Luke Eddy is making a strong case for high school basketball player of the year in the Mountain State. The senior point guard for George Washington High School is averaging nearly 30 points a game in what many considered a rebuilding season for the Patriots, who entered the week 13-4.
Longtime coach Rick Greene was all smiles when discussing one of the key cogs who led GW to a 2011 Class AAA title and a runner-up finish last year. Greene said Eddy was already a good player when he first arrived at high school, he’s just smoothed out some edges.
“We knew he was going to be a really good guard, just watching his whole career going back to middle school,” Greene said. “The career he has had doesn’t surprise me at all. But he’s gone from being a good player to being maybe a great player. He’s taken a phase of his game every year and gotten better about it.”
Eddy isn’t afraid of taking the big shot when the game is on the line either. In a recent overtime win over Capital, Eddy scored seven of his team’s eight points in the extra session — a game in which he finished with 33 points. It was just another example that in pressure situations, Eddy wants the ball, just like he did when he hit the game-winning shot against Martinsburg in last year’s state tournament.
“He’s willing to take the shot and take the consequences with it, good or bad,” Greene said. “A lot of scorers, and even really good players, don’t want to do that. But he doesn’t flinch, and if the ball is in his hands late, then we’re fine. We’ll sure take our chances with that.”
This year’s GW team hasn’t always won pretty, but has learned how to win close games — something that will be key in postseason play. Eddy has signed to play basketball at Elon.
“I think it’s a great choice for him,” Greene said. “He’s going to go play and I think he will play immediately. I think he’ll have an excellent career. He’s very encouraged about where he’ll fit in academically and where he’ll fit in with their program.”