AUSTIN, Texas — Five years ago, Westlake High School had one of the most talented boys basketball teams in the state and even the country. The 2017-2018 Chaps roster featured four highly rated recruits

What You Need To Know

  • 2017-2018 Westlake team won 19 straight games at one point in the season

  • They reached the state tournament for the first time in program history

  • The Chaps lost in the state semifinals to Allen

  • All five starters play in college, four play at the Division 1 level

“It was a bunch of light-hearted guys that loved winning and loved each other,” said Matthew Mayer, a senior forward on that team. “It was a lot of fun.”

“That year was one of the best years of my life,” said Will Baker, a junior center on the team at the time. “I look back on that year with a lot of gratefulness and the more time that has passed, the more I’ve come to appreciate it.”

The starting five for that group were Brock Cunningham (Texas), Will Baker (Nevada), Keonte Kennedy (Memphis), Matthew Mayer (Illinois) and Luke Pluymen (Sul Ross St.). All five are still playing college basketball, and four of them at the Division 1 level and are key contributors for teams that all have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s really cool for me to watch them do so well and be like, ‘Yeah, we were all on the same team,’ and I’m rooting for them,” said Mayer.

“[To] grow up in those formative years with those guys and see them go on and play at such a high level has been a lot of fun,” said Cunningham.

“We’ve seen it coming. The sacrifices we make with each other and now see each other in different places having fun, doing their thing is a blessing,” said Kennedy.

All those guys did sacrifice some of their individual success in high school for the betterment of the team. They were able to mesh their skills into a winning group.

“It was really easy because we all complemented each other, we all played different positions,” said Kennedy. “We all had different skill sets and were able to mesh and come together as one.”

While that Westlake team got along during games, it was the practices that got heated. Coach Lucero pushed those guys to compete in practice and that led to some intense workouts.

“The practices definitely would get a little chippy here and there,” said Baker. “Team conflict isn’t a bad thing. It does bring everyone together.”

“It’s not a good practice until somebody gets fired up at somebody else, because that’s what the game is like,” said Robert Lucero, the Westlake head coach. 

That core group first played together at Westlake during the 2016-2017 season. That year, they went 29-7 and in the regional finals lost on a last-second shot to San Antonio Wagner. The following season, they came back determined to go further — and they did. Late that year, the Chaps won 19 straight games and beat rival Lake Travis to reach the state tournament for the first time in Westlake history. In their state semifinal game, they saw their season come to an end with a 70-55 loss to Allen. In that game, Allen shot over 65% from the field and only missed one shot in the second half. Meanwhile, Westlake shot just 41% overall and just 27% from three-point range.

“I try to get away from it honestly because [of] how upsetting it was,” said Kennedy. “How much talent and potential we had, not just the best team in the state but one of the best teams in the country.”

“It’s not a night I wish I had back. I just think it shows the emphasis of why every state needs a shot clock,” said Mayer. “It’s just absolutely ridiculous there’s not a shot clock in high school basketball yet.”

“You get emotional about it because you weren’t the coach you wish you could have been for those guys,” said Lucero. “They taught you so much and they worked so hard, but we learned a ton together and I wouldn’t change anything. You just wish you could’ve been better for them during that time.”

The lessons learned from that game and that team have helped these guys find success in college. Cunningham has been a big part of UT’s success this season as a force off the bench and has improved his shooting.

“He’s one of those guys that everyone says, ‘I don’t want to play against him.’ But you pick him first on your team,” said Lucero of Cunningham.

“He’s the ultimate winner. He’ll do whatever it takes,” said Mayer of Cunningham.

Mayer is the only one so far that has won a title in college. He did that when he was at Baylor in 2021. This season, Mayer transferred to Illinois and has been one of their top scorers. 

“He’s 6’9 and can make plays and pass,” said Lucero about Mayer. “He’s one of those guys that can just shoot it.”

Keonte Kennedy started his college journey at Xavier, he then transferred to UTEP. He played well for the Miners which created an opportunity this past off-season to transfer to Memphis and be one of their top scorers.

“He’s a slashing, scoring wing who can shoot threes,” Mayer said when talking about Kennedy. “He can do a little bit of everything.”

Baker was the youngest guy of that bunch back in high school, but maybe the most highly rated recruit. His college career started at Texas but after a year he transferred to Nevada and has thrived for them this season.

“What do you do when you have a 6’11 or seven-footer that can score on the block and shoot threes,” Lucero said of Baker.

The rare combination of four former teammates, all excelling at the highest level of college basketball, is something that Coach Lucero can now sit back and enjoy on a given weekend. 

“Probably one of the best Saturdays I had in a while was Brock played and then Matthew played and then Will had a late game on Saturday. Sunday, Keonte had a 12 o’clock game, and you got to see everybody and they all played well. Makes you all proud inside and really good to see them do well.”