Senior Lucas Spring has spent his entire schooling at Trinity Classical Academy.
Now after spending most of his life in the school, his name will last forever in the record books.
Spring, a four-year varsity player, broke Trinity boys’ basketball’s all-time scoring record in the team’s regular-season finale with Rio Hondo Prep. The senior broke the record to the surprise of just him and no one else on the bench.
“He had no idea,” said Knights coach Dan Hebert. “We didn’t tell him anything before. I just said congratulations to him after and he didn’t know what I was talking about. He just said, ‘Let’s go,’ and was very excited. He’s a mellow dude and he’s humble. We told his teammates and they got excited for him. I think he was excited and humbled by what they did.”
The Knights made a stellar playoff run that reached the CIF quarterfinals.
The senior finishes his Trinity tenure with several records, including most career points with 1,548. Spring also broke the single-season scoring record by over 200 points, and finished his senior campaign with 687.
Never shying away from an open 3-pointer, Spring also etched himself in the record books as both the single-season and all-time leader in 3-balls. Spring totaled 347 of them in his career. The senior knocked down 141 shots from behind the arc this season, which was more than any other Knight had in their entire career.
Most importantly, Spring set a new program record with 76 wins and was integral to the team reaching at least the second round of the postseason throughout his four years in a Knights jersey.
Spring shined as a shooter in his younger years but improved tremendously as an all-around player.
“He’s been a great shooter for four years, but this year, he’s become this dominant player,” Hebert said. “He dunks in games all the time. He’s guarding centers for us this year, which is new. He’s just been a complete player and has been growing every year. He’s gotten better and better, more confident, and stronger. He really put in the work.”
Hebert originally thought Spring wouldn’t come up to varsity immediately, let alone start. However, even as a freshman, his shooting impressed the coaching staff consistently at practice.
“We had to practice outside because of COVID so we had parents pulling up their cars to put lights on the courts for us,” Hebert said. “We had a really good team, those first two years and so our plan was Lucas wasn’t going to play, but we were impressed with him. So, our first thoughts was, ‘Oh, he’s going to be good one day.’ Then every week or two, it would turn into, ‘OK, this guy is going to practice. I need him at every practice, he just shoots too well.’ Then next thing you know, it’s our first game and he’s starting.”
The senior made numerous jumps in play, stats, and growth over the years but last year was tasked with becoming a leader. Spring entered the program with several older Knights guiding him but this season was his time to lead.
“That was definitely learned, and specifically this year, his first two years he was behind a lot of older guys that had a lot of experience, and were good, strong leaders,” Hebert said. “Then he was kind of forced directly from not really being a leader into being the leader last year. I think he learned a lot in that and he’s been able to really show all those things he’s learned this year. Sometimes we’ll have him and the other captain just run practice. He’s a natural leader. People want to follow him.”
The roster filled out with standouts at multiple positions this season, allowing the scoring machine to play his natural position of shooting guard.
“If you just look at numbers, he made a big jump in his junior year because he was asked to do more,” Hebert said. “But I really think this year was his biggest jump because of who we have on the team around him. He was able to play his actual position. Last year, he couldn’t do that. So I think this was his best year in many ways and it also shows statistically because he has more points than he’s ever had. You can just see it in the way he’s playing, he’s super comfortable. He’s just bigger, faster, stronger now and still shoots just like when he was a freshman.”
Spring has also shined academically, leaving his coach with no idea where the senior finds the time to be a nearly perfect student while still giving so much to the basketball team.
“I can’t say enough about how hard he works,” Hebert said. “In the offseason, we would have practices in the summer. He would be at the gym before and after practice. Quite frankly, I don’t understand how the guy has a 4.8 GPA. He’s the captain of the basketball team. He’s the captain of his house at Trinity. The guy does everything and he does it all really well. I can’t say enough about how much he puts into basketball and his life.”
Hebert knows Spring’s basketball journey won’t end at Trinity, as the soon-to-be college freshman has a lot of hoops left in front of him. Spring remains uncommitted but is looking to find the best fit for the elite three-level scorer.
However, the coach doesn’t limit Spring’s high ceiling to just basketball, as the senior’s future looks as bright, if not brighter than his career on the court.
“I think in the next few years, he’s going to be playing basketball somewhere and he has an enormous ceiling to how good he can be,” Hebert said. “The guy’s a genius, academically and the sweetest kid. He’s in the running for valedictorian. He’s just a great kid, and he can really do whatever he wants in life. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
