On Austin Maurer, Clyde Drexler, Joey Crawford, Beaver football (and the Attrition Bowl) and the greatest Duck QBs of them all
Cascade Christian center Austin Maurer shined in the Challengers’ first Les Schwab Invitational game
Winding up the old year as we head into a new one …
• I ventured to Liberty High Tuesday to take in a few games at the 27th annual Les Schwab Invitational, the big-time high school basketball tournament that has brought in so many stars through the years.
Four “national” teams are among the 16 in this year’s event — Perry High of Gilbert, Ariz., Columbus High of Miami, Harvard-Westlake High of Los Angeles and Mount Spokane High of Mead, Wash.
I wanted to get a peek at local talent, however, including those players who will be featured in the state 6A tournament in March. Players such as Mountainside’s Brayden Boe, Tualatin’s Jaden Steppe and Barlow’s triple trio of Brayden Barron, Jalen Adkins and Mason Bierbrauer.
I also wanted to watch Austin Maurer, the 7-footer out of Medford’s Cascade Christian I’d heard so much about.
Beaverton beat Tualatin and Barlow blew away Mountainside. Then I settled in to watch Cascade Christian — the state’s two-time defending 3A champion — take on Central Catholic, the No. 7-ranked 6A team in Oregon. Cascade Christian can compete with most 6A schools. The Challengers beat South Salem 89-78 on Dec. 18 and were competitive in losses to Beaverton (76-71), Century (69-59) and Lake Oswego (70-58). In their only game against a 3A school, they blasted Rogue River 123-17.
Maurer is one of the better “bigs” to come out of the state in recent years. The 7-foot, 215-pound senior is the son of former Oregon State tight end Marty Maurer and grandson of ex-NFL lineman Andy Maurer. He scored 31 points with 14 rebounds in Cascade Christian’s 76-54 3A title-game win over Westside Christian a year ago. Maurer is bound for Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. The Antelopes are 11-1 this season and among the favorite to win the Western Athletic Conference championship. Maurer chose Grand Canyon over Oregon State and also considered offers from Washington State, New Mexico and Brigham Young.
Maurer was terrific against Central Catholic, sinking 13 of 21 shots from the field, scoring 28 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against the Rams’ double-teams and constant help defense. He looked athletic and composed and showed his range by hitting a 3-point shot. It was a colossal mismatch, however, with Central Catholic rolling 93-43.
“We ran into a big buzzsaw,” Cascade Christian coach Brian Morse said. “Central Catholic was exceptional in all aspects of the game. (The Rams) just looked really good and made us look really bad. There was a big difference between them and us.”
Morse is high on Maurer’s future in the game.
“He’s going to be great at Grand Canyon,” the coach said. “He is going to fit in real well with their program. He has great footwork and soft hands. He can shoot the 3; he can defend. You saw him battle tonight. He had to manufacture a lot of his points himself.
“He is going to be a phenomenal Division I player. The bigger the game, the bigger the moment for him. He rises to the occasion.”
Maurer said he chose Grand Canyon because “It felt like home to me. I connected with the coaches really well. My family did, too. I just knew it was the right place.”
Barlow’s veteran coach, Tom Johnson, is impressed with Maurer, comparing him to Central Catholic’s Mike Doleac at that stage of his career. Doleac went on to play 10 NBA seasons from 1999-2008.
“Mike was thin like (Maurer),” Johnson said. “He didn’t start for Central until he was a senior.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Maurer redshirts his first year at Grand Canyon.
“They think I can play right away, but it depends on how I do,” he said. “I know I still have work to do.”
Barlow, ranked No. 1 in the state, looked terrific in pounding Mountainside, especially their twin 6-6 players, Barron and Bierbrauer. Look out for the Bruins next year, by the way. Barron, Bierbrauer and Adkins are all juniors, and 6-foot freshman point guard Silas Gentry is a comer.
