Kyrese Lukens, a junior at Herrin High School has already had an exciting varsity basketball career. So far during this season alone, in the Duquoin Tip-Off Classic and the Eldorado Holiday Tournament, he landed both MVP and All-Tournament Team.

But on January 19th Kyrese made his first points during game 8 of the Benton Invitational Tournament against Pinckneyville to earn an honorable spot in the 1000-point club. Coming into the game Friday night, Lukens already had 998 points, so it was just a matter of time until he hit that notable mark. Then, around 3 minutes into the second quarter, he drove to the paint and laid it off the glass to land his 1000th career point.

Looking back, Kyrese has always been in the basketball gym. Starting in Kindergarten he played Upward basketball. He then played at Herrin Elementary and started AAU ball for the Illinois Bears during his 4th-grade year. In 2010, he began riding the Herrin High School basketball bus with his grandpa Irv Lukens. Irv was a Varsity Assistant and JV Head Coach from 1999-2005 and later became the Varsity Head Coach in 2006-2016. Entering middle school, Kyrese made the move to OLMC to play under his grandpa, who was the head coach at the time. Kyrese, better known as Ky, led his team to regional champions 3 years in a row.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic cut his 8th-grade season short, but Lukens still dominated the court and reached 1000 points. Flash forward to his freshman and sophomore years at Herrin High, he earned All-Conference both years, All South his sophomore year, and Most Valuable Male Athlete at Herrin at the 2023 sports banquet. 

I took the time to talk to Kyrese after the game to ask him how he felt about reaching this extraordinary milestone, and he stated “It’s an honor, and my next goal is to be the all-time scorer.” He also added that his favorite aspect of basketball is “winning”.

Ky is now one of only fifteen male athletes to enter the prestigious 1000-point club at Herrin High School.  As of the Pinckneyville vs. Herrin game where he scored an incredible 29 points, he currently sits in 13th place with 1,027 points. The current all-time scorer is Gene Turni, who had 1665 points and was inducted in 1960.

Asked about Kyrese, Varsity Head Coach Sayler Shurtz stated, “Ky has been a heck of a player for us since he put on a Herrin Tiger uniform. He’s earned every bit of success on the basketball court. Becoming a member of the 1,000-point club is a direct result of the time he spends in the gym. He’s not the most talkative guy, but he lets his play do the talking. I’m proud of his accomplishments and look forward to having him play for us another year.” 

You can come to support the Herrin Tiger Boys Basketball team on their home court this Friday, January 26, and Saturday, January 27 playing both of their rivals, the Carterville Lions and the Marion Wildcats. Go Tigers!