Coming to a new area, a new school and a new team could be a hard situation for any coach, but Lakeway Christian Academy’s Curtis Staples made it look smooth.
Staples is a Roanoke, native and son of Teresa Brewer Staples and the late Bruce C. Staples. The University of Virginia graduate moved to the Lakeway Area last summer and took over the Lakeway Christian boys basketball program, transitioning it from Cornerstone Academy to a Lions program that is building towards a move to the TSAAA level.
In the process, Staples quickly built a highly-competitive team, guiding the Lions to a 25-1 record in his first season and a NACA national championship.
For his efforts he has been named Citizen Tribune All-Lakeway Area Boys Basketball Coach of the Year!
“I really appreciate being voted the top coach, and it’s definitely a great feeling to do it in my first year here and being part of something new,” Staples said. “The basketball is good in this area, and I enjoy just watching it locally and reading about it. I hope over the years we will continue to compete at a high level and be successful enough to be in this position again.”
While most coaches would say the transition is difficult, Staples isn’t one of them. He inherited a group that was coachable and wanted to learn, and the addition of a few players, including highly touted point guard Dante Harris, helped this year seem easier for the coach.
“For me, it wasn’t that difficult because when we first started, we had kids who were willing to listen and learn and that’s half the struggle,” Staples said. “Our kids were open to learning and everyone came in eager to work hard, so for me it felt easy because of that.
“It was all hard work and dedication. The kids had to put the work in and believe in what we were doing and believe in me. What I offered them was complete transparency from every angle. I made sure they knew who I was as a person, what I stand for and made sure they knew I was approachable with anything they needed to talk about. I had to gain their trust first. If they trust you and believe in you, they will play hard for you.”
Staples and his Lions brought home a NACA national championship after going 5-0 in the NACA Tournament in Dayton. Lakeway played its two hardest games of the tournament in pool play, defeating Central Christian of Georgia 69-57, and Arthur-Okaw Christian of Illinois 73-60, in the first two contests despite trailing at halftime in both games.
In the final pool play game, the Lions shredded Clarksville 71-43, before defeating Greater Grace Christian of Baltimore in the semifinals 70-33, and J. Frank White Academy from Harrogate in the national title game 82-44.
“I felt like we could be really successful,” Staples said. “I didn’t know what we would look like. I knew I would put the work in and made sure from my end the kids had what they needed, preparation wise. I didn’t know going in how hard they would work and we had some tests along the way with some games against public schools on their court. The Grace Christian game here was a tough one. We won that game, and it showed how tough we are and where we were as a team.
“There were plenty of times where I could look back after a game and say, ‘These guys are getting it.’ I wouldn’t say at the beginning of the season that we would win the NACA Tournament at the end of the year, but this team worked hard and was successful!”
Staples said it all started with the players and their hard work and dedication. Add in Harris, who Staples hasn’t shied away from, calling him the best point guard in the state of Tennessee in the junior class, and the recipe for success was in place right away.
“There’s no question the secret to success is having great players,” Staples added. “You can have a great coach who knows all the Xs and Os, but if he doesn’t have the pieces that can execute it, he will only get so far. I’ve made comments that Dante is the best point guard in the state of Tennessee in his class, and I stand by that. I don’t think there is anybody better than him in that class at his position, and he makes things a lot easier.
“The biggest thing and the best thing about Dante is that he’s coachable. He listens. If he get really fired up about something, it’s easy to reel him back in and talk to him. The biggest thing is he wants the team to succeed. The times I have to reel him in is when I don’t feel like he is being as aggressive as he can be because he is trying to get everyone involved. He’s been a pure blessing to coach, and I have coached some really good point guards over the year. I would put him in the top three.
“Coaches need really good players, but those players need ones that compliment them, and that is exactly what we had,” Staples added. “We had a lot of really good players. We had a collaborative effort from multiple positions. Jai Jordan, Ben Knight, Isaac Roark, Aidan Lunsford, Galen Eskola, Colston Kapnick, Ethan Brooks. Those guys may not get all the clippings and the headlines, but they’re all out there playing well for us.”
Staples said winning a NACA national title right off the bat sets a high standard for future success. And with the plan in place for the school, which is building a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in nearby White Pine, he sees no reason his expectations for success can’t be met.
“Whenever you win something right away, regardless of what it is, it sets the bar high,” Staples said. “I look at us being successful in the future. We have a really good school here, first and foremost. Aside from sports, academically speaking, we have a great situation for any student who wants to come here and push themselves. If they want to push themselves academically, and they are also a good athlete, then we will see a lot of kids wanting to be a part of what we are doing here.”
