STUART — Roger “Fresh” Walters entered his final high school basketball season with aspirations to attain specific goals.

From a team perspective, the quick, sharp-shooting guard wants to help lead his St. Lucie West Centennial boys basketball team to a district title and the state playoffs.

Individually, he has his eyes set on reaching the 1,000-point career milestone. He started the season about 200 points away from that goal.

“I want the 1,000-point ball bad,” he said following the season opener, a 69-39 win against Jensen Beach on Nov. 23 in the Thanksgiving Tip-Off Classic at South Fork High School.

Walters, a 5-foot-10 guard, turned his left ankle early in the game and missed part of the first half while it was getting taped by a trainer. He returned and finished with 12 points.

“He battled through it. He still played with great energy,” said Centennial coach Chris Carannante.

That competitiveness is one of the aspects of Walters’ game that makes him a go-to guy, especially in clutch situations.
“(Last season) he hit late shots to win games. He wants the ball late. (He has) no fear. He’s a guy you want riding with you no matter what because he wants to win,” Carannante said. “He averaged 17 (points) a game last year as a junior so we have expectations of him to do the same, be an explosive scorer and a playmaker. Not many athletes like him out there.”

Walters grew up on the Seminole Tribe’s Chupco’s Landing in Fort Pierce. He honed his basketball skills in Chupco’s gym as a youth. While he has excelled on the court, he’s also a standout in football, which is the sport he plans to continue playing in college. He has an official visit to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte set for Dec. 3. He said he plans to sign with Charlotte on Dec. 15.

Walters worked on his jump shot as much as he could during the off-season, but since the high school sports seasons overlap, he didn’t have much time to prepare for basketball.

“I was so focused on football and we got into the playoffs. It was hard to get into the gym,” he said.

The football team reached the first round of the Class 8A state playoffs, where it was ousted by Palm Beach Central.
Walters is an all-around threat as a wide receiver, cornerback and kick returner. Despite missing three games, he led the team in touchdown catches with nine.

Centennial finished with a 5-5 record, a vast improvement from the previous year’s 2-6 mark.

“Overall, I was happy with our season,” Walters said.