The anticipation was palpable in the Chiles Center during the fourth quarter of the Boys Basketball Championship game on March 15. The sold-out game brought 4,852 Barlow Bruins and Jesuit Crusaders to Portland State University for a nail-biting playoff game that resulted in Barlow taking home the first-place championship trophy with a 61-55 history-making win.
Barlow’s 13 players, who placed 1st in the state after 27 wins and 3 losses, faced off against Jesuit’s 12, who finished 11th in the state, in one of the most intense games of Barlow’s basketball history. Spirit Commissioner, Ulises Avendano-Miranda, recounts the night as “surreal and unbelievable.” Miranda, who brought the iconic Bruin Superfan helmet to the game, says that the helmet “went through it” as one of the horns on top of it snapped during the game, adding to the intensity of the experience.
“Don’t worry, I’ll superglue it,” Miranda assures Bruins.
Being a part of the crowd that night was a “once in a lifetime experience” for Miranda and all others in attendance. He goes on to remember the sold-out crowd palpitating with uplifting energy, especially during the last two quarters of the game, and that at the end, “there was happiness surging through everyone.”
“Especially in the last five minutes, the fans were cheering back and forth with the other school. Even the parents joined in. It was like we were also in the game,” reminisces Miranda.
The excitement didn’t end with the final buzzer. After the game, fans had to wait about 20 minutes to be let onto the court to celebrate with the players and coaches.
Head Coach Tom “TJ” Johnson, who has won 711 games as a coach so far in his career and was named the OSAA Boys Basketball Coach of the Year, says that he won it for the kids, past and present, who have gone through his basketball program.
“The players deserve all the credit. The lights were never too bright for them. This was a good group of kids,” TJ says proudly.
If you ask the players, it’s TJ who they won for, giving their beloved coach his first championship trophy in his 39 years as head coach at Barlow was something they had their hearts set on from the beginning.
“He’s just been here for such a long time and, to be honest, I think he deserved it more than we did. Just because of the community he has, all the time he spends on all the kids and everybody. It was just nice that we could get it done for him,” Mason Bierbrauer, one of three First Team All-League and First Team All-Tournament recipients, stated.
Basketball has always been one of the most essential parts of TJ’s life and career, dating back to his school days in Portland as a Roosevelt High School graduate of the class of 1975. Now, he motivates players to succeed on and off the court with his inspirational Bruin Briefs and high expectations for his players.
“Athletics is a great tool to help teach the real lessons of life. The players are a captive audience because they want to be there. With athletics comes responsibility, and I always expected them to be responsible. There’s a quote that I go back to that says, ‘The lessons of the game are far more important than the events.’ In other words, what we can learn from athletics is learning how to deal with frustration and difficulty and learn perseverance; those things are far more important than winning,” TJ shares. This is just one of the many examples of the lessons he imparts on his players.
TJ’s inspirational messages are something he has done for decades. Bledsoe thinks back on those moments often. “As a former player of his, I don’t know if, as a high school kid, you really understand. Then you kind of step back and it’s like, yeah, a lot of the stuff in basketball you can apply to real life.”
The players also credit their families, God, and the trainers for their win as well.
“I got to give credit to God, obviously. He kept all of our team healthy,” Bierbrauer shares. “And Jake gets a big pound in the bag for keeping all these dudes healthy, too, and they’re always down in the training room.”
Bierbrauer goes on to say that his parents are also a large part of his support system. “Mainly my dad. Him and me would talk every night, just him motivating me and things I should do to help out the team, myself, and my trainers too.”
Barron chimes in with his support team, “My dad helped me a bunch during the season. Just helped me stay motivated and stay positive. He pushed me harder than ever.”
TJ and the players are not alone in their win. There are two assistant coaches, Gene Saling and Graham Bledsoe, who support him and the team. Winning first place was an emotional moment for everyone involved.
“It was super surreal. And it didn’t feel real,” shares Bledsoe. Beyond it feeling surreal, it was also a stressful moment. Bledsoe explains, “I always think about just how it could have been different. Like, had we won by 20, we would be, you know, probably starting to celebrate a little early. But it was so stressful that it came down to the end. Like us as coaches weren’t sure like, all right, are we going to win or not? So when it does happen, it’s like relief.”
Saling, who has been involved in the program for over 3 decades, recounts the moment as emotional and amazing for other reasons. “There must have been over 100 grads there to support TJ. That’s what really made it a special moment. Even though they didn’t get to experience themselves, they were still there because of TJ.”
This win comes after 57 years of blood, sweat, and tears from players, coaches, and fans alike. This is a long time coming, which made the night of March 15 all the more special. TJ’s former players came to the Chiles Center to witness Barlow history being made on the court.
Bledsoe, who was one of TJ’s players from 2006-2009, was lucky enough to witness this momentous event court-side. For him, the night has been a long time coming.
“You just look at TJ and it’s like, it took him 40 years. He went there [the final playoff games] in ’96 and we lost. And then 30 years later, he gets there again and we could have lost again,” Bledsoe exclaims. “It’s just obviously super special for him and shows the amount of support that he had. I mean, they chanted his name and there were all these grads there.”
One of the most amazing things about the Barlow’s team is that it is a homegrown team. Nobody on the team or the coaching staff is a transfer. This creates a sense of family and camaraderie that is hard to replicate or fake. Even the coaching staff has been around for a long time. Saling from the 80s, TJ from the 70s, Bledsoe is a former student, and John Francis, who has been here longer than TJ, has been coaching Freshmen in the program.
In addition to the trophy, TJ and the team were honored by the City of Gresham with a celebration and dedication that officially made March 16 Tom Johnson Day.
“It’s ridiculous,” TJ says bashfully before admitting that it’s an honor that not many have gotten from the mayor of Gresham.
After the festivities, TJ took some time to reflect and think about what’s next for him. His role as head coach takes a lot of time and energy. Bledsoe explains that it encompasses being “in charge of all the teams, all the coaches, fundraising, dealing with parents, and more.”
As for next steps, TJ wants to set the record straight, “I’m planning on coaching again next year, as of right now.”
Atkins, Bierbrauer, and Barron, also referred to as ‘the triplets’, were given the honor of participating in the Northwest Shootout game on April 13 in an Oregon versus Washington game that featured ten of the state’s best players. The game concluded in a win for Washington, 96-87.
“I was just there to have fun,” Barron shares. The game itself was an opportunity for the players to meet other people and have one last game as a group.
For each player, the game doesn’t start on the court, but in the locker room beforehand. The group comes together to pray and get their head in the game before laying it all out on the court.
“We prayed and visualized before every game. I think that was a pretty big part. TJ would always talk for a good two minutes about everything, just visualizing, just shooting off your fingertips to the net, and stuff like that. Then we’d always come together at the end and pray right before we go out and shoot,” Barron says fondly.
Their story and dedication to the Barlow basketball program will continue to inspire players in the years to come.
“Just keep your head up and keep moving forward. The years will go by super fast. Just take in as much as you can,” Bierbrauer advises future players.
The legacy of the 24/25 Boys Basketball team will forever be remembered as the first of many teams to bring back the ultimate trophy into Barlow’s sacred halls.
