Prospect Spotlight: Lukas Maly (2017)
Lukas Maly was so disappointed Arvada West had ended up on the wrong side of a back-and-forth, 80-77 overtime loss to the Far Northeast Warriors on Dec. 22 that he hadn’t given any though to his final line. “Somebody told…
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Continue ReadingLukas Maly was so disappointed Arvada West had ended up on the wrong side of a back-and-forth, 80-77 overtime loss to the Far Northeast Warriors on Dec. 22 that he hadn’t given any though to his final line.
“Somebody told me after the game and I was still pretty upset about the loss,” Maly said. “We’ve lost four games by less than three points this season — two in overtime — so this one really got me beat. So I didn’t have that big of an initial reaction.”
Still, there was no discounting a 42-point performance Maly put together against the Warriors, the highest by a 5A player in Colorado this season.
Maly went 14-of-21 from the field, including a 7-of-12 performance from 3-point range. He also hit 7-of-8 free throws.
“I was finding my opening on the 3-point line, getting open and shooting open shots,” Maly said. “My teammates were really looking for me, which was good, because it opened up driving lanes. They really helped me find my shot, and they were falling for me that night.”
Arvada West lost a lot from last year’s team, including two Division I players in 7-footer Dallas Walton and point guard Luke Neff, who is now at the University of the Denver.
The 5-11 Maly knew he was going to have to elevate his game as a senior in order to make up for what the Wildcats lost, which also included juco-bound wing Will Wittman.
“With all the young guys we have, I knew I had to step up and be a leader,” Maly said. “I actually talked to Luke Neff, and he told me it was my team and I needed to lead it. I just thought I could bring some of that knowledge to some of the younger guys on the team.”
Many, who is averaging better than 20 points per game, is also a standout baseball player and is open to playing either sport in college. He hasn’t picked up much in the way of recruiting interest in basketball yet, but he’d have a shot to be a good Division III or NAIA player with his ability to shoot the ball, and his toughness gives him big upside as well.