Ethan Harris was one of the best players in the Les Schwab Invitational

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

It has been a few days, but Ethan Harris’ performance at the The Les Schwab Invitational is still the talk of the Southwest Washington boys basketball community.

“A lot of coaches I talked to felt he was the best player in the tournament. That just says a lot,” Camas coach Brian Witherspoon said. 

The prestigious tournament that annually attracts some of the best programs in the nation to take on the top teams in the Northwest has been around since 1997 in various locations in and around Portland. This year, the tournament moved to Portland State University. 

Ethan Harris, it turned out, was the big man on campus.

Since 1997, only a handful of teams from Clark County have been invited to the event. The tournament’s website does not list all-tournament teams from every year. So Clark County Today cannot definitively confirm that Harris’ selection to this elite all-tournament team is a first for Southwest Washington. But it is likely. Kaden Perry of Battle Ground was voted Mr. Hustle for the tournament in 2019, but he was not on the all tournament team that season.

The Papermakers went 2-2 in the tournament, making it to the consolation finals.

“I felt really good,” Witherspoon said of his team’s performance. “You’re playing the top teams in Oregon. We didn’t get a chance to play any of the national teams, but state-level playoff teams from Oregon. I definitely felt our players stepped up to the challenge and played really hard.”

Harris was already listed as a “player to watch” on the official Les Schwab Invitational website before the tournament started. Then he proved why he should be watched.

Harris led the 16-team tournament in scoring at 20.3 points, he was fourth in rebounds at 8.5, and first in blocked shots at 3.0 per outing. A 6-foot-8 junior, he also led the tournament with 3.0 steals a game.

“They talked about his motor and how well he plays,” Witherspoon said of the other coaches at the tournament.

Harris has always been a solid player, but his game has progressed so much in one season, Witherspoon added. Witherspoon said Harris’ ascension reminds him of Robert Franks, the former Evergreen High School standout who went on to shine at Washington State and now plays professionally. Witherspoon was Franks’ high school coach.

Franks wanted to play from the outside early in his career, then developed the inside game.

Harris, at 6-8, was more of a perimeter player last season, too. Now? He is dominating from everywhere on the court. 

“I do feel he’s matured so much from last year,” Witherspoon said. “He’s a totally different player. I see him turning into a monster. He’s so much more aggressive. He’s just on another level.”
In one game at the Invitational, Harris had a rare 5×5 game with 25 points, 7 blocked shots, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals.

Oh, and just because Harris is getting it done in the paint does not mean he has lost his touch from long range. Harris was also tied for fifth in 3-pointers made in the four games.

Witherspoon described Harris as an all-around player.

As far as all Papermakers, the coaches were thrilled to have the experience of playing in the Les Schwab Invitational. Witherspoon said Camas achieved many of its goals. He said the team has five standards for every game: Play unselfish, be prepared, be tough, hustle, and have fun.

“Those are the things we want them to say about us,” Witherspoon said of opponents after playing the Papermakers.