Petaluma’s Potts keeps options open

Having options is nice. Petaluma High School basketball standout Joey Potts is weighting his.

Potts, who has been reported to be headed to Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, says it’s not so - at least not yet.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said last week. “I haven’t weighed all my options yet.”

Those options still include Oregon Institute of Technology, where his brother played. He has visited the campus and says he liked what he saw.

“I like the campus,” he reported, “and there is a pretty small town based around the school. It looks like a program I could get involved with pretty easily.”

Ideally, Potts will find a program where he can develop as a basketball player and find the sense of family he has enjoyed at Petaluma High School.

“I love Petaluma,” he said. “I love the school and the basketball program. I’ve had a lot of fun. This year the team turned into my family.”

Potts was a major contributor to that family. At 6-foot-8, he was able to dominate the paint, and he still possessed a soft jumper that made him a scoring threat from 3-point range. He led the team in rebounding, was a major scoring contributor and forced opposing attackers to alter their route to the basket or face the threat of having the ball swatted away. Petaluma fans particularly appreciated his thunderous slams.

His talent and effort did not go unnoticed. He was chosen to the All-Sonoma County League team.

Once he decides on a college, Potts will receive specific workout instructions from whichever school he selects.

Meanwhile, he is enjoying his final year in high school, hanging out with his friends and, in his spare time, “playing more basketball.”

“After the season ended, I went a week without playing basketball, and it was weird,” he said.

Potts gives a lot of credit for his success at Petaluma and his preparation for the next level to Trojan head coach Scott Behrs.

“He is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had,” the player said. “I can’t thank him enough.

“I rolled my ankle on he first day of practice, and after that, every day he would tape me. That gave us about 10 minutes of one-on-one time, and I really got to know him. He helped me so much.”

Potts in the son of Bo Potts and Jodie Graham.