We sat down with Eastern’s junior guard Corey Sawyer Jr., who puts hot sauce in his ramen, and asked him questions ranging from basketball to food to his car.

Q: How has your season been going so far?

A: “It’s going pretty well. We had high expectations, but we’re just trying to do the best we can to get in a good position for the playoffs and compete for a championship.”

Q: Favorite postgame meal?

A: “Probably Dirty’s.”

Q: What do you get at Dirty’s?

A: “The sweet chili wings with some french fries.”

Q: Who was your biggest inspiration growing up?

A: “Definitely my parents. My dad, he played at the highest level, but he played football. So he played in the NFL, and my mom has just always been my support system. So he supported me and [made] sure I’m happy and I’m doing the best that I can to be the best version of myself.”

Q: Being a student athlete is very hard. How do you balance the two?

A: “At a young age, my dad always taught me to take care of my school first and then take care of my basketball so it’s easy. I’d say I like to take care of my schoolwork, get it out the way so I don’t have to worry about it, and then basketball is just an everyday thing.”

Q: What’s the hardest part of being a student athlete?

A: “I would say for most athletes, just the balance, like being able to balance your schoolwork and time on the court and then also like if you want to be great, you got to put on extra work. So [finding] a time to put the extra work in and outside of practice and your schoolwork.”

Q: What is currently your favorite thing to snack on?

A: “That’s a good question. I mean, our locker room is filled with ramen noodle cups.” 

Q: Beef or chicken ramen?

A: “Chicken, you know, with a little bit of hot sauce in there.”

Q: What is their most rewarding part of basketball for you?

A: “Just like making your fans happy, making people around me happy. We have a lot of kids that come up to us after the game and just to see that they show nothing but love for the sport just makes you want to keep going.”

Q: What’s your favorite thing to cook?

A: “Chicken and rice.”

Q: What is your ideal outfit?

A: “I kind of change it up all the time.”

Q: Do you ever thrift?

A: “Yes, sometimes in Orlando. I love clothes and shoes. I’ve always loved shoes when I was a kid, but now [I] like clothes and seeing people express themselves to make clothes and seeing different looks. I like looking into it.”

Q: What is your favorite season?

A: “Probably summer.”

Q: What is your biggest fear?

A: “Losing a loved one. I’m super big on family.”

Q: Waffles or pancakes?

A: “Waffles.”

Q: What are your top pet peeves?

A: “One is when someone asked me a question that I already answered. I don’t like repeating myself.”

Q: If you had to do any other sport, what sport would you do?

A: “I would definitely be a football player. I mean, my dad played football. I played football when I was younger, so I would have some talents in football.”

Q: What position would you have been if you were to play football?

A: “Probably a safety or corner[back].”

Q: What type of car do you drive?

A: “A black Mercedes Benz.”

Q: Does your car have a name?

A: “Black Panther because it is all black. When I got it, ‘Black Panther’ was like coming out. I didn’t want the Batmobile.”

Q: What would you tell 10-year-old you?

A: “Your journey is going to be different than everyone else’s. Don’t worry about anyone else’s journey because I’ve had a tough journey to get here and it’s always been a dream to play Division I. Out of high school, I had wished I was one of those guys that had a DI shot straight out of high school. Like growing up in Orlando, playing against all these guys, there [were] a lot of guys that I played against that had that traditional journey to the Division I level, but that just wasn’t mine. And so I caught myself like worrying about other people who had this offer or that offer and I guess that’s them. So I feel like because of how hard my journey was, like this just gives me another reason to not stop; to keep going because like I didn’t go through all of this for no reason.”

The Sports Staff can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].