Ventura Has Lost McCurtis : Basketball: Cougars’ 6-7 All-County forward leaves home and will live with relatives in Kansas, where he will spend his senior year.

Anthony McCurtis--a member of The Times’ All-Ventura County basketball team--has left Ventura High and will enroll at a school in Kansas for his senior year, his mother confirmed Thursday.

Dellis Neal said her son will live with relatives in Hutchinson, Kan. Neal was raised in Hutchinson, which is located in central Kansas.

McCurtis, 17, will begin classes today at Hutchinson High. Neal said she expects McCurtis--an agile 6-foot-7, 190-pound center-forward--to play basketball for the school.

“He was unhappy (in Ventura),” Neal said. “As a mother, it was very difficult for me to let him leave.

“If it were up to me, he would have stayed here, but he was so unhappy.”

Neal returned from a weeklong trip Thursday and informed Ventura officials of McCurtis’ decision. Neal, who works in the county, said she is undecided about her future plans. She also has a daughter who attends junior high school in the county.

She said her son’s desire to leave the area was prompted in part by racially motivated verbal attacks and threats directed at him. She said he was once threatened by a group of white males on his way home from school.

“People say you can’t run from racism, but some places are better than others,” Neal said. “This should be a better situation for him.”

Said Cougar Coach Dan Larson: “All of us in the program wish Anthony the best of luck. We hope this is the best thing for him in the long run.”

There had been speculation earlier this week that McCurtis would not return to Ventura. Athletic Director Mickey Perry said Monday that McCurtis did not attend many of the Cougars’ summer-league games and that his status as a student was “unclear.”

McCurtis was one of the county’s best big men as a junior. He played a major role in the Cougars’ winning the Channel League championship.

McCurtis had averages of 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as Ventura went 22-4, 13-1 in league play.

“It was pretty clear he wanted a change,” Perry said. “I hope for the best for him.”