Story Photos
 Clatskanie's Conrad Ritchie is trading practice at Clatskanie High School (shown here) for shooting in Myklebust Gym at LCC. Bill Wagner / The Daily News
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Clatskanie standout Conrad Ritchie to join Red Devils
Wednesday, July 9, 2008 6:05 PM PDT
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleA McDonald’s All-American nominee who earned Oregon all-state honors has agreed to join the Lower Columbia College men’s basketball team backcourt beginning this fall.
Conrad Ritchie, a 6-foot guard, earned third-team all-state and was a first-team Lewis and Clark League pick after averaging 20 points, four assists, six rebounds and five steals per game for the Clatskanie Tigers.
“I chose LCC because it’s convenient, it has a good basketball program and I like the coach,” Ritchie said. “I also talked to the coaches at Chemeketa College in Salem and they were going to give me a really good deal, but I didn’t want to move away from home and live with my grandparents.”
LCC coach Jim Roffler was reminded of another great LCC player when he watched Ritchie compete during open gyms.
“Conrad reminds me a lot of Keith Nelson (former Rainier High and LCC player) because of his energy,” Roffler said. “He has a great motor that keeps going. He has great range and can definitely shoot the basketball. He’s also very scrappy defensively and will give us a lot of backcourt energy.”
Ritchie is willing to play either backcourt position in order to get playing time.
“I’m a shooting guard who’ll bring scoring punch to the team, along with the ability to hit the 3-point shot,” Ritchie said. “I can play either the 1 (point guard) or the 2 (shooting guard), and I like both positions.”
Ritchie showcased his abilities when he scored a game-high 26 points for the North team in a 101-83 loss in the Oregon All-State Game, and was named Most Valuable Player in a pair of all-star games in which he scored 21 and 32 points in successive contests.
“We knew Conrad could shoot the ball, and he also likes to stick his nose in there and mix it up,” Roffler said. “He definitely has the competitive fire and savvy to come in and compete for us. He brings a lot to the table, and I like his work ethic and his competitiveness.”
During his junior season, Ritchie had the game of his life when he buried nine 3-pointers and scored 40 points in a 77-70 win over Portland Adventist.
Ritchie, who graduated with a 3.5 grade point average, is interested in pursuing a career as a firefighter/paramedic. During high school, he studied the science of fighting fires through the Clatskanie Rural Fire Protection District’s Explorer program.
Ritchie joins a plethora of newcomers to LCC, including guards Jyles Petersen and Jeray Key of Mark Morris and Takim Drakes of Washington High in Los Angeles, swingmen Clint Burgoyne of Castle Rock and Tanner Bradley of R.A. Long, and forward Matt Trautman of Mark Morris. Returning players include sophomore post Alex King and redshirt forward Ryan Freeman.
“Alex is probably the best returning player in the league, in my opinion,” Roffler said. “Ryan has proved he can play at this level as a freshman at Grays Harbor, and he should be completely healed from his knee injury by this fall.”
Roffler is still looking for another couple of players to round out the roster.
“We need more frontcourt help, and we’re working on some good players still on the AAU circuit,” he said. “I’m very happy with our local scene and who we’ve been able to get, and we’re looking to bring in some guys from the outside to mix in. We’ll be a little green, but if we can sign a couple of guys we’re interested in, the inexperience can be overcome by sheer talent.”
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