Logan Adams, GSL top scorer a year ago, poised to lead Gonzaga Prep

Logan Adams went from a sophomore wearing a spot out on the bench to leading the Greater Spokane League in scoring last year as a junior at Gonzaga Prep.

Raise your hand if you saw that coming. Yeah, thought so. Nobody.

“He’s good because he works at his game,” Gonzaga Prep coach Matty McIntyre said. “So many kids go in the gym and shoot baskets and say they did their workout for the day. He’s got a plan and he doesn’t waste time.”

The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 17 points per game a year ago.

Adams found himself on the bench as a sophomore because there were seven seniors ahead of him, mostly guards. That year, the Bullpups advanced to Tacoma, and Adams had a courtside seat.

He wants to get back to Tacoma.

“I want to bring my own team to state,” Adams said. “Ever since my sophomore year I’ve wanted to get back there. That would be a big deal to make it back.”

The GSL and Mid-Columbia will send three to state from their subregional. Lewis and Clark and Central Valley are picked to finish well ahead of most of the teams. G-Prep is picked to be the best of the rest.

Adams is one of four returning starters. The Bullpups expect to have a deep bench.

It very well could happen that Adams’ scoring average may dip this year if contributions from his teammates increase.

And that’s perfectly fine with him.

“That’s something I’d be willing to do, take a lesser scoring role, if it means more wins,” Adams said. “If defenses try to key on me, then that’s what I’ll do. I just want to win games.”

McIntyre wouldn’t be surprised if Adams’ production remains the same or increases.

“He has a great feel. He’s very intelligent,” McIntyre said. “The way he sees the floor, he can hunt his shot.”

Adams has also improved since last year.

“He needed to finish at the rim with more strength,” McIntyre said. “He isn’t just a spot-up shooter. He can attack the basket. That will be the key difference in his offensive game.”

McIntyre said Adams had good offensive skills as a sophomore. But one of the key reasons he didn’t get off the bench much was his defensive liabilities.

“He’s definitely worked really hard to get better feet, to be a better defender,” McIntyre said.

McIntyre believes the Bullpups will be more balanced offensively.

“So much of the offensive burden fell on Logan last year because we didn’t have that balance,” McIntyre said. “There will still be nights where it fills it up. But there will be other nights people can pick up the slack so the burden doesn’t fall on him.”

Adams, who lives in the Riverside School District, makes a 25-minute drive to school. But that commute will shorten next week when his family moves near Mt. Spokane High School.

He has twin sisters who are freshmen that attend Mt. Spokane and play basketball. They’ll split time this winter between varsity and junior varsity.

“They’re going to be good ballplayers,” Adams said.

His mother, Brande (Baker) Adams, played for Jeanne Helfer at Mead when the Panthers won a state championship in 1990.

Adams can’t wait to see what the season brings.

G-Prep won’t start with the other GSL teams on Wednesday because of the football team’s date in the state final on Saturday.

“I like our potential,” he said. “I think we can win the league. We had a really good summer, built some great chemistry. We have some big expectations for ourselves.”