Camas, Union senior stars ready for playoff push in their final high school basketball seasons

Ethan Harris is ready for the final weeks of his last high school basketball season, leading the Camas Papermakers. The Class 4A boys playoffs started Friday night. Camas defeated Curtis. Photo courtesy Heather Tianen

Camas’ Ethan Harris (Iowa) and Union’s Brooklynn Haywood (Oregon) hoping to lead their teams to the ultimate prize in high school basketball before they make the leap to the Big Ten and college basketball

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

It started off with a turnover.

It turned into the exact sequence that Ethan Harris and the Camas Papermakers have been preaching all season.

Details. Details. Details.

Now, in the postseason, the details matter even more.

Harris, one of the best players in the Northwest and a University of Iowa signee, was the one who turned the ball over to start a compelling 30 seconds of basketball against the Curtis Vikings on Friday night in a Class 4A bi-district playoff game.

Did he complain? Did his mistake lead to a bigger mistake, by letting the miscue affect his defense?

Absolutely not.

This is, after all, Ethan Harris.

The turnover started a 3-on-1 fast break for the Vikings, with Harris being the one for the Papermakers.

Harris forced a bad pass. The ball was loose on the floor. Harris dove, and he knocked the ball out of bounds. It was still Curtis’ ball, but the effort gave a chance for the Camas defense to reset. On the ensuing possession, Harris deflected a Curtis pass, helping to create more chaos, which led to a rushed shot. Harris got the defensive rebound, and the Papermakers went back on the attack.

Camas never trailed Friday night and defeated Curtis 69-54.

“You see the teams that win it,” Harris said of state championship teams, “and you kind of understand what it takes. That’s just doing the little details. The loose balls. The 50-50 balls become 75-25 balls because your guys are working so much harder.”

Basketball’s playoff season started this week. Every team is looking to clinch a spot in the state tournament.

Including this weekend, there are four weekends left in the high school basketball season. Clark County Today caught up with the two best players in the region, both seniors, as they prepare for their final high school games.

On Thursday, it was the opening round of the Class 4A girls bi-district tournament, with the Union Titans and Oregon-bound Brooklynn Haywood.

Brooklynn Haywood is looking to make history in her final season of high school basketball, leading the Union Titans into the playoffs. The Class 4A girls postseason started Thursday. Union defeated Kentwood. Photo courtesy Heather Tianen

“I don’t think our mindset has changed too much. I think we always come out wanting to win. We never come out thinking we’ve already won a game,” Haywood said after Union easily defeated Kentwood. “Anything can happen in the playoffs, so we have to be ready for everything.

“But my team is full of dawgs. We’re going to come out and compete no matter who it is.”

The Union girls will host Bonney Lake at 6 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 14) in the quarterfinals of the bi-district tournament. The winner not only advances to bi-district semifinals but will also qualify for the state tournament. The loser will have more chances in the consolation bracket.

The Camas boys, with Friday’s win, will host Kentwood on Tuesday (Feb. 17) in the bi-district quarters. Same scenario as the girls tournament. Win and qualify for state. Lose and fall into the consolation bracket for more chances to make state.

Harris said that on one hand, there is no change in how to prepare for a matchup.

“Every game is important,” he said.

“But I think our mindset changes in the fact that every game is going to be a dogfight,” he added. “We gotta know that and respond accordingly.”

Harris and Haywood know this is their final chance at ultimate glory for high school basketball.

“I want people to remember me by looking up in the rafters and seeing a picture of our team, with right below it, ‘4A state champions.’ That’s what I’ve visualized every single day since my sister got it,” Haris said, referring to Addison Harris, who won a state title with the Camas girls in 2024.

The Union Titans are regarded as one of the teams to beat, according to computer rankings and human polls. Union has never finished better than fifth at state in girls basketball.

“My biggest goal is winning state. My team’s got my back, and I’ve got theirs,” Haywood said. “In order to do that, we have to compete every single game. We have enough skill … It’s about competing.”

Haywood and Harris endured long recruiting processes. Haywood got her first offer before she played a high school game. Harris made a big name for himself as a sophomore. Both players signed with their colleges in November.

“It definitely is different,” Haywood said. “Being recruited, there’s some pressure to that. I still want to perform and help my team win and be there for my team. But definitely less stress than taking a bunch of calls and a bunch of texts.”

Still, she has the same mindset on the court. Perform.

Harris vowed to be the same player, too. He has seen players in years past who seemed to be less focused on high school as soon as they signed.

“I don’t want that to be me. I want to leave a legacy here that, when the littles watch me play, they see me and they’re like ‘Dang, look at what he’s doing, high-fiving everybody, having great energy.’”

Haywood has a shot at breaking the state’s all-time scoring record held by current WNBA player Hailey Van Lith. Still, the numbers are not the only thing to tell her story.

She hopes future Titans will follow her lead.

“Never give up, no matter what challenge or adversity comes at you. Be a family,” Haywood said.

Harris is one of the best players in program history. There are more important things than that, he said.

“I want to be known as a great player. I think I have accomplished that so far. More than that, I want to be known as a great person, a great leader,” Harris said. “I want to be remembered as a teammate, a great teammate.”

Notes: Bi-district and district tournaments have started at all classifications for Southwest Washington boys and girls teams. Next week, Clark County Today will update fans on which teams have qualified for state and/or still have a chance to make it to state.

The state opening rounds are scheduled for the last week in February at various locations. The state tournaments at the final sites are March 4-7.