Don’t sleep on Central Catholic, though. The Rams, ranked No. 7, look better than that to me. Isaac Carr, a 6-4 junior who has committed to Oregon, is the ringleader but has help from quicksilver brothers Zamir (a sophomore) and Duce (a junior) Paschal, 6-7 sophomore Jalen Nicholson and senior guards Marley Zeller and Tony Angelo.
The Bruins and Rams should both be a force in the next two 6A tournaments, if not favorites to reach the finals.
At 61, Clyde Drexler is staying in shape and keeping active in retirement
• I caught up with Clyde Drexler the other day. The Hall of Famer and former Trail Blazer great is now — gulp — 61, but still in excellent shape.
“I play golf and tennis once or twice a week,” says Drexler, retired and living in Houston. “Life is good. I’m doing some charity work and working out regularly, trying to stay healthy. That keeps me busy.”
A 15-year stint as TV analyst for Rockets home games ended in 2022.
“I enjoyed it while I was doing it, and it was a pleasure, but I do not miss it,” Drexler says. “I’ve been to a lot of games in my life.”
Drexler continues to serve as commissioner for “BIG3,” a 3-on-3 league featuring former NBA players and international players.
“I’ve been doing it for seven years now,” he says. “It’s been a blast. We had our finals last summer at the O2 Arena in London. That’s quite a venue.”
Drexler has now been married nine years to his second wife, Tonya. He has four children — Erica, Austin, Elise and Adam.
“No grandchildren yet,” he says, “but the kids are all doing fine.”
Drexler played 11 1/2 seasons with Portland before requesting a trade to Houston. He got it midway through the 1994-95 season and helped the Rockets to the NBA championship that season. He watched with interest as Damian Lillard requested a trade to Miami last summer after 12 seasons in Portland. Lillard wound up in Milwaukee; as of Monday, the Bucks were 22-8 and in second place in the Eastern Conference.
“His situation was very similar to mine,” Drexler says. “I talked to Dame when he was figuring things out. He is a good guy. He is a competitor like I was. He has nothing left to prove, but now he has a chance to win a title.”
Clyde, on his former teams:
— The Rockets, who through Tuesday were 15-13, with wins over Denver (three times), Sacramento (twice) and Oklahoma City and Dallas under first-year head coach and Portland native Ime Udoka after going 22-60 last season: “That’s culture. It’s everything. Ime is the reason they are doing so well. He is all class. I’m beginning to think they will make the playoffs, because they compete every night. Even when they lose, the games are close.”
— The Blazers, 8-21 and in next-to-last place in the West through Wednesday: “Scoot Henderson has a bright future. I like a lot of what he has been able to do when he is on the floor. You can see the talent. (Anfernee) Simons is young but ready to be a star. He and (Jerami) Grant are putting up great numbers, and (Shaedon) Sharpe is showing he can be really good. (Deandre) Ayton a serviceable center. I like Chauncey (Billups) as a coach, but it takes awhile to get the chemistry together. Right now, they are definitely underachieving.”
• Lillard is off to an excellent start, teaming with Giannis Antetokounmpo to make the Bucks a legitimate title contender this season. Through Monday’s action, Lillard was 12th in the NBA in scoring at 26.2 points, 10th in assists at 7.0 and fourth in free-throw percentage at .918. At 33, Lillard is still playing big minutes — 35.4 per game, 12th highest in the league.
Antetokounmpo, meanwhile, is a legit MVP candidate. He ranks fourth in the NBA in scoring (30.8), sixth in rebounds (11.4) and seventh in field-goal percentage (.601) and also averages 5.5 assists.
My pick for MVP so far, however, is Dallas phenom Luka Doncic. The 24-year-old Slovenian was magnificent in the Mavericks’ 128-114 win over Phoenix on Christmas Day, compiling 50 points, 16 rebounds, six blocks, four steals and three blocked shots. The 6-7 Doncic ranks second in the league in scoring (33.5) third in assists (9.4) and 21st in rebounds (8.5) while shooting .489 from the field and .387 from 3-point range. Like my other favorite player to watch in the NBA — Denver center Nikola Jokic — Doncic is a generational talent.
