ARLINGTON –

Just past milepost 139 off Interstate 84, exists a community of just more 500 people but in this town a young man has put himself in a class few would have imagined.

This small-town kid has surpassed some big-name basketball players and recently moved up to No. 5 on Oregon’s all-time scoring list with 2,102 points.

Arlington’s Jeremy Rosenbalm passed Luke Jackson (2,095), who plays for the University of Oregon and attended Creswell High School, last Saturday after a 21-point effort against Echo.

“Jeremy came in as a freshman with ordinary skills, but offensively he had the ability of a junior,” Arlington coach Shawn Troutman said. “He has had some big nights and its been fun watching him play.”

Off the basketball court, Rosenbalm’s easy to find, sporting his classic blue and white letterman jacket and moving with a certain savvy about him.

That savvy carries over to the basketball, where it’s not hard to find him on the court either. He’s the player that dumps in all the points and works the hardest to do it.

“The game is so much fun and I just love playing it,” Rosenbalm said. “I don’t know what it is about the game, but I guess the basketball spirit is in me.”

Arlington opens play in the Big Sky Conference district tournament at 3:30 p.m. today against Helix at Umatilla High School, and with the chances of playing three games in the tournament, Rosenbalm needs only 77 points to surpass John Stevens, who is the Class 1A’s all-time scorer. Stevens scored 2,178 points between 1954 and 1958, while playing at Helix.

“It feels great to be mentioned with those guys,” Rosenbalm said. “It would be cool to be the best 1A scorer ever … it would be a great accomplishment.”

Rosenbalm’s scoring success came early in his freshman season after a 45-point outburst three games into his career, a mark that still stands as a personal best. Troutman and Rosenbalm each pointed to a triple-double performance against Cascade Locks this season as his finest game.

“I saw a complete performance from him and it shows he can do it all,” Troutman said of Rosenbalm’s 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds against Cascade Locks. “He really has worked very hard to better himself on the court and it showed in that game.”

Rosenbalm is also 117 points behind Salim Stoudamire for third place on the all-time list. Stoudamire, who plays for the University of Arizona, scored 2,219 points at Class 4A Lincoln and Lake Oswego high schools from 1997-2001.

Arlington could face three games in the district tournament, one in the sub-state tournament and three in the state tournament if the Honkers continue to win. If Rosenbalm continues his season average of 22.5 points per game he could catch Stoudamire.

“In your coaching career, you’re lucky to come across a player as talented as Jeremy and he will be missed,” Troutman said.

Rosenbalm has averaged 23.3 points per game over his career, scored 40 or more points three times and 30 or more points 16 times. He also had a stretch his junior season where he dumped in 34 points, followed by games of 30 and 37 points.

“I’ve always played as much as I can and put in a lot of hard work,” Rosenbalm said. “You have to work on all your fundamentals and you have to have all the fundamentals to be a great player.”

Rosenbalm helped Arlington reach the Class 1A state tournament for the first time in 18 years last season.

“It’s been a great ride and making the state tournament last year was the biggest moment for me,” Rosenbalm said. “I just want to be remembered as a great person that was there for everybody and tried hard on the court.”

Over his career, Rosenbalm’s scoring average has remained constant, but his steals and assists per game average have climbed. This past regular season, Rosenbalm picked up 10 steals three times and averaged 5.1 steals per game compared to 3.6 his freshman season.

“The thing I will remember most is his ability to better his game other than scoring,” Troutman said. “If you look at his numbers in assists, steals and all the little things, they have improved and that is what will help him at the next level.”

George Fox, Pacific, Western Oregon and Eastern Oregon universities have shown interest in Rosenbalm, but he is undecided at this point about his college plans.

By the numbers

1-Games in his high school career in which Jeremy Rosenbalm hasn’t scored in double figures

3.78-Rosenbalm’s high school grade-point average. He will graduate as class valedictorian

6.1-Rosenbalm’s career points per quarter scoring average

9-Fewest points Rosenbalm has scored in a high school game

16-Seniors at Arlington High School

45-Career-high points in one game, set against Ukiah as a freshman

51.0-Rosenbalm’s career field goal shooting percentage

53-Number of students in Arlington High School

71-Rosenbalm’s height in inches (5 foot, 11 inches)

77-Points shy of becoming Oregon’s Class 1A all-time scoring leader

524-People who live in Arlington

2,102-Career points scored, fifth in Oregon boys basketball history

Oregon’s all-time scoring leaders

1. Bob Hunt, Knappa, 2,584 points

2. Brian Jackson, Knappa, 2,515

3. Salim Stoudamire, Lincoln/Lake Oswego, 2,219

4. John Stevens, Helix, 2,178

5. Jeremy Rosenbalm, Arlington, 2,102

6. Luke Jackson, Creswell, 2,095

7. Richard Washington, Benson, 2,073

8. Dick Maurer, Prospect, 2,045

9. Terry Boesel, Powder Valley, 2,020

10. Derek Anderson, Scappoose, 1,981

Other players who attended area high schools

16. Joseph Mann, Irrigon, 1,859

20. Jeff Lavendar, Pilot Rock, 1,790

26. Troy Molendyke, Helix/Tillamook, 1,690

30. Henry Baysinger, Weston-McEwen, 1,652

38. Ryan Sams, Pendleton, 1,591

List compiled by Oregon high school sports historian Mal Van Meer

Rosenbalm career statistics

Grade Games Rebounds Steals Assists Points

Freshman 19 186 65 25 472

Sophomore 19 184 79 39 393

Junior 28 165 141 92 696

Senior 24 154 123 122 541

Totals 90 634 408 278 2102

Career game averages 7.65 4.5 3.1 23.3

Rosenbalm highlights

Scored a career-high 45 points, reeled in 15 rebounds, picked up seven steals and had just one turnover his freshman season against Ukiah.

Scored 30 or more points five times his freshman season, including two 36-point efforts, in 19 games.

Held to nine points against Horizon Christian his sophomore season. The only game in his high-school career that he didn’t score more than 10 points.

Scored 37 points against Long Creek his junior year and 41 against Cascade Locks.

This past season, Rosenbalm torched Central Christian for 40 points and posted 39 points against Dufur. He finished the just-completed regular season shooting 56 percent from the field.