Faith Lutheran boys hope close defeats, injuries to key players are behind them

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Dec. 6, 2010 | 5:06 p.m.

Bret Walter is the longest tenured high school basketball coach in the Las Vegas Valley. His five state titles are also a record.

Walter, in his 14th year at the helm of the program at Faith Lutheran, has seen it all during his time with the Summerlin private school.

Now, he’s hoping that experience will translate into championships on the state’s biggest stage.

Walter coached Faith Lutheran to four 3A state titles and one 2A championship before the school moved into the 4A classification last year. They went 10-16 and missed the playoffs in their initial year in the 4A, struggling with injuries to key players in missing the playoffs.

Faith Lutheran lost six games by four points or less in showing they can compete in the large-school classification and gaining valuable experience for this winter..

The most significant injury last year happened to forward Brett Lubbe, who is arguably the program’s top player. Lubbe missed most of the league season, when Faith Lutheran dropped those games by a few points.

“If we can stay healthy, we’ll be competitive,” Walter said. “We are hoping to hold the shop together and compete for a full season.”

With everyone healthy, Walter expects his team to be in the thick of the playoff race in the competitive Northwest Division.

The 6-foot-2, 225 Lubbe is solid in the post, combining with senior forward Greg Thomas and junior guard Sam Done to give the Crusaders a formidable lineup.

Regardless of the classification his team plays in, Walter always preaches the same message: “The first thing is taking care of the fundamentals,” he said. “We know what we have to get better at and we are working on that everyday.”