BENTONVILLE -- Hunter Loy's quickest improvement came at the same time he learned he needed to slow things down a little bit.
"I had to slow down and think," Bentonville's senior guard said. "On the court, I have to think and take baby steps, whether it was on offense or defense. I think that's one of the big areas I had to focus on this year.
State basketball finals
at Bank of the Ozarks, Hot Springs
Today’s Schedule
Class 7A boys
Bentonville vs. North Little Rock, 11 a.m.
Class 7A girls
Conway vs. Fayetteville, 12:45 p.m.
Class 2A boys
England vs. Junction City, 2:30 p.m.
Class 2A girls
Marmaduke vs. England, 4:15 p.m.
Class 5A boys
Little Rock McClellan vs. Maumelle, 6 p.m.
Class 5A girls
Pulaski Academy vs. Hot Springs, 7:45 p.m.
Thursday’s Scores
Class 3A boys
Little Rock Episcopal 55, Mayflower 40
Class 3A girls
Greenland 72, Valley Springs 53
Class 1A boys
Bay 83, Emerson 56
Class 1A girls
Nemo Vista 32, Wonderview 30
"Things have slowed down so tremendously. As the season gradually went on, I had guys like Malik Monk, Trent Carter and Jordan Hemphill helping me out, telling me to take my time and don't let the defense speed you up because that's what they want you to do."
That kind of progress has made Loy the kind of outside scoring threat opposing teams must be careful not to leave alone. He started the season on a positive note when he had 11 points in Bentonville's win over St. Louis Chaminade, including a clutch 3-pointer in the fourth quarter when Chaminade attempted to make a comeback.
Bentonville coach Jason McMahan still refers to that game as a "coming-out party" for the season, and he calls the senior "one of the favorite kids that he's ever coached."
"His personality and his hard work -- all those things that make up who he is -- are just a joy," McMahan said. "Hunter is very unique because he is super fun-loving and everybody respects him and loves him, and he has an unintentional comedy about himself.
"He's so laid back, and that's really unique to translate that into his basketball game because he's so intense and so passionate in the games. As far as everybody on the team, players and coaches alike, he's probably one of their favorite guys."
Nothing came easy for Loy as far as basketball is concerned, and McMahan marvels at the dedication Loy has shown during that time. He had to work his way up the ropes and played on the sophomore and junior varsity teams through his first two years with the Tigers, and he spent a lot of time away from practices to hone his shooting skills.
His Monday and Wednesday classes didn't begin until 8:55 a.m., but he would arrive at school much earlier that. He could be found in the gym, where he and assistant coach Brandon Cole had sessions that involved talking about shooting, working on shooting and prayer.
"I would come in, and coach Cole and I would have one-on-one conversations about my form," Loy said. "He's a great shooter and won awards for shooting so well. I wanted to be that kind of person on the team: to where I have my shot down and if the team needed a 3-pointer or a big-time shot, I could be that type of player to knock that shot down."
Now Loy gets to wrap up his career the way every high school basketball player wants -- stepping out on the floor with a state championship at stake. He simply sees it as a reward for spending six days a week in the gym in practice the past few months -- as well as the extra time on his own working on his skills -- and not taking anything for granted.
McMahan couldn't have agreed more.
"It's a really unique thing for a senior to get a lot better," McMahan said. "Hunter's done that every year of his career, really. He took the hard road, and most kids can't stand that much adversity. They want stuff before it's time.
"That's the cool part of Hunter. He just enjoys the game and enjoys basketball. You don't get that every year out of one person."
Henry Apple can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAHenry
Sports on 03/14/2015