By Brennan Stebbins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
From an outsider’s perspective it’d be easy to say Lane Dunlap spent the last three years playing in Arlo Stump’s shadow.
Stump is the most prolific scorer in Golden City basketball history; he finished with 2,734 points in his career, scored at least 30 points more than 30 times and tallied 47 once in a game against Dadeville. Last season he helped guide the Eagles to a 27-3 record and a third-place finish in Class 1.
“If you’re out of the Golden City community then yeah, you’re probably correct where he was in Arlo’s shadow the last three years,” head coach Michael Reeves said last week.
“Out of this area everybody knew of Arlo,” he said. “Everybody in Golden City I can promise you knew Lane Dunlap and they knew he deserved more than what he was getting for write-ups and everything. Lane didn’t let that bother him. He’s a great teammate. He knew Arlo deserved all of that and his time would come.”
Dunlap – who’s averaging 26.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during Golden City’s 15-4 start – is not a breakout star. He entered the week just eight points shy of 1,900 for his career, and eight rebounds away from 900. He’s got 13 30-point games to his credit and scored 48 against Verona last year. He scored 39, 33 and 45 in a recent three-game stretch and is averaging 29 points this season against ranked opponents.
Dunlap grew up playing basketball with Stump said he didn’t mind doing the dirty work and grabbing rebounds while Stump led the offense.
“But he never really had the mindset that he was going to go out and get the buckets or do whatever because he was always a team-first player,” Dunlap said. “It was honestly a great experience getting to play with him for three years.”
While Stump solidified his legacy at Golden City with 2,000 points and a Final Four appearance, Dunlap said it’s going to take more than personal accolades for himself to be remembered.
“The story for Lane is he wants to be one of Golden City’s bests,” Reeves said. “There’s no way he’s going to break the school record for points because of Arlo so the next best thing to do is just go out there and be a leader and be the first team in school history to make two Final Fours. That’s Lane’s and our team’s goal to build a legacy in being the first team to ever do that.”
“Our school has only had one state appearance I believe and we finished second,” he said. “We’ve never won a state title and that’s a big motivation for me. I want to solidify my team in our school history. If we could go do something in our school history we’ve never done. Going to the Final Four back-to-back has never happened.”
Dunlap’s path to greatness started with hours spent at the park playing pickup games and spinning the ball off the backboard. Playing against an older brother and his friends helped develop some of the eye-popping talent now on full display.
“I had to constantly play with older, stronger and smarter people every day,” he said.
That forced a young Dunlap to be creative with his shots, to be able to score “without getting blocked or beat up all the time.”
Reeves now describes Dunlap as the best player he’s ever seen at being able to control his body.
“That’s nothing you can teach, that’s just something a kid either has or they don’t have,” he said. “It’s the argument I’ve been having with officials this year. It looks like he’s out of control but in all honesty he’s not. He’s well in control with what he’s doing with his body. He knows what he’s doing. He’s practiced those tough finishes where he starts from the left side of the floor, leans over to the right side of the floor – his body looks sideways – and he’s a strong kid that gets those shots up.”
They’re the kind of shots Reeves would frown on others taking, and the coach frequently bites his tongue. But he noted that Dunlap has proven over and over he can make those shots and he’s a 61 percent two-point field goal shooter for his career. He’s also a 36-percent shooter from three-point range.
As a four-year starter, Dunlap has averaged 12.8, 16.5, 18.6 and now 26.9 points per game. And he’s also racked up 200 career steals and is averaging 2.4 assists per game this year.
While his ability to contort his body and finish at the rim can make for must-see moments, Reeves views Dunlap’s basketball IQ as his best asset. He knows how to read and manipulate opposing defenses to create opportunities for himself and his teammates.
His ability was on full display in a home game against Marionville last month. Trailing 67-65 with seconds remaining, Dunlap took an inbounds pass and worked past a pair of defenders before putting up an underhanded layup from several feet out at the buzzer. His shot sent the game to overtime, where Golden City won 80-73.
“Lane went rogue,” Reeves said after the game, noting he had drawn up a completely different play. But Dunlap read the defense and drove to the other side of the court.
Of course, Dunlap is far from the only weapon at Golden City’s disposal this season. He’s one of three Eagles players averaging double digits in scoring. Sophomore Josh Reeves is averaging 15.1 points and senior Chain Parrill is averaging 13. Senior Seth Miller averages 9.9 rebounds and 3.6 blocks.
In a 69-55 win against state-ranked Thomas Jefferson last week, senior Matthew Weiser scored 24 points on eight three pointers. He was one of four Golden City players in double figures; Dunlap had 17.
“Having four people in double digits has been the most fun I’ve had all year,” Dunlap said.
A dual-sport, dual-school standout
Dunlap was also a standout football player for Lockwood, which partners with Golden City in the fall, and earned first team All-State honors as a linebacker last year. He was the Southwest Conference defensive player of the year and also a first team All-Conference running back. Lockwood went 9-2 and lost in the district championship.
It was a weird experience for Reeves, watching his star basketball player suit up for a rival school.
“If they would have kept winning in the playoffs he would have missed a game,” he said. “We wanted Lockwood to keep winning games but at the same time I wanted our player back.”
Dunlap never felt like an outcast at Lockwood. He was around those players and parents since third grade and said he never felt like he was playing for a different team.
And the two sports are equal in his eyes.
“As long as I’m in football season my mind’s never really on basketball,” he said. “I’m dedicated to that one sport at the time. I owe it to my teammates. It’s always a weird feeling trying to make sure they know I’m still 100 percent with them, the same thing as if I’m playing Lockwood with Golden City. I want my teammates to know I’m 100 percent with them.”
“He’s just an all-around player for everything,” Reeves said. “He’s talking about colleges. He just wants to go where he has the best opportunity, regardless of what sport it is. I know he takes it personal if you do just call him a football player. He does consider himself a basketball player as well and I consider him one too.”
