One of the reasons that Xaverian High School’s varsity basketball team went to the finals of the Catholic High School’s Diocese of Brooklyn-Queens playoff tournament has been the play of senior Natee Larcher.
Even though he may not be a standout player, he feels that he has a bright future ahead for himself.
The resident of Brownsville, in his second year of playing for the Bay Ridge-based school, and his teammates faced Christ The King of Queens, the team that won the State tournament last year, in the finals but lost to a better team last week. The winner, CTK, year-after-year produces great players and is currently ranked among the top teams in New York State.
“When Christ The King has it going it’s hard to stop them,” he said after the game. “And it’s hard to stop their high scorer Rawle Aikin (who tallied 28 points in last week’s game). He can dominate a game in any fashion.”
Larcher’s father came from St. Lucia, where he played basketball. The youngster grew up playing basketball even though soccer was the big sport there.
“I started playing basketball four years ago,” he said after the setback at the hands of Christ The King, for the Diocesan of Brooklyn title. “I wanted to get away from soccer and get more into basketball. I also played some cricket.”
He stopped playing cricket because as he explained “it didn’t fit me.”
When the 6’6” center came to the USA, he concentrated more on the hoop sport and should be better at it on the next level. His goal is to win a championship for Xaverian and go to college.
