With Michael Harthun at the helm for his senior season, the South Medford boys basketball team had to be considered one of the favorites to claim the 2008 Class 6A title.

Given the recent news that the Harthun family is uprooting and moving north this summer, that definitely puts a crimp in the Panthers’ prospects. But what does it really mean for South Medford, and for the landscape in the 6A ranks overall?

First of all, Harthun’s loss (or gain for another team) cannot be understated. The 6-foot-3 point guard ranked sixth in the state at 20 points per game and can typically be counted on for about five assists per game. Harthun’s ability to take over a game at any time has been well-documented, most notably the state championship game against Lake Oswego one month ago. Working with the Panther coaches, Harthun went from a set shooter on the perimeter to one of the state’s deadliest at pulling up from anywhere on the court to drain a pure jump shot. Always fearless, Harthun also made great strides this past season in his ability to take the ball to the basket and finish with either hand.

So, to say the Panthers won’t miss Harthun would be a major injustice. His name most definitely will be in the mix for 6A player of the year next spring, along with the likes of Oregon City’s Brad Tinsley and Sunset’s Garrett Sim.

But, the world still keeps on spinning in Panther-land even without Harthun. Juniors-to-be E.J. Singler and Mitch Singler were already in line for major roles next season, so that won’t change. They’ll both be charged with providing a little more offense, but both are capable of doing just that. At point guard, Gonzalo Duran-Chaparro proved in limited minutes last year that he can compete at the varsity level, and you can bet he’ll be asked to have a basketball in his hand from sunup to sundown throughout the summer. Griff Boyd was a standout on the JV team until a late call-up to the varsity, but he also showed tremendous poise when he got into the game. And prior to his injury, Conner Egan was one of South’s top players off the bench. That group alone makes the Panthers a contender for the Southwest Conference title. If Harthun were in the mix, who knows?

What will be most interesting to see is who steps up among the next wave of Panthers. If history has shown anything, it’s that there will be a player or two willing to put in the hours to develop into something special. Last year’s JV team certainly has candidates, but it will be up to them to take the next step.

And while it never hurts to have a major star leading your team, there’s no reason to think a team that plays together, works hard and commits to defense can’t come home with a state trophy.

While the Panthers must replace Harthun, he’ll be leaving a one-of-a-kind atmosphere he had at South Medford. That level of pandemonium can’t be found just anywhere.

The landing spot for the Harthuns is expected to be in father Steve Harthun’s territory as an insurance adjuster, from just north of Salem to the southern end of Portland. There aren’t too many 6A schools that fit in that landscape, but possibilities include Canby, Tualatin, Tigard and West Linn. Anyone familiar with the Portland area knows traffic concerns also are likely to eliminate some sites — sorry Beaverton-area schools — but anything is possible.

A dream scenario (nightmare for others) would be if Michael Harthun wound up at Oregon City to team with Tinsley, 6-9 post Sam Schafer and a host of talented young Pioneers. Oregon City would be my favorite to claim the 6A title next year even without Harthun. With him, forget about it. Of course, there’s only so many shots to go around, and it’s doubtful either premiere player would want to share the spotlight in their senior campaign.

Rumor-mill talk has Michael Harthun favoring Sam Barlow High School, partially because he knows a couple of their players, but given the distance from the Harthuns’ target area, that also seems unlikely. Barlow does, however, return three juniors-to-be who earned all-league recognition this past season.

A more likely scenario may be found at Canby, where the Cougars return 6-5 junior-to-be Cody Hickey (a first-team all-league pick) and second-team all-league senior-to-be Jake Fowler (6-4). Canby has been to two of the past three state tournaments under coach Dane Walker, and the Cougars have had no qualms over the years letting their guards dictate the action in spite of the presence of former Medford residents, centers Alex and Clint Chapman. Canby has also shown a knack for supporting its basketball team in recent years, with fans flocking to Mac Court in droves despite not having much to show for it. The Cougars went a combined 0-4 at the state tourney in 2007 and 2005. Something tells me that might change with Harthun at the helm, especially since he’s always saved his best for last.

Regardless of where Harthun ends up, that school will instantly become a challenger for the state title.

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 14th, 2007 at 7:19 pm and is filed under Sports Insiders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.