• It is great to see Joey Crawford on the ballot for the Naismith Hall of Fame, joining the likes of Vince Carter, Tom Chambers, Doug Collins, Maurice Lucas, and Buck Williams on the list. (Buck, incidentally, is deserving of enshrinement). Crawford served 39 years as a referee in the NBA — from 1977-2016 — and for my money was the best in the business. It is the second time for the nomination of Crawford, who should join contemporaries Darell Garretson and Dick Bavetta in the Hall of Fame. Joey holds the record of 50 NBA Finals games officiated during his career.
Crawford, 72, continues to serve as director of referee performance for the NBA, a job he has held since his retirement as a referee.
“Had my knee replaced last year, and I’m getting around a lot better,” Crawford says. “I’m playing some pickleball and keeping busy.”
Does he miss working games?
“Oh God, yeah,” Crawford says. “Every day.”
What about officiating does he miss?
“Doing a good job, walking in the locker room with two other people and saying, ‘Wow, we did it,’ ” he says. “It’s that part of it.”
• Despite what you may have read in the Sunday Oregonian, Oregon State has lost more than three players to the transfer portal.
Besides quarterbacks DJ Uiagalelei and Aidan Chiles (Michigan State), the Beavers have lost placekicker Atticus Sappington (Oregon), linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and safety Akili Arnold (Southern Cal), tight end Jack Velling (Michigan State) and cornerback Jermod McCoy (Tennessee).
Add offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga and receiver Anthony Gould, who will skip Friday’s Sun Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft, and sophomore running back Damien Martinez, whose apparent non-availability remains both puzzling and perplexing, and the departures leave OSU very thin at many positions.
Despite what you may have also read in the Sunday Oregonian, Notre Dame is also missing many key players for the Sun Bowl (let’s call it the “Attrition Bowl”). Quarterback Sam Hartman and running back Audric Estime are among Fighting Irish players who have opted out to prepare for the NFL draft, and several other starters and rotation players have hit the transfer portal.
Most puzzling apparent Oregon State defections: In a projected two-deep Sun Bowl lineup issued this week, linebacker Calvin Hart, defensive tackle Isaac Hodgins and punter Josh Green aren’t listed. All are seniors with no remaining college eligibility. It is certainly possible that they are injured, and if they are, why not be transparent about it? None are likely candidates for the NFL. Why would they not want to play in a final college game before calling it a career?
It seems participation in bowl games is no longer the priority that it has been for, oh, a century or so.
Beaver Nation owes a debt of gratitude to quarterback Ben Gulbranson
• By the way: If you think Ben Gulbranson will come back to compete with two quarterbacks arriving via the transfer portal next season, you’re dreaming. He has been through that before. Coach Jonathan Smith and O-coordinator Brian Lindgren led him to believe the quarterback position was a competition after Uaiagalelei and Chiles arrived, even though they knew it wasn’t. They simply didn’t want him to transfer so they would lose a measure of insurance in case something happened to DJ or Chiles.
Gulbranson — who has two seasons of college football eligibility remaining — will likely call it a career after the bowl game and head to medical school. Or maybe he will transfer. In either case, Beaver Nation owes a debt of gratitude to the young man who showed class and integrity by staying with the program and helping out when the two players who played ahead of him bailed at the first sign of distress.
• Uiagalelei, incidentally, has not yet declared where he will play college football next season. He and Washington State’s Cameron Ward have made official visits to Florida State. Seminoles junior Tate Rodemaker is planning to enter the portal and will not play in the Orange Bowl against Georgia. Rodemaker took over for starter Jordan Travis after he suffered a major leg injury against North Alabama in November. In the Orange Bowl, FSU will go with freshman Brock Glenn, who has one career start.
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Bob Robinson turns 90 in February. The long-time sportswriter for The Oregonian, now retired and living in West Linn, saw his first college football game in 1942.
