- April 16, 2024
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There isn’t much Armani Walker can’t do on the hardwood.
She’s poised, she can drive to the basket, she can shoot the jumper and she can rebound.
And she is also a first-class thief, with 89 steals through the team’s first 15 games.
Just a sophomore, Walker, the undisputed leader and superstar of the Flagler Palm Coast Lady Bulldogs basketball team, has already established herself as an elite talent.
But, there is one part of her game that her coach is unhappy with.
Earlier this season against crosstown Matanzas, the Lady Bulldogs trailed most of the way.
In order to avoid its first ever loss to the Lady Pirates, FPC coach Javier Bevacqua needed his superstar to do what she does best: Put Matanzas away. And so he called a timeout to relay his message to Walker.
The point guard understood, as she went on to score 11 of FPC’s final 13 points, leading the Lady Bulldogs to a 60-55 win. Walker tallied a career-high 35 points in the game.
This was just another learning experience in Walker’s basketball education.
“Armani is so humble that she doesn’t realize how good she really is,” Bevacqua said on Thursday, one day before FPC would host district foe Sandalwood. “When she finally realizes her full potential, then everyone will have to be careful. Right now, she lets defenses off the hook, and coaches know it.”
It’s a tricky situation for Walker, who is averaging a double-double this season with 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and six steals per game. Her stats jump out of the box score game after game. But she has more, and Bevacqua knows it.
“I feel like I want my team to be involved,” Walker said Thursday with a bright smile as she dribbled a basketball on the desk in an office in the corner of the FPC gym. “I don’t want anybody to think that I’m a ball hog.”
It’s ironic, really.
Walker’s hoops idol is Kobe Bryant — the prototypical “ball hog” who has won five NBA titles and is all but a lock for the Hall of Fame. When it comes to crunch time, the ball gets into Bryant’s hands. He wants the ball, and the coaches, players and fans want him to have the ball. That’s what Bevacqua envisions for Walker.
“We’re constantly in her ear telling her to take the game over, do what you need to do,” Bevacqua said. “The rest of the team is going to fall in place. Armani needs to do what she can do — if she can score 30 points a game, then do it. Don’t limit yourself to 20.”
Walker made the FPC varsity team as a freshman and has played the majority of the minutes over the past one-and-a-half seasons.
This season, she’s taking more shots and taking control of more games, which has a lot to do with FPC’s 11-4 start.
A lot of Walker’s maturity is because of her relationship with Bevacqua. Since she made the team as a ninth-grader, she has eaten lunch with her coach every day.
That means a lot to Bevacqua, who takes pride in how close his 11 varsity players are.
“It’s special because when you can get along with a player outside of the sport — when you can put the sport aside and have something in common — it’s more fulfilling,” he said. “When you have a friendship with players, usually those are the stronger teams.”
The strong bond will be key as FPC heads into the final stretch of its schedule and into the district tournament.
Two of FPC’s four losses came at the hands of Sandalwood and Mandarin. Because FPC lost its first two district games, the Lady Bulldogs will play in the play-in game to make it to the District 1-8A championship. The good news for Bevacqua is the district tournament will be held at FPC this season, which makes Walker smile even wider. She likes playing at home.
“If we can’t win one game to get in, then we don’t deserve to get in,” Bevacqua said. “And if we can’t win one game at home, that’s a shame.”
Fortunately, he has Walker leading the way.
