kone, a post player, is looking at a Division III school in California.
The motivation to get out of bed, and in the gym on time, is collective.
“I know my guys are going to be here and they want me to be here, so I know I’ve got people depending on me,” said Jones of his 5 a.m. wake-up time. “Everyone on this team wants something bigger – to be No. 1 in the nation.”
In this particular practice, Strickland will settle for his players running his plays correctly.
As two groups begin to scrimmage, Strickland turns critical as he picks apart mistakes as the players move through patterns on the court.
“Get to the spots you’re supposed to go!” the coach commands. “I’m not interested in anything else!”
The intensity rises to a higher level. Strickland halts the action when he is displeased with the attention to detail.
“I’m not interested in who’s scoring points. I’m interested in who’s running my stuff!” he says.
In the quiet of an office located next to the court, Strickland is relatively at ease and relaxed. He knows this team is going to be good.
But as good as the 2000 Democrats, who were ranked fourth in the nation?
Strickland defers on that question to a later date.
“I can tell you this – the pressure’s on,” Strickland said. “But at the end of the day, if we go out there and play defense and rebound and play together, we can have a special year.”
