Athlete Profile: Bryce Losurdo

Sharpshooter helping Suring to wins on court

SURING — The Suring High School boys basketball had a slow start to the season but played more consistently in January. Strong scoring outputs from Bryce Losurdo helped the team during the stretch of play.

Losurdo hit seven 3-pointers and tallied 25 points in Suring’s 77-43 rout of Bowler on Jan. 24. Just a few days earlier, he scored 14 points in the team’s 49-33 win over Niagara on Jan. 21.

The senior contributed 12 points in the team’s win over Lena on Jan. 14. Losurdo added 12 more points in the team’s 62-43 victory over St. Thomas Aquinas Academy on Jan. 7.

Q: When did your interest in basketball begin?

A: My interest in basketball began as a sixth grader when I first joined basketball. Although I was really bad at the time, it was something that I enjoyed and got to do with my friends. Over time, it became a large part of my life and one of my favorite hobbies.

Q: What is your favorite part about the basketball season?

A: My favorite part about the basketball season is practice. This is for two reasons: First, my favorite place to be is in the gym. Second, it is where our team has become great friends. It’s been a way to learn what everyone is like at their highs and their lows, who always has a joke or something funny to say and who is willing to put in the hard work to succeed.

Q: Do you have any individual goals you’d like to accomplish in your final season on the court?

A: As an individual, my only goal is to be the best team member I can. As a member of the team, my goal is to have a winning season and a successful postseason.

Q: As a 3-point shooter, you know there’s going to be games where you’re hitting nearly every shot and other games where you might be just a touch off. Talk about your mindset and how you stay even-keeled in both situations?

A: As a 3-point shooter, your mindset is everything. There’s games where every shot you take is going in, and there are others where you can’t get anything to fall. For me, a positive and patient mindset leads to my best shooting games. When I put too much thought into my shot or get down on myself, I have a very hard time shooting. In these games, I find that an assist is much better than a missed shot. In either case, repetition is most important. The more shots you can make in practice, the better chance it will go in when you need it to.

Q: What’s your favorite memory of competing on the Suring boys basketball team?

A: My favorite basketball memory was freshman year about halfway through our season. At this point, we had gotten to be a bit much for our head coach (James Keefe) at the time. He brought us into the back room for what we thought would be the worst lecture of the year and instead handed us each a brick. We then proceeded to run sprints with our brick for what seemed like an eternity. After we were absolutely out of gas, he huddled us up and explained the meaning of being a teammate or “a brick in the wall.”

Q: What are you going to miss most about high school basketball?

A: I’m going to miss a lot about high school basketball. I’m going to miss the hard but fun practices, traveling with the team, early mornings and late nights in the gym and most importantly the guys I’ve spent the last four years playing with. Without these guys, I don’t think that I would’ve had this much fun and made this many great memories.

Q: Who is your favorite athlete, and why?

A: LeBron James. He started out with nothing but a love of a sport and turned his success into millions of dollars. Throughout his journey, he hasn’t forgotten where he came from and remained humble through his career as one of the most dominant basketball players of all time.

Q: Favorite TV show, movie and musical artist?

A: TV show — “Impractical Jokers.” Movie — “The Martian.” Musical artist — J. Cole.

Q: Name one thing about yourself that not many people know.

A: I was born and raised in Arkansas and didn’t move to Suring until I was 10.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when you are not in school or competing in a high school sport?

A: When I’m not in school or in the gym, I’m usually doing some sort of fishing. This has been my favorite hobby since before I even knew what basketball was.

Q: What’s the greatest piece of advice you have ever been told?

A: “Just slow down, relax and take a deep breath” — David Slempkes (Suring assistant coach)

Q: What are some things you hope to accomplish after graduating from high school?

A: At this point, my post high school plans are undecided. However, I would like to move somewhere warmer and be successful at whatever I end up doing.

AT A GLANCE

Athlete: Bryce Losurdo

Sport: Boys basketball

Position: Shooting guard

School: Suring High School

Year: Senior