EASTVALE, CALIFORNIA — Shortly after a 58-51 win over St. John Bosco, Roosevelt boys basketball coach Stephen Singleton was emotional.
It wasn’t because his Mustangs went 4-0 in pool play and advanced to a second straight Open Division final. It wasn’t because they held stars Brandon McCoy and Elzie Harrington to a combined 12 points. It wasn’t because Roosevelt turned the Braves over 17 times. It wasn’t because Brayden Burries scored 33 points.
It was because he was talking about his senior point guard Myles Walker.
“He’s the heart and soul of this team,” a choked up Singleton said. “We’re not here without Myles Walker. I’m so thankful for him. It almost brings me to tears to know how blessed I am to have a young man like that.”
When asked to describe his game, the 5-foot-9 Walker delivered a heartfelt self-evaluation that screamed, ‘team, team, team’ — not, ‘me, me, me’.
“I play 110% for my team. I do all the little things to make sure we win,” Walker said. “I’m 94 feet the whole game.”
Walker is a pest. An absolute spark plug that can speed up a game on his own because of his ability to pressure a ball handler. He can flip a game on its head with a steal. He can bring the crowd to its feet with a great back-door pass.
“He’s a winner,” Singleton said. “We’ve won a lot of games because of him.”
Walker is part of a monster trio at Roosevelt alongside McDonald’s All-American Brayden Burries (who scored 33 points in the win over Bosco), and New Mexico commit Issac Williamson. The three have been playing basketball together since grade school and are a combined 62-6 the last two seasons.
Walker’s skillset serves as the glue to Roosevelt’s success.
“Gorilla glue,” Singleton said laughing.
The three will lead the Mustangs to a second straight CIF Southern Section Open Division final when they take on Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks on Saturday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Toyota Arena in Ontario.
Walker averages 11.9 points, 7.1 assists and 4.0 steals per game while shooting 41% from downtown, but is uncommitted. The speedy, crafty guard tallied seven points, five rebounds, six assists and three steals in Roosevelt’s win over St. John Bosco.
Despite Walker’s talent, winning basketball and the ultimate praise from his head coach, colleges aren’t lining up for his services — though he does have one scholarship offer to UC Irvine. The biggest criticism of Walker is his small stature.
“He’s physically small, but his true size lies in the heart he plays this game with,” Singleton said. “I promise that coaches that are passing on him will regret it. A coach that takes him will be glad they did. I garauntee you that.”
Walker’s high school career is coming to close, whether Roosevelt goes on to win everything or not. There are only a few games left to showcase his collegiate ability. But, of course, he’s not worried about himself.
“I think I deserve some more attention, sure,” Walker said of his recruitment. “But I’m not too concerned about it. I’m focused on this team and playing hard — that’s never going to change.”
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