Two years ago, nobody had heard of the Peninsula boys basketball team. There weren’t top recruits coming out of the Gig Harbor, and the team had won just six games in four seasons.
Now the team is 5-0 and ranked No. 7 in the state. One of the super stars behind the team’s transformation? Junior point guard JaQuori McLaughlin.
“The big thing to get this thing jumpstarted was people buying in,” said Peninsula Coach Jake Jackson. “JaQuori bought in his freshman year. He went through ups and downs for sure. But he’s earned it, and he’s been the leader to help us turn this around.”
In Jackson’s first year as head coach in 2012, the team was 4-16. Last year, the Seahawks were 15-8, and made it to the district tournament. This year, Peninsula is eyeing a district title – maybe even a state title.
McLaughlin has been an offensive and defensive weapon for the Seahawks. This season he has averaged 28.8 points, five assists, five steals, and four rebounds per game. In the Dec. 12 game at Sumner, McLaughlin had a career high 37 points, and made 17 of 21 free throws.
Although McLaughlin is the shortest starter, the 6-foot-3 point guard grew an inch and a half last year, and Jackson said McLaughlin’s new physicality has completely changed his game. From a skill standpoint, Jackson called McLaughlin “a complete player.”
“His vision, his IQ. The way he can pass the ball, handle the ball,” Jackson said. “His shooting capabilities from the three, midrange, attacking the rim, dunking. Finishing in the free throw line.”
McLaughlin described his game as “silky, smooth,” with strong basketball smarts that helps his shooting ability and gets his teammates involved in the game.
“I try to play like Stephen Curry and Chris Paul. Kind of a mix between those two,” McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin, a four-star recruit, is also Washington’s first commit from the 2016 class after guard Jermaine Haley of Burnaby, British Columbia decommitted in October. McLaughlin’s main reasons for picking Washington amid offers from Arizona, Washington State, and Oregon State were distance to home, and a strong relationship he built with Coach Lorenzo Romar.
Washington’s highly touted 2015 recruitment class was also a factor for McLaughlin, which includes Rainier Beach shooting guard Dejounte Murray, Eastside Catholic wing Matisse Thybulle, and forward Marquese Chriss.
“That’s a big step in me committing somewhere,” McLaughlin said. “They had a lot of guys I thought I could play with at the college level.”
But for now, McLaughlin and the Seahawks are seeking out top players and teams in the state to get better and put Peninsula basketball on the map.
In addition to tougher South Sound match-ups, Peninsula is competing in Oregon’s Les Schwabes tournament over winter break. The Seahawks first game is against Lake Oswego, which is No. 9 in Oregon’s Class 6A. The game will be special for Coach Jackson, as he played high school basketball at Lake Oswego under current coach Mark Shoff.
Jackson hopes the tournament will give his players the experience they need to compete against Metro League powerhouses, such as Rainier Beach, Garfield, and Eastside Catholic.
“Psychologically, playing against better teams, it brings out our better performance,” Jackson said. “Our guys rise to the occasion.”
With young talent like McLaughlin and a record on the upswing, Peninsula has the pieces to contend. The only question is if the pieces will fall into the right places.
