KODAK — Christian Walsh caught a pass in the paint at Northview Academy earlier this summer.
He spun, ducked around the defender and jumped to lay the ball off the glass with his left hand.
A day later, he ran ahead of Haiden McMahan at Anderson County, accepting a bounce pass for an easy bucket to follow a put-back Walsh had made a couple possessions earlier.
These moments summarize Walsh’s effectiveness for Cosby this summer, as he seeks to make his mark in his first real glimpse at the varsity level.
“Walsh, he has not had a single minute of quality varsity minutes coming into this summer,” said Cosby coach Kurry Cody, who coached Walsh at the junior varsity level last year. “So he’s almost like playing a freshman at the varsity level, because has only played JV after being on a freshman team his first year.”
The concept of a rising junior sliding into the varsity level for the first time is nothing new for Cosby or any other team.
But the view is literally different for Walsh, who stands at 6-foot-4 after growing tremendously in his first two years of high school.
“Man, he hit a tremendous growth spurt,” said Cody. “He was 5-foot-10 his freshman year, and he’s 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 now.”
Because of that size, Cody is expecting Walsh to contribute in a major way for the Eagles this coming season.
“I thought at the beginning of the summer that he was not being as active as he should be,” Cody said, “Not going for rebounds, not being in the right position offensively.”
Over time, though, Walsh began flashing his skill set, which could pay off in dividends for the Eagles.
“We kept preaching that,” said Cody, “and we kept saying, ‘Walsh is playing better, Walsh had a good game today, he looked better out there.’ His development will be a huge part of our success as a team.”
How so, exactly? Not just with his size — which will come in handy for Cosby — but with his ability to stretch the floor, as shown in the aforementioned exchange with McMahan.
“Obviously we don’t have lot of size, so he will be a five man,” said Cody. “He can step out and knock down a three, so he will be a perimeter threat.
“But I mainly want him to work on the inside, because if he gets a little stronger, he will be hard to handle.”
That strength will be necessary for a Cosby team that is looking to replace the output of Mack Holt, who gritted his way to success on the boards and in the paint despite being a few inches shorter than his opponents.
“Further on down the road, a good team will have a really good post player, maybe two,” said Cody. “(Walsh) can block shots, he’s long and lanky. So having an inside presence like that will only benefit you in the long run.”
“You can’t teach 6-4,” he added. “It’s good to have, and I am excited for him.”
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