One of the most versatile players in Bartow County will trade in the royal blue and gold of Cass High School for the navy blue and silver of Georgia Northwestern next basketball season.
Standout player Lyric Curtis made it official after signing her letter of intent with head coach David Stephenson and the Lady Bobcats in ceremony at Cass High on Thursday, May 31.
“This day means a lot,” Curtis said.
“Basketball is something I’ve always been used to doing, but this is definitely a blessing.”
Curtis helped the Lady Colonels to 36 total wins in the past two seasons and a berth in the state tournament as a junior.
As a senior, she was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Chattooga Christmas Tournament, the All-Bartow County team and was an honorable mention All-Region (7-AAAAA) selection in a tough league that also included Carrollton, Rome and Villa Rica, three teams that spent most of the season ranked in the top 10 of the classification.
She finished her senior year averaging 8.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per night.
“Lyric was our team captain and perhaps our best and most versatile all-around player,” Cass head coach Burt Jackson said. “She’s hard-nosed, can handle the basketball and can play any position on the floor. When we asked her to guard the other team’s best post player, she was physical and tough enough to do it. She can hit the three, can drive to the basket and loves the pass the ball.
She’s also a great defender.
“She is just a great teammate and a great leader. The other girls looked up to her and she always brought it every day in practice.”
Curtis said her best on-court quality is her unselfishness.
“I like the share the ball,” she said. “I also think I have a good basketball mentality. It’s not just about me scoring. I like to share the ball and help out so others can get a chance to score as well. I’ll bring a lot of knowledge, but I also feel like I can still learn a lot too.”
Stephenson said Curtis could end up being “one of the biggest steals” he’s recruited for the Lady Bobcats since taking over the women’s program several years back.
“She can play the three, the four and she can put the ball on the floor,” he explained. “She’s very athletic, she can shoot and she’s smart with a 3.4 GPA. I’ve heard nothing but good things about her from Coach Jackson and I’m looking for huge things from her.”
Jackson said Curtis’ confidence and fearlessness, especially late in games, were two more solid attributes of her game.
“What separates her from a lot of people is that she’s not afraid to take the shot when the game is on the line,” he added. “A lot of the success we’ve had in the last two years I would have to attribute to her and just her all-around toughness and versatility. Obviously, we’re going to miss her.”
Curtis plans to study nursing.