ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Isaiah Curry

The Windermere Prep Lakers (16-8) won seven in a row recently, highlighted by three wins at the Alaska Airlines Classic Jan. 15 to 17 in Anchorage. Leading the way has been senior forward Isaiah Curry. Curry has been a double-double machine and is averaging 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 blocks per game. 

The talented senior, who also was a standout wide receiver for the Lakers in football, was named the MVP in Alaska and is our choice for Athlete of the Week.

You obviously had a good stretch of games while in Alaska. What was your biggest takeaway from the trip and the way you played?

I thought I played really well. The competition out there was different, and the style of the game was different. 

Your numbers in rebounding and scoring are both up this season. To what would you attribute that success?

Definitely working in the offseason. I just feel like I can get every rebound. We needed rebounds — our team is small, so I had to go out there and just do me.

It seems that you guys are starting to hit your stride as a team. Would you agree?

Definitely. We’re playing more as a team. I think we’re focused better; we know what we need to do to finish out our year. 

What’s your mentality ahead of the district tournament, with a likely third match against The First Academy in the district final looming?

We won the district championship last year, and that’s our goal again this year. We know we have to go through TFA (The First Academy) at least two more times to get there.

What needs to change in the last few weeks of the season for you guys to be successful in the postseason?

We need to start the game off the way we start the second half.

From a bonding aspect, how valuable was the Alaska trip?

We were all in the same place like the whole trip. Whenever someone was hungry, we would all just go together. We went skiing — that was fun. There was no one by themselves.

Was it as cold as you would have imagined in Alaska at this time of year?

I wore one jacket, like one fleece jacket. It was like in the 30s. I was surprised — even when we were skiing, it wasn’t even that cold.

There were reportedly around 3,500 people in attendance for the championship game in Alaska against West Anchorage. What was that like?

The crowd was crazy. Our last two games were against East Anchorage and West Anchorage — I think they’re rivals. The crowd, they didn’t like us at all. The championship game, though, East Anchorage and their fans were cheering for us because they wanted us to beat West Anchorage. We loved that.

What do you want to do after college?

I want to be a physical therapist. I just want to have something related to sports, and I know if I were to get hurt, I would want someone to help me out.