Kentucky boys’ basketball All-Star Timmy Dalton is more than just a scorer

Anyone who went to one of Lawrence County High School’s basketball games last season likely saw Timmy Dalton light up the gym.

He regularly scored in bunches, topping 30 points in 27 of his 34 games played. Dalton set the school record for points in a game with 60 in a 109-106 victory over Greenup County.

Basketball fans will get another chance to see Dalton play at the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game in the Frankfort Convention Center on Sunday.

The girls’ game will tip at 2 p.m. with the boys’ game to follow.

“I’m super excited because I’m the only male — well, guy basketball player (from Lawrence County) — to ever be at that game. The girl was Taylor Porter. So, it’s a big accomplishment,” Dalton said.

Dalton is a prolific scorer who set many records in his senior season.

Dalton finished the year with 1,272 points, which ranks fourth in Kentucky High School Athletic Association history. He did that by averaging a nation-leading 37.4 points per game, more than 2018 five-star prospect Zion Williamson and UCLA-bound guard LiAngelo Ball.

Dalton scored all those points by making the second most field goals in KHSAA history at 482.

“I knew I was going to have a big year, but I didn’t think I was going to end up scoring, you know, 40, 50, 60 points a game,” Dalton said. “I put in the work in the offseason so that helped a lot.”

Dalton, who is headed to Believe Prep Academy in Athens, Tenn., finished his high school career with 3,209 points — 15th in KHSAA history.

However, anyone who is close to Dalton will tell you he is more than just a scorer.

“If you look at the Mr. Basketball finalists, he averaged more assists than anybody on that list,” Dalton’s high school coach, Travis York, said. “The game where he scored 60 points, he had a triple-double. He averaged 11 rebounds a game, he guards the other team’s best player, he literally did everything he could to help us win imaginable.”

Dalton tallied 26 double-doubles this season, which was the 19th most nationwide. Out of the 18 players ahead of him on that list, Dalton averaged the most assists.

Dalton also had the 15th-most triple-doubles in the nation, one more than incoming UK freshman P.J. Washington.

“I’m just not like a one-dimensional player. I have to play defense, I got to get steals and I have to set my teammates up for open shots so they can hit it,” Dalton said. “That’s my favorite part; yeah, I score the ball but my passing ability to find open guys and to create for others, that’s my favorite attribute.”

Dalton’s all-around ability made him a terrific leader for a young Lawrence County team whose second-leading scorer was an eighth-grader. Dalton was the only returning starter from a team that won its regional tournament for the first time in school history his junior year.

“He did a great job of leading those young guys on the court and teaching them what they had to do to win,” York said. The fact that we were able to have the second-best record in school history with 23 wins was pretty amazing, that we were able to do that with one returning starter, and a big part of that was just his leadership.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Kentucky boys’ basketball All-Star Timmy Dalton is more than just a scorer."