Athlete of the Week: The father-daughter pair that’s changing the culture at Service High

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - You’ve probably heard the name Alissa Pili 10 times over by now. How about Carlos Boozer or Mario Chalmers or Trajan Langdon? Needless to say, the Last Frontier has had its share of hardwood talent over the last couple of decades.

Fast forward to 2024, and like those athletes, one Anchorage player is showing off skills that are uncommon for a high school freshman.

Aryanna Watson, who started playing basketball in the fourth grade, captains the Service High School varsity team. Through the first 10 games of her high school career, Aryanna has already accomplished feats you might not even see from some seniors.

Since the 2023-24 season tipped off, Aryanna has scored at least 20 points in every game she’s played for the Cougars, a streak that started with a 38-point outing in the season opener against Wasilla.

Aryanna’s performances start to make a little more sense when you learn who she likes to model her game after.

“[Stephen] Curry, yeah, I watch Curry a lot,” she said.

But the four-time NBA Finals champion wasn’t the first player she mentioned when asked about her basketball influences. That honor went to the man standing next to her, her dad, and Service head coach Harvey Watson.

“It’s been an amazing journey,” Harvey said. “When she told me she has dreams of being the best boy or girl basketball player from the state of Alaska, that was her goal, I’ve been there to support her in her goal and hopefully, she’ll be able to accomplish that.”

And despite the family connection, there’s a strict line between Harvey the dad, and Harvey the coach.

“Everybody gets the same treatment from me,” Harvey said. “I have no favorites on the team. I just expect you to go out and do your job.”

The pair are just two of the pieces on a Cougars squad that is fairly young and inexperienced. The Cougars roster features seven underclassmen and three freshmen in the starting lineup.

“I encourage them to be great and it’s OK to make mistakes. Sports, in general, is a game of failure, you are going to learn from a loss, it’s a lesson, that’s what I tell them in the huddle,” Harvey said.

“We’re not hitting home runs every time down the court. We’re going to come out, we’re going to earn it, and we expect for Aryanna to get double- and triple-teamed by every team that has juniors and seniors on it. That’s just what it is. That’s what we signed up for.”

With a young core in development and a star in the making, Harvey is excited for what’s next.

“I think if we can stay together and keep working hard, the sky’s the limit,” Harvey said.

For daughter Aryanna, the ultimate goal is to bring home some trophies to add to the Cougars display case.

“I’m hoping to accomplish all four CIC championships and at least two state championships by the end of my high school career,” she said.

If her words were any indication, Aryanna might have the right support system to make some — or all — of those dreams come true.

“I would like to shout out my dad, he’s always been there for me, always been a good coach,” she said. “I just love him so much for helping me out and helping me become the player I am today.”

Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.