The Nansemond River High School boys’ basketball team was in desperate need of a player to step up after it lost its top 10 players from last season’s squad. Junior guard Josh Covington has answered the call.

Even during recent losses to some talented teams, Covington still shined for the Warriors. The continued strong production led to his becoming the Duke Automotive-Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week.

From Dec. 16 to 19, Nansemond River endured a difficult 0-3 stretch, but Covington still averaged 19.3 points a game. He scored a career-high 22 against host Oscar Smith High School, contributed 20 against visiting King’s Fork High School and registered 16 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds against host Smithfield High School.

“I felt like I did pretty good,” Covington said. “A lot of other people helped me,” including teammates Randall Dixon, Josh Stills and Matt Allmond, who set screens.

Covington’s production has been remarkable through his first eight varsity games. He has scored 20 points or more in at least five of those contests, and Warriors coach Ed Young said he is currently averaging 3.6 assists, tied for second on the team; 3.4 steals, tied for first; and four rebounds.

“He gives us so much energy at both ends of the floor, both offense and defense,” Young said.

After hearing his stats, Covington gave his appraisal of his own performance thus far.

“I’ve felt like I’m playing hard with the rest of my team, trying to win some games,” he said.

And he has done most of this coming off the bench. The only game he has started has been against King’s Fork. Young likes to be able to count on the spark Covington brings later in the game.

“Most high school kids, if they’re putting up decent numbers like he is, don’t quite handle coming off the bench very well,” Young said, noting they associate being among the best on the team with being on the court at the outset of games.

Covington said he is not concerned with this.

“I don’t really pay attention to the starting,” he said. “I’m just trying to help my team win games and be as productive as I can coming off the bench.”

Young views the true best players on the team as the ones on the court at crunch time near the end of games. Covington fits this description and currently leads the team in minutes, averaging a little more than 27 per game.

In his first season of varsity basketball, he has begun showing that he has what it takes, both on and off the court, to be a college basketball player.

His father, Michael Covington, who helped introduce him to basketball, is impressed with his court skills, but not just that.

“I’m very proud of his development in the classroom this year,” the elder Covington said.

Josh Covington said he knew he was struggling in school, “and I knew I wanted to play at the next level, so I knew I had to pick it up and do better in the classroom.”

“He’s really stepped up his academics,” Young said. “He’s nearly a 3.0 student right now.”