South Royalton
The Royals last spring graduated one of its most productive senior classes in recent memory, including career 1,361-point scorer Nicholas Howe and his Upper Valley-leading 27.1 points per game. South Royalton’s next two leading scorers, Dalton McDougall and Andy Moore, are also gone, part of the combined exodus of 83 percent of the scoring from last year’s Vermont Division IV quarterfinalists.
South Royalton is benefiting from at least one major piece to help compensate, thanks to the surprise arrival of former Rochester star Troy Walker. Walker, a junior, possesses a rare blend of strength and speed and scored 1,160 points during three years with the Rockets. The Vermont Principals Association allows eighth-grade varsity participation for small schools, given Walker a head start on reaching the plateau.
Rochester’s hoops team entered a cooperative with Bethel’s Whitcomb High for both schools’ final season this winter. Whitcomb’s building will be utilized as the new district’s middle school, and Rochester’s high school is closing. Rochester will begin to tuition out students as part of a newly formed merger with neighboring Stockbridge beginning next year.
Walker’s coach with the Rockets, Earl Kingsbury, this winter is coaching Whitcomb-Rochester, a squad that includes two of Walker’s former teammates. Rather than remain a Rochester student, Walker opted to transfer to South Royalton this school year for the sake of continuity during his final two years of high school. Both Bethel’s and Royalton’s high school students — as well as school-choice students from neighboring towns such as Rochester — will attend the current South Royalton School under a new to-be-determined name next fall.
“It was clear that Rochester was a sinking ship, and I had to get out,” said Walker following a recent Royals’ practice. “Rather than go to Whitcomb this year and then have to come here as a senior, I just wanted to be in the same place for two years. I miss guys like Nick Doyle and Dan Labejsza (both former Rockets now with Whitchester), but I want to play in college and I thought this would be a good fit for my last two years.”
So far, it has been for the 6-foot, 200-pound Walker, known nearly as much for his weight room dedication as his talents on the hardwood. Walker is averaging 20.5 points through two games with the Royals (0-2) even while still becoming accustomed to coach Pete Howe’s system and while still jelling with his new teammates.
South Royalton captains Connor Lambert and Jake Hewitt, the team’s lone returning starters, approve.
“He’s a good kid on and off the court, a good guy to have around,” said Hewitt, a junior guard. “On the court, he’s really going to help us. He’s an explosive player. It’s tough to slow him down. He’s still getting used to our defense a little bit, but he’s definitely getting the hang of it.”
Lambert said Walker’s intelligence has stood out.
“He plays basketball year-round, which you can tell. He has great knowledge for the game,” Lambert said. “Because of that, he didn’t play soccer with us, so we’re getting used to playing with him, but it’s been smooth.”
Asked to name his strengths, Walker pointed to his work ethic both on the floor and in the gym, qualities both Howe and Kingsbury echoed.
Kingsbury, who admits he’d love to have Walker’s offense aboard Whitchester this winter, coached both Walker and his older brother, Clay, who won a D-IV title with the Rockets in 2013.
“He’s bigger than his older brother, and he’s pretty agile for his size,” said Kingsbury, who noted that Walker transferred to South Royalton before he himself had committed to coaching Whitcomb-Rochester. “Clay’s a little quicker, but Troy more than makes up for it, because he works hard and he’s extremely strong.”
One potential hindrance to Walker’s production this season could be the Royals’ strength of schedule, which includes eight games against Division II or III opponents. His first test against a larger school went well on Thursday at Mount St. Joseph, Walker scoring a season-high 21 points against the 2017 D-II semifinalists.
“He’s going to hold his own,” Kingsbury said. “The fact that he’s quicker than most guys his size is going to help him.”
South Royalton’s 83-47 loss to the Mounties sent them to 0-2, its first back-to-back losses to start the season since 2012.
“It was a good game for us, to play that level of competition,” said Howe, in his fifth year with the Royals. “Some teams don’t like to play up, but we think it helps us.”
Hewitt added 11 points against MSJ, the only double-figures performance by a Royal other than Walker so far this season.
As South Royalton adjusts to its revamped lineup, Walker is hopeful the team won’t rely on him too heavily — even if it means fewer of his own points to pad his career totals.
“The goal is to get to (the semifinals and finals at Barre Auditorium),” said Walker, whose Rockets were ousted in the first round during all three of his seasons at Rochester. “The only way we’re going to get to Barre is if everyone gets involved.”
Howe thinks that can happen by simply executing fundamentals.
“For us, it’s all about great defense and taking care of the ball. We have to keep in mind that every turnover is worth two points — two points off of our board and two points on the opponent’s if they take it down and score,” Howe said. “Offensively, we don’t need to do anything too fancy. Our players know the game and will stick to what they can do.”
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.