Bears adjusting to the spotlight having UW commit Jackson Grant in the middle brings

Having a successful boys basketball team is nothing new for Olympia High School.

The Bears reached post-season play each of the last four seasons. They finished a respectable 14-9 last year. Back in the day, Olympia was a state champion a couple of times.

This season, however, the expectations arrived in bunches. The Bears were coming off yet another run into the bi-district tournament. They had solid senior scorers back in guards Ethan Gahm and Kai Johnson.

But when 6-foot-9 junior Jackson Grant made a national impression playing for Washington Supreme on the summer Under Armour AAU circuit and subsequently committed to the University of Washington, Olympia became a trendy pick for prognosticators.

At which point, the Bears promptly lost two of their first three games, to fellow 4A SPSL contenders Rogers of Puyallup and Sumner. Lesson learned.

“We may have had a target on our back,” said longtime Olympia coach John Kiley. “Expectations are what they are. We were grounded very quickly and went into what I keep calling ‘growth mode.’”

Rogers scored just 55 points in beating the Bears; Sumner scored 50.

“Defensively, we’ve been great every game this year,” said Kiley, whose team was 3-2 and holding opponents to 50.6 points per game heading into a Thursday night’s 4A SPSL game at Emerald Ridge.

The offense wasn’t quite there.

“I don’t think we’d really clicked yet,” said Grant.

Last Saturday, the Bears hosted then-undefeated Battle Ground, which has a high-caliber junior big man of its own, 6-9 Gonzaga commit Kaden Perry. Both Grant and Perry struggled with foul trouble, but Olympian won handily, 67-46. Grant outscored Perry, 15-14.

“We really turned the corner during our Battle Ground game. That really helped our confidence,” said Grant.

The Bears showed they could handle the ballyhoo of a media-hyped matchup.

“We’ve talked about that a lot,” said Johnson, who led the Bears with 20 points against Battle Ground. “We try to block out the outside. We’ve got our own little army here and that’s all we’re worried about, our 12 guys and our coaches.”

Grant has had expectations since he began playing basketball during third grade, on a team coached by Kiley, whose son Josh is also a junior for the Bears this season. The son of a 6-4 father and 5-9 mother, Grant was always big.

The summer before ninth grade, he discovered he was also pretty good at basketball.

“I came to a tryout for Coach Kiley’s 16U AAU team,” he remembered. “I came to test myself against players at that level. I wasn’t expecting to make the team. I just wanted to see where I stood, but I made that team and played really well.”

By his sophomore year in 2018-19, he was first-team All-4A SPSL and a part of The Olympian’s All-Area first team.

“Jackson’s always been coordinated and a gifted athlete,” said Kiley. “He’s started to lift pretty hard in the last year and a half. That added strength has given him the ability to do things that are really special. If he can get close to the hoop, you’re in trouble. He’s playing so far above the rim right now, which has to do with that power he’s developed.”

Grant is happy with his post play and outside shot. His teammates are happy to have him.

“It’s a big benefit having someone like Jackson,” Johnson said. “He brings a weapon people have to focus on stopping, which opens everything else up for the rest of the team. It makes it a lot easier on us.”

Traveling the country, with stops in Chicago and Kansas City, over the summer with Washington Supreme teammates such as Gonzaga Prep’s Liam Lloyd (a Grand Canyon University commit), Peninsula’s 6-foot-8 Kaleb Lichau (an Air Force Academy commit) and Union’s Tanner Toolson, pushed Grant toward the head of the 2021 class.

“I really blossomed. I scored a lot. Coach (Carl) Howell built the offense around me,” he said. “I led the Under Armour circuit in rebounding against some of the best players in the country. I haven’t played much basketball against East Coast guys. I got to see how different people play.”

Along with his accomplishments, Grant brought home some ideas on where he needs to improve.

“I’m working on when I get closed out hard (on the perimeter), attacking the rim. When I get double teamed in the post, working on making better kick out passes,” he said.

Grant projects as a small forward or power forward at the Pac-12 level.

“In college, it’s always what you can defend,” Kiley said. “He can defend a four (PF), maybe a three (SF) at some point. I think defensively UW will use him inside. He’s perfect for Coach (Mike) Hopkins’ zone; he’s long with a big wingspan. Offensively he can shoot it and he can bang inside. He’s versatile.”

Though reminded early of how difficult the road is to a state championship, Grant says his teammates are focused on taking home the biggest trophy from the Tacoma Dome come March. Kiley thinks they can.

“We’re defending in a way we can compete with most people,” he said. “We have to get to a point where offensively we’re able to score on most if not all teams. We’re not there yet.

“But the sky’s the limit.”