It’s on to the next play for Pacey Reading.

After the Van-Far junior scored his 1,000th career point on Feb. 1, that was what Reading was thinking as the Indians attempted to come back in the Bowling Green Tournament third-place game against district foe Clopton. While Van-Far lost 57-49, Reading stays enshrined in program history.

The accomplishment was represented with a commemorative basketball given to Reading before the Indians’ Feb. 4 home game against Montgomery County. However, the basketball doesn’t just represent the moment he scored No. 1,000 but the many moments that came before.

“It’s a pretty good accomplishment,” Reading said. “A lot of hours put in and a lot of work put in. It’s just coming in and playing every day with my guys in practice and working hard is really what got that accomplished.”

Reading reached 1,000 on an out-of-bounds play that involved him catching the ball and sinking a turnaround jumper from 12-14 feet away. He said he made the shot with around six minutes left in the second quarter, allowing him to put his personal business behind him in favor for the team’s business.

That is how Reading preferred the moment to happen, and his father and Van-Far assistant coach Brett Reading agreed. His father is proud of his son’s accomplishment but also the “commitment” that came with it.

“It’s good to see kids get rewarded for their work,” Brett Reading said. “We try to actually downplay 1,000 points because, in the end, we just want to get some wins and want to be in the hunt for a district title.”

Reading has been an assistant at Van-Far for about 20 years and said 12-13 of those years have included coaching his son. Since kindergarten, Reading has seen his son’s growth on and off the court and was proud to celebrate the moment after the Clopton game.

During the game, however, the coach identity dominated his thinking. Now that Reading had scored 1,000, it was time to focus on the next play.

“During the game, there’s no turning off the competitive juices,” Brett Reading said. “It’s an individual achievement so we got plenty of time for that later. During the game, it was basically, ‘Good, let’s move on now. Let’s play defense.’”

Pacey Reading said the next play is important during the season but also after the season. He said he has continued to improve his scoring and the rest of the game in the offseason.

Brett Reading said Pacey has really ramped his extracurricular activity this year as a junior. He said Pacey woke up in the morning to practice at the YMCA on his own volition while he was farming. 

“When he was younger I forced him into the gym,” Brett Reading said. “Now I’m starting to see, as a 17-year-old, him take a little bit of personal responsibility on that.”

Pacey Reading said it takes a certain mindset to stay committed through the process to become a better scorer and overall player. He said he saw the fruits of his labor over time so he wanted to see even more.

“If you miss a couple shots, keep on shooting and keep on firing away and being mentally sharp every day in the gym,” Pacey Reading said. 

Reading follows Nikos Connaway on the Van-Far boys program’s list of all-time 1,000-point scorers. That makes Reading the second straight coach’s son to reach the milestone as head coach Pat Connaway was pleased to see his son have that accomplishment and just knew Reading would do the same.

“He’s had three excellent seasons after starting as a freshman,” Connaway said. “We knew it was going to happen this year. It was just a matter of time. He didn’t think about it or let it bother him. He just played.”

The next goal for Reading is to play for a district championship team. Van-Far hasn’t won a district title since 2020 and lost a championship game last season against Harrisburg. This year’s district bracket for the Indians includes Clopton so Reading expects to see the Hawks again this year. 

Brett Reading said Van-Far can do it if all of the kids adopt the “next play” mindset and apply it to their personal growth on the court. Each individual success can lead to great team success like state-ranked Montgomery County, who defeated Van-Far 70-44 on Feb. 4 for its 20th win in the first 21 games.

“When a bunch of different individuals put the work in, then collectively you have the things like what Montgomery has got right now,” Brett Reading said. “They are a group of individuals that have worked really hard, and then collectively, they’re going to reap that reward.”