Athlete of the Week: South Lakes hooper David Rochester dazzles on court and in classroom

FAIRFAX, Va. (7News) — David Rochester is putting the student in student-athlete.

The senior big man at South Lakes High School has a 4.5 GPA and recently committed to play basketball at Brown University in Rhode Island after graduation.

“It’s a great program and it’s an Ivy League school so it was a no-brainer for me,” Rochester said. “My family supported me throughout the entire process. It’s been a tough road, but it all paid off in the end.”

Rochester only recently became a South Lakes Seahawk. After transferring from O’Connell at the beginning of the school year, Rochester said he immediately felt at home with his teammates and coaches.

“We all have a winning mindset. We all go into every game knowing if we play our hardest, we’re going to win,” he said.

Head Coach Mike Desmond said when he met Rochester, he immediately imagined he would end up at an Ivy League school or military academy.

“He’s very regimented, he has a very good, discipline work ethic,” Desmond said. “With that high GPA, I think he’s probably just going to walk into Brown, handle the schoolwork, and because he’s so coachable, just kind of play whatever Coach Mike up there needs him to do.”

But Rochester, who plans to study business at Brown, believes there is still one thing left to do before he can focus on his future in Providence:

“First, we have to get the state championship but after that, winning at Brown, that will be fun," he said.