Cruz Veliz just wrapped up his career at Woodburn High School with a 2nd team all state earning. We talk through his upbringing with 2 older brothers and learning how to compete. Big brother RJ joins us as well to provide some context to what's help Cruz succeed, and we also hear about their new venture V3 Athletics which is set to impact the Woodburn community in a big way.

01:04 Being ready for big plays in big moments

02:24 Developing his passion to put in the work

04:35 Being the youngest in a family of athletes

11:35 Playing for his dad at Woodburn HS

12:44 learning to become a great high school player

15:48 Veliz bros 1 on 1 battles as kids

17:40 Developing into a leader at Woodburn HS

19:55 Looking ahead to college basketball

21:45 V3 Athletics is coming to impact the Woodburn community

27:52 Cruz’s starting 5 of opponents he’s played against

32:50 Getting prepared for the next level

Former head coach of the Sprague Olympians reflects on his journey through basketball after finishing this season with the best team in the history of the school.

00:43 reflecting on the success from this years seniors at Sprague HS

1:44 State Tourney experience

5:08 Developing a love for the game as a kid

10:30 early lessons in high school practice

14:05 growing into a league title team his junior year

17:15 Coach Litch and developing work ethic in his teams

20:10 Counter top box jumps are not a recommended training method

22:30 being one win away from the state tourney back to back years

28:10 post-high school

32:20 Coaching a bad team versus coaching a great team

39:00 Learning scouting and preparation from Coach Litchfield

44:45 the benefit of set plays in addition to motion offenses

48:10 Coaching your team to do what they need versus what you want as a coach

53:30 the future of high school basketball

1:05:45 Favorite sayings from Coach Litchfield

1:08:04 All-time Salem starting 5

Enrique Sandoval has decades of experience in the game as a player and coach. Most recently, he led the Gervais girl’s program the the 2023 2A State Title. We discuss his upbringing and how it helped shaped him as a player and person. We also get into the impact of the Oregon Latino Basketball Tournament as well to why he did not recruit me when he was coaching at Chemeketa.

2:38 Developing his love for the game

5:50 Memories from the Oregon Latino Basketball Tournament

11:03 His state runner-up team as a senior at Woodburn HS

16:50 Battling through failure in high school

19:30 Encouraging our kids through failure rather than keeping them away from failure

25:10 His path to college basketball

31:48 An all-time George Libbon story from Chemeketa practice

35:53 Being able to handle intensity from coaches

38:05 Playing for legendary coach Bart Valentine at Warner Pacific

43:10 Returning to Chemeketa CC to start his career as a basketball coach

46:23 Transitioning to coaching at Sprague HS

48:40 Returning home to coach at Woodburn HS

51:30 Leading the Gervais girl’s team to a state title

57:50 The changing of youth basketball through one generation

59:40 All-time Woodburn starting 5

1:06:06 All-time Salem starting 5

RJ Veliz talks about his career thus far, developing his love for the game with his family and leading the next generation in his community. After a successful prep career (19th most points in Oregon high school history), RJ has gone onto to play at Western Oregon University, Wheaton College, and will now finish his final year at Corban College here in Salem.

1:25 The Veliz family love for basketball

4:45 Developing the work ethic that was his foundation for his career

8:10 Competing with younger brothers growing up

10:35 Woodburn’s strong basketball community

13:20 Starting high school at Blanchet Catholic in Salem

18:19 Transitioning to play at Woodburn HS as his dad took the head coaching job

22:40 RJ’s future in coaching

23:30 Playing at Western Oregon and Wheaton College (IL)

33:44 The difference in coaching vs playing

37:14 Looking ahead to his senior year at Corban

41:25 What were the impactful moments in his development?

45:12 The need for delusion to compete with higher caliber players

46:00 What he wishes he would have known as a younger player

48:19 What does the young player need to do that wants to be great

50:10 The effects of social media on the younger generation

54:25 The all time Woodburn starting 5

57:38 Who he watches for specific skill sets

Dean Sanderson is the new hire for the West Salem Titans. We discuss his coaching career, the learning that has taken place throughout, as well as his hopes for the future of West Salem basketball.

0:48. Coaching in his the community he lives in

3:05 Coaching his son at the high school level

6:10 Playing days in high school at Dallas, OR

12:18 The beginning of his coaching career

14:40 getting to West Salem to learn under Coach Gahr

18:38 Making his way to McKay HS as an assistant

22:45 JV success does not equal coaching proficiency

25:50 The struggle of losing with a limited team

29:00 The cycle of building a competitive team at McKay

37:30 Beating Sprague on Senior night in 2018 and reflecting on almost leaving McKay in 2016

44:04 20 years from his last stop at West Salem

46:46 Kids and structured vs unstructured play

48:10 Are there any negatives to the amount of work kids are putting in the game?

