Engholm dominates as Olympia blows out Graham-Kapowsin in 4A SPSL semis, 63-30
It’s probably unfair to compare someone on the current Olympia High School boys basketball team to Jackson Grant. After all, 6-foot-10 Grant — now playing for the University of Washington — was a McDonald’s All-American, one of the state’s most dominant big men and twice The News Tribune’s All-Area player of the year. There probably will never be another Jackson Grant roaming the halls of Olympia High School in our lifetimes.
That being said, Olympia 6-foot-7 junior Andreas Engholm is making a name for himself this year and there are some similarities he shares with Grant. They’re both adept at beating defenders in the block with their back to the basket, both can score in transition and both can stretch out to the perimeter and knock down 3-pointers.
Engholm did a little bit of everything in Olympia’s 63-30 Class 4A South Puget Sound League tournament semifinal win against visiting Graham-Kapowsin on Friday night, scoring a game-high 22 points by banging around in the post, hitting a second-half 3-pointer and throwing down a one-handed slam on a fast break for the Bears, causing an eruption from Olympia’s always-loud student section.
“Coming into today, my main focus was to be as physical as I can inside and just let my game come to me,” Engolm said. “We had a rough last game against them, so just my entire thought process coming into this was just pound it inside on them, be as physical and tough with the ball as I can.”
If there are similarities between his game and Grant’s, that’s intentional. Engholm transferred from Capital after his freshman year in large part because he wanted to be mentored by Grant, to observe him closely and learn from him. That led him to round out his game, not just relying on scoring in the post but learning how to be a threat from anywhere on the floor.
“He’s a one-of-a-kind player and I learned a lot from him,” Engolm said. “He’s a very strong player inside. His inside game, back to the basket, just finishing through people’s faces.
“That’s something I focus on a lot, being a big guy that can pound it inside on someone and also stretch the floor, run up and down, beat guys bigger than me but at the same time be able to guard one through five.”
His growth has been obvious to junior guard Parker Gerrits, who scored 17 points in the win. Gerrits has played alongside Engholm since the two were kids.
“We’ve played together for a long time,” Gerrits said. “Ever since he was little, he’s always been big. So at first, he was always put on the block, get him the ball down low and let him work with his back to the basket. As the years have gone on, he’s worked on his quickness, his explosiveness and he’s really stretched his game out to the perimeter and can really shoot it and attack from anywhere and guard guards on defense. He’s really grown a lot.”
Gerrits, meanwhile, was quietly putting together a productive game when he made several consecutive shots in the third quarter, showing he can put up points in bunches. While he’s the focal point for opposing defenses, the junior guard lets the game come to him, rarely forcing looks that aren’t open.
“I always think first, make the right play, whether it’s a shot, charge, making the extra pass, getting on the floor for a loose ball,” he said. “I don’t really think about trying to force anything. What comes to me comes to me.”
With the win, Olympia gets a rematch with Curtis, which handled Rogers in the other league tournament semifinal on Friday night. Curtis won the first meeting two weeks ago, 51-44. The championship game will tip off Saturday at 6 p.m. at Bethel High School.
“We’re really pumped,” Gerrits said. “We’ve grown a lot since the last time we played them, so our guys are pretty excited and ready to fire it up.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 10:52 PM.
