Beau Blea is not a trash-talker. He is not an instigator. He is not, at least intentionally, a player who gets under an opponent’s skin.

The Summit senior is a motor. He is the energy source for the Storm. He is the juice for Summit as it makes a run toward the Class 5A boys basketball state tournament.

“His style of play, he puts a lot of pressure on the opponent and makes them uncomfortable,” Storm coach Jon Frazier says of Blea. “He has really active hands, and he’s always in the right place at the right time defensively. I think there’s times where he certainly disrupts what they’re trying to do. He’s not a big talker, to be honest, in terms of (with) the other team. He’s actually kind of a quiet kid. He’s not someone who’s running his mouth a lot. But for us, there’s a toughness about him that permeates the other guys.”

Blea has longed to be that fiery player whom the Storm rallies around. In recent seasons, Summit has featured the likes of all-state and all-IMC guards Jack Hurley, Jason Garcia, Russell Wells and Andy Jones, all of whom have helped the Storm contend for league titles and make runs at the state tournament. Blea has watched those players. He has competed against some of them in practices. He has learned. And now, he is applying.

“I’ve grown up around so many competitors,” Blea says. “Coming up in the Summit program, playing against guys like Jack Hurley and Jason Garcia, who showed me all that fire. Coming up, I realized the team needed that, needed someone who’s clapping and getting the team hyped up. I just kind of filled the role.”

For as long as he can remember, Blea has been known as “Juice” to teammates and friends. The moniker just stuck, its origin unknown. This season, perhaps more than ever, it is a most fitting nickname.

“For us, he generates all of our energy,” Frazier says. “There’s times you can tell when he gets fired up defensively, gets a stop or gets a steal, he’s the one that’s talking the most on our team and the other guys just feed off that energy. I would imagine, from an opponent’s perspective, a guy who plays with that fire and tenacity would be someone you wouldn’t necessarily want to go against. But for us, it certainly gives us a lot of energy.”

Some players talk the talk; Blea walks the walk. Former Boston Celtics great Larry Bird was known to point out to an opponent a spot on the floor and tell him where he would hit a shot (or many). Blea, when needed, simply does it, or he will force a turnover or beat a defender off the dribble for a layup or drop off a pass for an easy Summit bucket.

He takes no plays off. And with him on the floor, as Frazier points out, Summit is “a completely different team.”

“When he’s playing at a really high level, everyone else matches his energy, and he does a really good job of creating opportunities for the other guys,” Frazier says. “For us, he really makes it happen for us.”

Born in Colorado, Blea was raised in Bend after his family moved to the area when he was 3 years old. He grew up in Summit’s Central Oregon Basketball Organization program and soon established himself as a spark on the floor. At just 5 feet 9 and 145 pounds, he has long been among the smallest players on the floor. Yet his stature has not limited his game.

“He comes in and just plays harder than a lot of other people are willing to play,” says Summit senior wing Joe Hicks. “I think that drives everyone else to play the same way.”

“I’m the point guard,” Blea says. “I have the ball in my hands most of the time. I can help the team in a lot of ways, whether it’s passing or scoring or doing whatever. I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win.”

Forget his scoring (he is second on the team at more than 13 points per game) or the distributing (he leads the team with nearly five assists per game), Blea’s aim is to inspire the Storm. His trademark has been pedaling back on defense with a ferocious clap that has been mocked by opposing teams and student sections.

“When you’re pumping your team up, clapping,” Blea says, “the opponent kind of sees that and, in a way, gets a little scared.”

At times, it has seemed, his all-out play followed by that thunderstick-style clapping has eaten at opponents. With a laugh, Blea says: “That’s kind of my goal sometimes.”

Because that is Blea’s edge. That is the pool from which he can draw his own energy and siphon it to teammates.

“I’d say it’s just a good trait, a good competitive spirit,” says Summit senior wing Karson Klecker, noting that teammates feel obligated to meet Blea’s energy level at practice, as well as in games. “He’s attacking and playing with the right mindset. Sometimes he can be a big spark for us with his defensive energy and his facilitating on the offensive end is great.”

“He kind of got that chip on his shoulder, that in order to compete against the Jack Hurleys and Jason Garcias and Russell Wellses and Andy Jones, he had to play with a chip on his shoulder in order to have a chance in practice,” Frazier says. “Now, all of a sudden, he’s stepping into that role where he’s the guy, and he’s trying, from what I can see, to maintain that high standard in practice, where we don’t take plays off, we don’t mess around. He understands what it takes for us to get back to Corvallis (and the state tournament), and he’s been unbelievable as a practice player: super tough, super competitive, very focused, super coachable. He’s doing everything that we need.”

In the Storm’s four league losses this season, Blea was either sidelined because of a back injury or was playing through illness. This past Friday, Blea nearly led the Storm to a second straight Intermountain Conference championship — only a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Mountain View’s Chase McClain sank Summit.

Still, Blea and the Storm are alive in the Class 5A postseason, and they travel to Portland on Wednesday for a 5A play-in game at Parkrose. With a win, Summit will advance to the first round of the state playoffs — one victory away from the program’s fourth straight trip to the state tournament.

Blea will do whatever he can to help the Storm once again reach the final site. He will gladly be Summit’s subconscious motor for as long as the postseason run lasts.

“Just the competitor I am, I hate losing,” Blea says. “I want to be the team that’s unstoppable. That’s why I love playing. I love bringing a different aspect to the game. I just like being a leader on the team.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0307, glucas@bendbulletin.com.