The Roosevelt Roughriders of north Portland may be the most underrated team in the state at any classification.  Last year's team lost in the semifinals to Phoenix (the eventual State Champions) on a heartbreaking buzzer beater.  That team only had 1 senior on the entire roster.  So it may not come as a surprise to see Roosevelt sporting a 14-3 record, earning them the #5 spot in this week's 4A coaches poll (and #6 in the OSAA RPI rankings).

What is surprising, however, is that the RoughRiders have assembled their impressive 2011-12 campaign with 3 key returning starters on the sidelines.  Senior Guard Bryan Archie, senior forward Juwan Feliciano and junior forward Jomarri Gable have been out of the lineup for most of the year.  Despite missing these key members, the Riders have achieved success on the hardwood, losing just 3 difficult games.  5A Mountain View (currently #2 in OSAA RPI) handled them, Seaside (17-1 / OSAA #1) won a heartbreaker on a buzzer-beater, and Yamhill-Carlton squeezed out a 4-point win in the championship game of a 3-day tournament at North Marion

With the return of Feliciano and Gable last week, Roosevelt pulled off their most impressive win of the year, a 70-62 defeat of 6A powerhouse Grant who came into the game ranked #10 in 6A with a 13-2 record.  Roosevelt is also the only team this year to have beaten Central (14-1, #1 in 4A Coaches poll).  Other quality wins include triumphs over 5A Dallas and 3A #9 Rainier.  Their regular season finale will help battle-test Roosevelt even further as they host the 6A Lincoln Cardinals (#8 in coaches poll).

The team has made some good additions from last year, having two transfers come into the program: senior guard Kharie Poitier and junior point guard Liban Ali. Other kids have stepped up like sophomore defensive stopper James Schell-Buchanan.  Getting the big man on campus, Treyon Benjamin, back on the team (ineligible last year) adds a bigger inside presence and helps crash the boards.

This year's team is led by senior guard Joe Morales, senior guard Antonio McCowan and Bryan Archie. While the aforementioned starters have been out, both Morales and McCowan have been taking on a big scoring load for the team. McCowan missed out on a couple games due to minor injuries, which resulted in leaving Morales to lead the team by himself.

As the season progresses and the playoffs begin, expect the whole Roughrider family to be reunited. The team definitely feels disrespected and much underrated by everyone in the state of Oregon. This may just build fuel to fire for Roosevelt, and strive to prove everyone wrong. "We definitely feel disrespected by everyone and every team in the state, and that just makes us come in with a chip on our shoulder from the start of the game. We've been through a lot this season as a team and I feel it's just made us stronger." Senior guard Joe Morales said.