Carlos soars on the court and in the air

Published on January 22nd, 2010

By VAN WILLIAMS

When Whitney Carlos grows up, she wants to be a corporate lawyer.

For now, though, she'll have to settle for holding court on the hardwood.

The senior all-star for the Togiak girls basketball team has emerged as one of the best players at the Class 2A level after carrying the Lady Huskies to an impressive third-place finish at the ACS Invitational earlier this month.

In one of those games, Carlos pumped in 14 points in one quarter en route to a 31-point performance.

The 5-foot-6 guard is averaging 22 points per game, which is more noteworthy if you consider Togiak has faced only larger, 3A opponents and Carlos is succeeding against defenses designed to stop her.

"She's really good one-on-one and she can go on a streak from the outside," said Togiak coach Sean Carlos, her dad. "She likes shooting the 3 but they usually guard her pretty close because of her scoring, so she tends to drive to the basket a lot."

Carlos has always been around basketball. She grew up playing her older sister Keilyn, who graduated in 2008. In fact, when Keilyn was a senior and Whitney was a sophomore, the Lady Huskies finished 24-1 and advanced to the Class 1A state championship game.

"That was a pretty special having both daughters at the state finals," the coach said.

However, it's not always sugar, spice and everything nice when the two Carlos girls get on the basketball court.

The one-on-one games are about as competitive as you can get in this family rivalry, where anything goes.

"They get pretty bad," she said with a laugh. "She's always been a motivation."

Who has the upper hand?

"At this point I do," she said with confidence.

Carlos is no pushover either. She's rough and tough when necessary, coming back faster than expected after breaking her back in middle school.

"Playing basketball of all things," her dad said of the injury. "She's a gym rat."

When Carlos isn't flying around the court, she's flying the skies above.

The Togiak teenager is a student pilot who is trying to earn her wings.

"She's got her solo endorsement and she's waiting to get her private's (license)," her dad said. "It's just a matter of building hours and getting some long flights in there and some other requirements like a little bit of nighttime flying."

In addition to excelling on the court and in the cockpit, Carlos is also an excellent student. She is the valedictorian of her class and was awarded a University of Alaska scholarship.

"Whitney is an exemplary student academically," said L. Dale Richesin, director of the Tuyar'yaq Alternative Program of Togiak School.

"I have been at Togiak six years, and have been teaching in the alternative program since its creation last school year. Before that I was the language arts teacher. I also teach psychology, law and justice, and other electives to regular students, such as Whitney. She is a dynamic leader and works well with everyone. She has definite plans for college."

Carlos likes to unwind by riding her snowmachine (when there is snow) with her friends and playing pickup games at the school. It's on the basketball court where she feels comfortable.

"Ever since I can remember ... I've been decent at it," she said.

But as much as she enjoys scoring the ball, Carlos might like defending it more.

"I like playing defense," she said. "I think defense is the most important part. It's pretty important to me and my team."

Her dad agreed.

"She plays great defense against opposing guards and can usually steal the ball and go for a fast break," he said. "She doesn't have incredible speed, but she's got pretty good endurance to keep going and she takes advantage of that later in the game."

But it's not like winning is everything for Carlos.

"We have a good team, but I don't like saying, 'Oh, we're going to win,' " she said. "I don't like expecting to win. I hope we're going to win. We'll play our hardest. Whatever the outcome is, we'll live with I guess."

That's because she knows there is more to life than just basketball.