By GANNON HANEVOLD
The Progress
After reaching the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time in nearly a decade, the Moapa Valley High School boys basketball program saw deserved awards come in the form of individual hardware.
Lucas Walker, a three-year varsity letterman, as a junior, earned recognition as a 1st Team All-State, 1st
Team All-Southern, and 1st Team All-Sunrise athlete.
A true combo guard in 2020, Walker’s 21.5 points per game average were second best in the South, and his 6.1 assists per game were the best in the Silver State.
“I think he took a big jump,” said MVHS head coach Kevin Walker who is also Lucas’ father. “He could always score and had that speed when he came in freshman year and played varsity but he was sometimes timid. It just seemed easier his junior year.”
“After two years of playing with varsity competition, you get a little used to it and mature every year,” said Lucas Walker. “I felt like we had a lot of players who matured and I thought I did too. Things start to slow down and get easier after that point.”
With all that scoring and three years of varsity experience, Walker became one of five Moapa Valley boys basketball players in team history to eclipse the 1,000 career point total.
At Lucas’ current pace, the upcoming senior has a good chance of earning the highest career point total in Moapa Valley history.
He currently ranks fourth in terms of career scoring totals, and the top two spots are held by his uncle, Kyle Walker, and his father, Kevin Walker, respectively.
Lucas acknowledged that it would be satisfying to keep the family tradition of Walker scoring success, but has bigger plans in mind for the upcoming season.
“We’re focused on winning state,” said Lucas, “If [I break the record], that’s great and I’d be happy because I worked hard, but it’s more important for us to win. Especially after COVID-19, I feel like that would be really huge for the valley.”
Lucas Walker’s teammate and fellow upcoming senior Cameron Reese is on the precipice of joining the 1K club as well after two years of varsity experience.
His 14.4 points per game and remarkable 43% three-point rate helped lead Reese to a spot on the 1st Team All-Sunrise and 2nd Team All-Southern squads.
“I definitely feel my offensive game improved a lot, especially shooting beyond the arc,” Reese said. “I also felt a lot more comfortable and confident with the ball in my hands.”
Coach Walker pointed out that if Reese stays on track during his senior year, he and Lucas will become the first pair of teammates to both reach the 1,000 career point milestone, dubbing them the “highest scoring duo” in Pirate history.
Like Lucas, Cameron recognizes that individual milestones are not the final goal, and he has his focus already on next season.
“We really want to win our division and just go from there,” said Reese, “As a team, we want to get the ball moving and get everyone involved. That’s what good teams do. I want to make a playoff run and hopefully have a chance at state.”
Reese and Walker will be joined next season by Preston Humes, a soon-to-be third-year varsity basketball player. Humes earned an honorable mention in the All-Sunrise voting.
However, the Pirates will be without Kashten Frei, who also received recognition as an honorable mention, and Houston Neilson, who was named to the Second Team All-Sunrise Division.
If there was an award for most improved player, it may as well be named in Neilson’s honor. His impressive leap from role player in 2019 to team-leading rebounder and reliable sharpshooter in 2020 played a pivotal role in bringing Moapa Valley back to playoff basketball.
“Houston took the biggest jump,” said Coach Walker. “He didn’t get a lot of minutes his junior year because he was on a really deep team and he worked so hard in the fall and summer.”
Neilson’s own teammates recognized the improvements too.
“He just went to work in the weight room,” Lucas said. “He went crazy; he was always in the gym. I think he was the only one probably in there more than I was, and that kind of motivated me.”
While Neilson and Frei have since graduated, hopes remain high for next season.
“I think next year’s team will be the best I’ve seen in four or five years,” Coach Walker said. “They’ll be really fast and could be the best shooting team we’ve ever seen.”
Walker also noted that next year’s squad will have ten combined years of varsity experience.
Walker and Reese’s improvements, alongside returning faces like Preston Humes and three-point marksman Peyton Neilson, are reasons to buy stock in the future of Pirate basketball.
“I feel that one of either us, Boulder City, or Elko is going to step up and win the state championship,” Coach Walker said. “It’s perfect timing for what I believe is our best chance to go to state.”
