East County Athlete of the Week: Anquan Polynice

Anquan Polynice, a 5-foot-10 junior guard, led his Braden River High boys' basketball team to a fast start in its Nov. 18 season opener, a 71-26 victory over Southeast. Polynice had 13 points, three rebounds, six assists and two steals. Polynice is the East County Athlete of the Week.

When and why did you start playing basketball?

It was my second grade year. I was just put into it. My dad (Gems Polynice) — everybody on his side of the family — uncles and aunts, they all played basketball. Growing up, it was like an expectation to play basketball. 

What do you love most about the sport?

It just keeps peace throughout pain and troubles. You're going to have pain through life — it's part of life. But you've always got to have something to push through it. So basketball was a way for me to cope through pain, sadness and even if I'm just happy. My siblings, they like to support me a lot, so it just brings a lot of happiness to me.

What are your goals for your junior season with Braden River?

For us to become a family. That's the No. 1 goal right there, because we have people come in from different schools. So now we're just trying to create a big family bond. Off the court, we're all cool, we're all a big family and with each other all the time. We just need to be the same on the court, and it's getting there quickly.

The season is young, but what are your early impressions about this team?

Everybody loves each other. Love is a strong word, too, but we all truly have love for each other to the point where we want each other to become better. Everybody plays during the fall, so when the actual season comes, those people that realize they're not playing as much — instead of pouting and being down — they're working harder in practice to show coach that they should be playing.

When you're not playing basketball, how do you spend your free time?

I play NBA 2K with my homeboys, and also, I like being with my family. My father... everything I do with him since I've been growing up. If he's going to the gas station, I'm right behind him. He could literally just be going down the road — I'm right behind him. And my mom (Natalie Polynice), she cooks a lot. I'm her food tester. Whenever she wants me to taste something, I just go taste it. It's always great.

What's one quote or piece of advice that you've never forgotten?

It came from my uncle (Winder Polynice). "If you want it, it's more than you just want to go get it. You've got to have people around you that want to get it with you."

If you could meet any professional athlete, who would it be and why?

It's between three people — Rob Dillingham, Kyrie Irving and DeMar DeRozan. I know DeMar is a big difference between Rob and Kyrie, but DeMar... growing up, he had it rougher than half the people I know. He was in the streets growing up, didn't know what he wanted to do. And now he's in the NBA. I've been watching Kyrie since I was little. With Rob... when I was in middle school, he was in high school. He plays just like Kyrie, too, so I like to find people that play that way. I want to play like them or touch up on certain stuff to play better.

Finish this sentence. Anquan Polynice is...

A dawg.

Correction: This article has been updated to correct the name Gems Polynice.