Lucas Viale '22 Recruiting Profile

I have always had chips on my shoulder. Throughout most of my middle school days in travel and school, I got little playing time for my teams. I always aspired to have a prominent role on a basketball team, so I worked every day to improve my skills and basketball IQ. In 9th grade, I managed to start for the varsity team and put up decent numbers in 10th grade, with a career-high of 26 points that year and other 10+ point performances. 

Everything was going so well until my junior year (11th grade). Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, my school decided to cancel the entire basketball season. Given that I have been training all summer in 2020,  I was devastated that I couldn't play in the year that I was expected to boom. 

BUT I DID NOT LET THIS STOP ME. I continued to work hard and train. On evenings after online classes, I worked on my skills and game IQ by playing pickup and doing drills I created myself. I went for runs to work on cardio and lifted weights to build strength. Throughout all of summer 2021, I worked on getting better with my trainer, and I got a job to be able to pay my trainer. 

This brings us to January 2022: during my senior year basketball season.  The work I put in during the one-year hiatus is paying off as I average over 18 points per game and reached a new career-high of 28 points. I am now considered the primary scoring option for my high school team. 

BUT THE JOURNEY IS NOT OVER. The fact that I had to wait over a year to show coaches, teammates, and other teams how I can perform on the court still motivates me. I have been doubted and overlooked, but that only makes me want to get better. I LOVE being the underdog...I EMBRACE IT.