WEST MILFORD — On Jan. 18, West Milford High School senior boy’s basketball player Luke Basket reached the impressive 1,000-point plateau. While the feat itself is certainly commendable and worth noting, it doesn’t define everything that Basket has meant to the Highlander program for the past four years and what the program has meant to him.
Basket reached the milestone as part of a 31-point effort in an 87-66 victory over St. Mary's of Rutherford.
“Some of the things I enjoy most about playing basketball for the Highlanders are the way Coach (John) Finke has been pushing me since I was a freshman (and) the way our team plays for each other and also how bad we want to win,” Basket said. “To play West Milford basketball, you have to be super competitive. We love competition here and we never back down from any challenge.”
Basket speaks of some of the emotions that he feels having achieved a significant goal.
“It is a big milestone that after watching (former West Milford star) Justin Sofman play when I was younger I knew I wanted to accomplish,” Basket said. “It was a dream come true. I'm proud, but at the same time, I'm not satisfied. I still need to get better every day for my team.”
Finke knows exactly what Basket means to the Highlander program and knows that a student-athlete of his caliber deserves his accolades.
“I treat Luke as if he were my own son,” Finke said. “We have become very close. I can be hard on him, but I can also appreciate how hard he has worked to become a complete basketball player. He has shown the younger players how hard it is to play at a high level.
“Luke is the leader of this team. The guys look up to him and know that he has earned everything that has come to him. He is a vocal leader, but nobody works harder than him on the court and in the off season. Luke is very dedicated. He is a high energy, emotional player which helps to get the team motivated. Luke is an excellent ball handler. He can drive the ball to the basket, he can shoot the threes and he plays good defense.”
The coach and his standout senior leader both want what’s best for the Highlander program.
“We are starting to improve on defense,” Finke said. “I think our rebounding has gotten better and we are moving the ball up the court quicker, but still not quick enough. We take each game one at a time. We want to build on our successes, but learn from the things we are weaker at. We would love to get a home game in the (NJSIAA Sectional) playoffs and win the Independence Division of the Big North Conference.”