Lucas Alves
January 27, 2010—After suffering a knee injury while playing for the Brazilian National Team this past summer, BYU–Hawaii’s Lucas Alves is taking things in stride. Alves—last year’s Daktronics NCAA II National Player of the Year—is working hard to regain his All-America form and contribute to the team. He is optimistic that the Seasiders will experience success this season. In this very candid interview, Alves shares his deep love for basketball, BYU–Hawaii, and the Gospel. This photo and cover photo: BYU–Hawaii Photography
LatterDaySports: How’s your knee?
Lucas Alves: It’s been six months since I had my surgery so it’s about the right time to get back. It’s been about three weeks since I started practicing part time and playing games. I’m just going for about four minutes and coming out during the games just to get a feel for it.
About six months is the right time for us to be really sure that the injury is healed up. So it’s a good time for me to get back and really push myself in game situations and practice. The main (challenge) right now for me is the time that I took off. I had to stay away from the game for five and a half months. I was, of course, shooting around but no game situations. So for me that’s the hardest part, when I get out there with the guys, having to keep up with them knowing that my knee hurts. You know you’re good to go but in the back of your mind the hardest part—when I’ve talked to people—is mind over body.
LatterDaySports: So you were given medical clearance but the mental part of it is the challenge now?
Alves: Yeah, the mental part as well as the time I spent not playing because the guys have been practicing now for a couple months and I haven’t, so I’m still a little out of shape, a little slower than them. But it’s just a matter of time for me to get back into shape and also get used to playing with the guys again.
LatterDaySports: You injured your knee playing for the Brazilian National Team?
Alves: Yeah, over the summer (2009) I was back in Brazil and I was called to play for the Brazilian National Team. We were playing in a tournament in Portugal—that’s where I got hurt. I played about ten games there and the last game of the tournament, I started the game and played a couple of minutes and I went to drive to the basket. I did a spin move kind of thing and my knee just gave out and bended inwards and I tore my ACL.
LatterDaySports: Other than the injury how was the experience playing with the Brazilian National Team?
Alves: It was a dream come true. I love soccer and growing up I always watched the Brazilian National Soccer Team and we always talked about the golden yellow Brazilian uniform and wearing the uniform playing basketball was the part I loved. How can I say this . . . it was like a reward, another time of my life that I will keep with me forever. Getting hurt . . . I learned a lot, but it’s a time of my life that I will never forget, wearing the Brazilian uniform. It felt good.
LatterDaySports: Are there any plans for you to go back to the team?
Alves: Yeah, the national team will have games over the summertime—which is when the colleges don’t have games and the clubs that the professional guys play on don’t have tournaments. Everything is done, so that’s when they get together. The goal for me this summer would be to go back to the national team . . . if they call again. If they see my talent, if I’m still good to go, and by then fully recovered from my injury and playing good, they should call me back by the end of June, early July. The world championships are this year so we’d be going to Turkey in Europe. Team USA will be there and all of the main teams in the world will be there playing. It will be like the Olympics, but just basketball. So that’s my goal for the summer after I finish playing here. But I have to start working on my game to play this summer and play for the national team again.
Lucas Alves, a 6' 9" Senior, Forward/Center from Casa Branca, Brazil finishes strong. Photo: BYU–Hawaii Photography
LatterDaySports: You’re in your senior year. Are you on track to graduate soon?
Alves: I finish school in June. I have Winter Semester and Spring Term and then I’m pau (Hawaiian for finished). It’s going to be a little rough. I have a tough schedule right now. It’s keeping me busy but it will be worth it when I’m done and I receive my bachelor’s degree.
LatterDaySports: What is your major?
Alves: My major is exercise and sport science with a minor in coaching.
LatterDaySports: Do you see yourself coaching later down the road?
Alves: My main goal would be to make a living for my future family playing basketball professionally—doing something that I love. That’s my goal, but I know that won’t be forever. If I’m lucky I might play for the next fifteen years and after that I still have a long way to go. That’s why (education) is important to me. My parents always taught me to get a degree so after a short career playing basketball I can move on with my degree somehow and look for a job. If it’s coaching or teaching . . . at least I have a second plan to go on.
LatterDaySports: Looking back at your experience here at BYU–Hawaii, how has it been?
Alves: My experience here has been amazing. It’s been a journey, like a mission. It’s just amazing. I came here almost four years ago in the Fall of 2006. Back then I just barely turned twenty years old. Coming from Brazil I was living away from home for school but never outside of South America. My English was poor. I couldn’t speak it very well so coming here was just a great, great, great experience.
I’m not going to lie. The beginning was hard. There were times when I wanted to give up and go back to Brazil because English was hard for me. The game here was different from Brazil. It was a hard time but I don’t regret coming here at all. I’ve just been loving it. I’m excited to get done with school and move on with life and take on another challenge at another level. But at the same time sad because I don’t want to leave this school and I like living in Hawaii. The people here are so lovely. Hopefully in the future I can get a job in Hawaii and just live here. That will be a good thing.
LatterDaySports: How did you decide to come to BYU–Hawaii in the first place?
Alves: I finished high school and played basketball in clubs back home hoping to play somewhere professionally. I had a (basketball) camp in Argentina and Jarrin Akana, who is (Assistant BYU–Hawaii coach) Brandon Akana’s brother, spotted me there. He saw me playing and got in touch with me. He told me about this university, where I can come and study and have a scholarship and play basketball in America. I really didn’t take it serious because I didn’t want to go to school. I just wanted to be done with it, but I sat down with my parents and we went through everything I could do with my future. I just thought it would be a great experience for me to go to school, get a degree and play basketball in America—which has been an amazing experience.
