4/4/23
(University Place, WA) The back-to-back 4A boys state champion Curtis Vikings will now look to win some more hardware when they take place in the 2023 ESPN State Champions Invitational this week. This is the 2nd tournament in the events young history and gives state champions an opportunity to play on an even bigger stage.
The event began in 2022 when the boys 3A state champions in Auburn competed but fell short in the championship game against Calvary Christian of Florida. Now the Curtis Vikings will try to bring home the title for Washington state.
Curtis recently completed a successful defense of their state title by defeating league rival Olympia for the 3rd time this season after dropping the first meeting with the Bears. The usual roster will be representing Curtis as players will take a break from their Spring sports to take part in the event. Coach Tim Kelly said all the coaches worked well together as they all realize how special and unique this opportunity is.
Cinque Maxwell, one of the seniors for the Curtis Vikings, talked to ESN about the opportunity and what it means to him and the team.
“Definitely is a big accomplishment as a team. Proud of how far all of us have come. This is an amazing opportunity for us to prove who we are. There is definitely going to be some tough competition but if we all realize we’re just as good if not better I feel we can do some real damage out there.”
The senior class has left their mark on not just the Curtis community but the state as a whole. Repeating as state champions is not something that happens too often especially at the 4A level. However, the Curtis Vikings did just that and did so emphatically. Maxwell played a massive role in both titles. An undersized post, Maxwell more than made up for his size with his tremendous vertical and incredible speed and tenacity to go right at the opposing big man.
We also talked to the head coach of the Curtis Vikings in the legendary Tim Kelly about the opportunity to compete on the big stage in Washington D.C. as well as how they found out and the preparation they went through to get ready for their massive opportunity.
Curtis will leave for the Washington D.C. today as they prepare for their opener on Thursday. Curtis will take on Roselle Catholic of New Jersey on the 6th at 3pm on ESPNU. As Coach Kelly told us, they will have some practices once they arrive over there as part of the 10 practices allowed by the WIAA.
In the first year of the tournament, there were only four boys teams and four girls teams but the field has been expanded to six boys and six girls champions. Only a select few state associations allow their teams to compete. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, Utah, Washington, and Washington D.C. are the only high school associations to allow their teams to compete in the event but more are expected to join as the years go which will see the field expand even more. Washington has seemed to be underrated when it comes to high school basketball and Curtis will look to continue what Auburn started last year in proving what the best teams in this state can do.
All 10 games for the event will be broadcasted on ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN+ from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. The tournament begins on Thursday, April 6th and will be a single-elimination format ending on Saturday, April 8th. For more information on the event as well as the entire schedule, visit the link below.
elisportsnetwork.com
