Garrett Long Wants to Help Wenatchee Basketball to New Heights

2021 Wenatchee point guard Garrett Long is now three years into his varsity career, and he has firmly established himself as a bona fide superstar. 

The 6-foot-2 junior is averaging career highs across the board, including points (18.8) and rebounds (5.3). What makes this feat impressive is he’s coming off a sophomore campaign in which he earned First Team All League honors. 

When you're a sophomore, and already considered one of the top five or six players in a 4A conference, you know you’re on the right path.

“I was happy to be First Team All League, but I’m always gunning for more,” Long said. “You can never be satisfied, so I’m going to keep trying to take the next step.” 

Long certainly has plenty going for him as far as individual accolades, but where his heart is at is helping elevate Wenatchee basketball. 

At the midway point of the year, Wenatchee sports a solid 7-7 record. They’re entrenched in a battle for a state playoff berth with teams like West Valley, Davis, and Eastmont. Should they clinch a playoff spot, it would be their second straight appearance at the state tournament. 

“Last year we won the league title, and we only lost one senior from that team,” Long said. “At the moment it’s tough, but we’ll keep pushing each other in practice.”

On the court, Long is a highly intriguing point guard prospect. He possesses a lot of traits that colleges look for, including a sturdy 6-foot-2 frame, rangy scoring ability, hard-nosed defense, and well-rounded athleticism.

But at the end of the day, there’s a whole lot of athletic 6-foot-2 point guards out there. Long fully acknowledges this, and so he strives to do the little things to separate himself. 

One of the big ways he stands out is the high level of emotion he plays with. He’s vocal on both ends of the floor, and isn’t afraid to let out a roar when his team succeeds. It’s something you just don’t see often in high school players.

The head coach of Wenatchee Basketball, Travis Williams, has been instrumental in developing Long. He’s also been able to see first hand how Long’s leadership skills have evolved.

“He had established a role early on as a freshman, and we had seniors on the team, so it’s kind of a weird dynamic for a younger kid,” Williams said. “But I think each year he’s growing more comfortable in being more vocal, and you can see that from his freshman year to his junior year.” 

Williams added that the intensity he brings to practice everyday has been instrumental in helping improve the team.

Along with strong emotion and brewing leadership, Long strives to be the hardest worker he can be in every facet. This includes academics, where he sports a dandy 3.8 GPA.

Long's biggest goal is to play Division I college basketball. So as awesome as his character traits are, what will help him the most is by simply being the best player on any court he's on.

The recruiting process is still very much in the early stages for Long, but so far he’s heard from schools like Seattle University, Washington State, Stanford and a few other programs in the local area.

In order to increase his exposure, Long has played for several AAU teams in the past like Team Lavine and Washington Supreme. He’ll look to continue improving his stock this upcoming off-season, when he travels to various camps and showcases across the country.

As big of a name as Garrett Long is becoming, he still faces the tough reality of being tucked away in the Wenatchee Valley. It’s a far cry in attention he would get if he was playing in a bigger city like Seattle, Portland, or even Spokane.

“I feel like if I was playing in the Seattle area, my name would be more well known,” Long said. “But you can’t make excuses, so I’m making the best of what I’ve got.”

One of the easiest ways to break into the mainstream spotlight is to make some noise in the state playoffs. If Wenatchee were able to enter the Tacoma Dome and take down a couple Seattle powerhouses, it would absolutely raise the eyebrows of basketball fans across the state.

Long has lots of dreams in life, and he has the right mindset to get it done. If he comes to your local town, this is a player worth checking out in person.