52:44 The importance of parental support for kids

58:20 what he hopes to see develop in the West Salem Basketball Program

1:00:22 Coach Sanderson’s all-time Salem starting 5

Jason Unruh is a graduate of South Salem HS where he played for legendary coach Barry Adams. After spending a few years as an assistant, he went on to help found The Hoop as well as the Hoopla 3 on 3 basketball tournament.

0:55 Being able to turn ideas into tangible products

3:40 Future Stars Basketball Camp in the 90s

6:15 The change in youth basketball - - school based middle school hoops in the 80’s

9:13 His skill development experience

10:54 Developing life skills in kids through hard experiences

12:05 Playing for Barry Adams at South Salem HS

16:00 Learning as a Camp Cascade counselor

16:55 The future of the week-long camp

21:50 Straight from high school basketball player to high school basketball coach

23:53 His brother Josh winning state player of the year

29:51 The genesis of The Hoop

37:30 Starting the Hoopla 3-on-3 tournament

51:30 Other impactful organization with the Salem basketball community

53:54 Building the West Salem girl’s basketball program from scratch

1:00:47 The value of the 12th man on a team

1:03:34 The competitive of the old 10-team Valley League

1:08:14 Jason’s all-time Salem starting five

Alex Hartman had a successful college and overseas pro career as a basketball player and has used his experiences to springboard his next professional chapter. We discuss his journey as a player as well as the NIL scene for athletes. Be on the lookout for a second episode with Hartman in the future. Check out his work at heartlandcreative.net

1:36 Building skills and relationships at Shoot 360

9:18 Hart’s basketball journey - - overcoming obstacles through hard work

19:00 Environment leading to opportunity

23:51 The NIL landscape for today’s athlete

36:44 Hartman’s Cascade Conference starting 5

Greg Plater became a first-team all-state player at McKay HS while helping to take the program from the bottom of the league to state contenders. He credits his hours in the gym to building his game on the court, but also his confidence in himself to be great.

00:41 Developing a love for the game as a kid

2:30 How he watched the greats and applied to his game

6:30 The value of mid-range in the age of analytics

9:10 Playing on the Freshman team while having varsity talent

10:25 Developing into a first team all-state player at McKay HS

14:00 How Greg spent his time in the gym

16:05 structured vs unstructured training time

17:20 Learning from failure

19:09 Taking McKay from last to first and a state contender

23:00 Mentoring the younger group that replicated Greg’s success 3 years later

25:15 Transitioning from high school to college

27:10 Greg’s starting 5 from Salem

28:50 Replaying the final play his sophomore year against Sprague

Jack Martino has over 30 years of coaching experience. His experiences have enabled him to get the most out of his teams. In 3 years at McKay HS, he took them from last place in the Valley League into state contenders.

0:15. Future of the Warriors

2:20  HS basketball in the Bay Area

5:33. Starting his coaching career

7:00 Reflecting on teams with bad records after decades of experience

8:00 Coaching losing teams early in his career and how that shaped his philosophy

11:18. Transition from Woodburn to McKay

13:35. 25 years and the larger gap in competition among Salem schools

20:00 Learning from Coach Larry Gahr at West Salem HS

23:00 Taking over the McKay varsity

25:10 Taking McKay from the bottom to a state contender

30:09 Coaching Greg Plater to be a first team all state player

32:20 Putting in the “system” at McKay

32:29 Jordan Carter’s development into a first team all state player

42:05 Coaching Malik Leaks at North Salem HS

47:05 The changing of the game in the last 25 years

54:53 Players who did not max their potential

58:40 Most notable games in his time

Mike McShane is a basketball legend in Salem. He is coming off a successful 2-year run as the head girl's basketball coach at McNary High School. He breaks down how he developed his team and what he has learned through his life in the game.

0:18 The Oly Cup and the future of Unified Sports

4:30 The need for access to sports for all

6:05 The head coaching experience

8:05 Evaluating your team to identify a system that fits

9:15 The decline of the transition set offense

11:00 The early season practices with Coach Barry Adams

12:35 The importance of communicating on the court

14:05 Encouraging kids to start talking on the court

15:34 Building accountability in a program

17:38 Modern day work ethic vs what we did in the past

25:38 Pistol Pete VHS workout fueled his journey

28:10 Being an elite point guard within a system

33:05 Getting young players to practice layups

34:10 The easiest thing to get players to do

36:10 Having an authoritative voice and leading with respect

45:40 All-time Salem starting 5

53:11 Players who motivated him to work

57:28 Most memorable plays and games of his career

1:01:31 The 4A tourney in the Memorial Coliseum

1:04:21 Still a division 1 point guard even though he only started varsity for 2 years