Curtis ready to defend its 4A state title at the Tacoma Dome this week
Curtis knew it would be tougher this time around. After hoisting the Class 4A state championship trophy last winter — Curtis defeated top-seeded Mount Si in an overtime thriller, 52-49 — the Vikings knew other teams would be gunning for them.
As the oft-used sports cliche goes, the state title put a target on their backs.
“It’s definitely real,” said senior guard Cinque Maxwell. “We’ll be scouting a team, and you’ll see them do this, this and that. And then you’ll come out and play them yourselves, and it’s just like, it feels like it’s a whole different team, a whole new level.”
Everyone wants a crack at beating the defending state champs.
“They’d love nothing more than to knock you off,” said Curtis coach Tim Kelly. “The second time is harder. It’s harder. You’re getting everyone’s best.”
Curtis (25-3) has taken everyone’s best shot this season. Only one in-state opponent has beaten them — Olympia, which is the No. 3 seed in this year’s state tournament (Curtis took two out of three against Olympia this winter).
Of course, it helped having the team’s three best scorers return for another season. Five-star recruit Zoom Diallo (20 points per game) is just a junior. Senior guard Tyce Paulsen (16.2 ppg) and Maxwell (13.1 ppg) were the core of Curtis’ title team last March. They’re even better this year, another year more experienced.
“Our chemistry is beyond big,” Diallo said. “It goes as far as me and Cinque playing AAU basketball together in fourth grade, me and Tyce playing AAU basketball together in fifth grade. We all know what our play-style is, what our strength is. Just playing together in high school just makes it even stronger.”
Diallo is the do-everything guard, a three-level scorer whose ability to change direction in midair and make acrobatic finishes at the rim has coaches from big-time colleges all over the country salivating. Paulsen, a 6-foot-4 guard with a long wingspan, is one of the area’s best shooters, finishing shots over the outstretched hands of over-matched defenders. Maxwell is the glue, a master of positioning, always finding himself in the right place on the floor and quietly filling the stat sheet every game.
Together, they form a formidable trio, complemented by sharpshooting guard Devin Whitten and others. Curtis is three wins away from a state championship repeat, opening this year’s tournament in Thursday’s quarterfinal round after beating Richland in last weekend’s regional. The weight of expectation hasn’t slowed this year’s group down.
“There’s a lot of expectations for us to go back to back, the things people expect us to do,” Diallo said. “We’ve just gotta not get big-headed, really. A lot of people just telling us like, ‘Hey, you guys have got a chance to do it. You’re so good.’ Not getting caught up into things like that,
“I think that’s the biggest challenge with us. We like to keep each other humble. Last year’s team was last year’s team. This year’s team is different. It’s a new goal.”
Curtis’ players don’t come across as cocky, but they play with a quiet confidence. They’ll face a loaded 4A field, with No. 2 Mount Si, No. 3 Olympia and No. 4 Federal Way potentially standing in their path.
“We’ve just gotta go in with a positive attitude, go in knowing we’re gonna win,” Maxwell said.
Curtis will face the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 7 Tahoma and No. 10 Camas.