LatterDaySports: The team is struggling right now. What is the team doing to improve?
Alves: Since the beginning of the year we knew it was going to be a tough year because we finished off last year in the regional final and lost at home by one point on a last shot. It was a heart-breaker for us that we want to forget, but at the same time take that as experience. So coming into this year, we knew there was great pressure over us to reach that level again and go to the regional tournament and pass that level and go to the nationals. It wasn’t like people were telling us what to do but we knew in the back of our minds that there was a lot of pressure for us. For me and the other seniors like JR (Buensuceso) and Garrett (Sandberg) coming back—as seniors we knew that it would be a great year for us. We could push ourselves to play our last year the best we can and finish with a championship. That’s our main goal. So there was a lot of pressure.
I got hurt over the summer. My teammates, my friends got a little down and real sad and for me not being there with them my senior year I was sad myself. Everybody got a little shaken because one of the seniors got hurt. When is he coming back? So in the back of my mind there is pressure. We still had a lot of talent on our team. We started the year a little slow, trying to find out our identity again. Our game against UH (University of Hawaii), a Division I team, was a close game. We played good at times but most of the time we didn’t play well as a team.
In December we were playing this tournament in town (Honolulu) and another player on our team—starting guard Jet Chang—went down. He broke his arm and had to have surgery. The news was that he would be done for the season. The team was getting an identity to play together as a team and another player goes down, so the coach, the team, everyone had to shift again to find another identity and learn how to play together after losing another piece.
We’ve struggled a little bit, but we’re doing fine. And now I’m coming back so it’s another change for the team. Even though I come as a plus to the team, I still have to find a way to play with the team and help them out. They’re also trying to shift again to see how they can help me out and get me into the team again. So we knew it was going to be a rough start for us. We still have a lot of talent. We have to pick up our pace from here.
Alves with friends and loved ones after his baptism in Laie, Hawaii. Photo: Natassia Machado
LatterDaySports: You were recently baptized a member of the Church. What was that like?
Alves: That was another turning point in my life. That’s another thing that I will always look back at and be happy that I made the choice to come here to the university. I was here for three years. I was born and raised Catholic. Coming here I never wanted to even think about joining the church or anything. Of course I took the discussions with the missionaries and I went to church because I believe in God, I believe in Heavenly Father, but I never took church serious my first couple of years here. I was just like” Whatever, I don’t want to change my religion.”
But then this last year, I started really going to church more and learning more stuff about the Church and really knowing that I wanted to join, but I was not really wanting to hear the spirit. I was running away from the spirit like, “No not really, not really.” But then over the summer I went back home and I really felt that I missed the gospel here and I missed going to church and I missed the teachings of the church. I missed everything. That was when I really started praying more and reading the scriptures more to know that it was the right decision to get baptized. And that was the turning point over the summer.
The thing that really kept me going was reading the scriptures, praying everyday and just following the gospel, especially after I got hurt and had the surgery. And after coming back (to Hawaii) I went to church again and I couldn’t deny the spirit anymore. I was feeling the spirit every single day of my life and I was able to count the blessings and feel the Holy Ghost coming closer to me and I wanted to feel that for the rest of my life. That’s when I came to the decision. I talked to my parents and talked to my bishop. I talked to my girlfriend about it. I wanted to (make the decision) myself.
I know that Heavenly Father blessed my life and my family as well to understand what I wanted to do for myself. Because they are Catholic I was a little concerned on how they would receive the news about me joining the church, but they had an open heart and blessed me because they showed me that they would love me forever and it didn’t matter my religion if I believed in God. That’s what they believe in. They believe in Christ. They would support me and love me forever and bless me with my decision. If I was happy they would be happy. That was just like a blessing and I’ve been happy ever since.
LatterDaySports: Outside of basketball and school, what kind of stuff do you like to do?
Alves: Right now what I am enjoying the most is being with my girlfriend. That’s what’s keeping me going with school. We do homework and other stuff together. That’s the main thing, being with friends overall. Come to school in the morning . . . basketball, and then on my free time go to the beach and enjoy Hawaii with friends and loved ones. That’s what matters the most for me. That’s what I like doing. Nothing special. I’m just a simple guy. As long as I’m with good company, whatever I do, I’ll be happy doing it. You know, going out to eat. That’s what I like the most, eating and being with friends. Playing video games when I have more time. I love playing soccer. Just simple. Doing stuff with friends and loved ones.
LatterDaySports: What’s been your favorite memory of BYU–Hawaii?
Alves: It’s hard to choose, I mean, I’ve been here long enough that there are so many memories with people who have been through my life. I’d say that everything that I got and everything that I’ve been through, every person that I’ve encountered here and everything that I’ve made here has been a blessing. I would say the gospel would be the main thing. I wouldn’t have everything that I have and I wouldn’t see blessings, I wouldn’t be able to make new friends if I didn’t have the gospel and Heavenly Father there to love me and support me in whatever I was doing and make me happy. So I would say the gospel and the opportunity to get baptized and confirmed. I really love my Savior and want to go back to him. It was the highlight of my BYU–Hawaii experience. Again, basketball and school along with the gospel. I love everything here. Basketball is my love, my passion, what I love doing and I know that I play basketball because I’m blessed and it comes back to my main point again which is Heavenly Father.