“My father took me to see Oregon State play California at old Bell Field in Corvallis,” Robinson says. “Oregon State scored in the final minute to win 13-8. I was nine years old.”
Robinson, also attended many Oregon games as a youth, and later graduated from the school in journalism in 1956. He has watched all the Duck quarterbacks play since Norm Van Brocklin in the late 1940s. Robinson considers Bo Nix as good as any.
After in incredible 2023 campaign, Bo Nix rates No. 2 on the all-time Oregon quarterback list
“Bo has many similarities with (2014 Heisman Trophy winner) Marcus Mariota,” Robinson says. “Bo does all the things Marcus did, including running the ball. And Bo’s completion percentage is over the moon. Many of his incompletions are when receivers dropped the ball.”
As a senior, Van Brocklin quarterbacked the Webfoots to a 9-2 record and the 1949 Cotton Bowl; they lost to SMU 21-13. The future NFL Hall of Famer threw for 1,949 yards and 18 touchdowns during his two years as a starter.
“Van threw passes to my cousin, Darrell Robinson, on the Cotton Bowl team,” Robinson says. “He was great for his day, but it was such a different game than it is now. The game wasn’t as wide open, and he didn’t throw nearly as much as they do today.”
George Shaw was Oregon’s quarterback from 1951-54. As a freshman, he led the nation with 13 interceptions. As a senior, he led the nation with 1,536 yards total offense. He finished his career with 3,508 yards and 26 touchdowns rushing and passing and earned All-America status. Shaw’s career spanned the first four years of Len Casanova’s 16 year run as Oregon’s head coach. During those seasons, the Webfoots went 14-24-2.
“There weren’t a lot of wins during George’s time at Oregon,” Robinson says. “But he played quarterback, sometimes switched to wide receiver, played defensive back, ran back punts and kicks and did their punting and placekicking. He’d play 60 minutes nearly every game. They called him ‘Six-Way Shaw.’ ”
Says Robinson: “Bob Berry was a great one. Fouts, Miller, Harrington, Akili Smith … they have had a lot of great quarterbacks. I’m not sure any stacked up better than what Bo Nix has done, though. He is a leader with a great attitude. Any time he throws a touchdown pass, he is one of the first to reach the receiver to congratulate him.”
Editor’s note: I’ve seen every Oregon quarterback play since Berry in the early 1960s. Here is the way I would rank them (including Van Brocklin and Shaw, who played before my time):
1. Marcus Mariota (2012-14)
2. Bo Nix (2022-23)
3. Justin Herbert (2016-19)
4. Norm Van Brocklin (1946-48)
5. Dan Fouts (1970-72)
6. Joey Harrington (1999-2001)
7. Bob Berry (1962-64)
8. Chris Miller (1984-86)
9. Kellen Clemens (2003-05)
10. George Shaw (1951-54)
11. Akili Smith (1997-98)
12. Jeremiah Masoli (2008-09)
13. Danny O’Neil (1991-94)
14. Bill Musgrave (1987-90)
15. Darron Thomas (2010-11)
16. Dennis Dixon (2006-07)
17. Tony Graziani (1995-96)
18. Reggie Ogburn (1979-80)
19. Vernon Adams (2015)
20. Jason Fife (2001-03)
As a junior in 2014, Mariota completed 304 of 445 passes (68 percent) for 4,454 yards and 42 touchdowns with four interceptions. During his career, he threw for 10,796 yards and 105 TDs with 14 picks. Mariota also ran for 2,237 yards (6.6 average) for 29 TDs. His career completion percentage was .683.
In Nix’s first season (1992), he completed 294 of 409 passes (72 percent) for 3,597 yards and 29 TDs with seven interceptions. He ran for 510 yards and 14 TDs. This season, Nix has thrown for 4,145 yards and 40 TDs with 3 picks going into the Fiesta Bowl. He has run for 228 yards and 6 TDs. Completion percentage: 77.2 percent.
Mariota gets the nod, with Nix second all-time on my Duck QB list.
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