32, then 6

I have more work cut out for me than I first thought. I had a breakout game last week, then all of the sudden I go 2-10 from the field and 2-7 from the line... It's time to start working harder. I thought about it, and I see other players lifting at the gym. They're working hard to achieve something too. But if I work harder, then I will be the better player. So for those of you who hit the gym everyday, I'll be doing it twice a day. For those of you who play 2 hours a day, I'll be playing 4. I'm going to work harder than I ever have, and I'm going to work harder than anyone else will. I am going to push it to my limits and beyond.

Basketball

Today I made a promise to try to fulfill one of my dreams...

I'm going to work as hard as I can in order to make the UC Irvine Men's basketball team. Whether it is as a player or just a team manager. After this intramural season is over, I'm going to start tough workouts. I'm going to get in touch with Coach Pat Douglass and whoever else I can to give me the best shot at making the team. I want to add about 10 pounds of muscle, decrease my running times, and get my vertical jump into the high 30's or higher. Even if I don't come close, I will still walk away with a sense of pride that I gave it my all... not to mention probably a whole ton of new basketball skills and athleticism. 

I've never embarked on anything like this. The last couple of times I tried, I stopped, because I didn't think it was worth it, and it was hard. But I really want this bad. I want to play Division I College Basketball. So here it goes. This is the road I've chosen. I just hope I have the support I need to do this.

Wednesday's game..

Mind was ready, body felt good, and I knew it was game time in a few hours. Got to the ARC around 10pm. I was relaxed, just waiting for the rest of Rominstar to show up. I knew I had to step up this game, and I really wanted this game bad. It was game time, and through all the hustle, sweat, bumps and bruises... we came up 1 point short (69-70) in a comeback attempt (down by as much as 13 points). We do believe though, that there was a scoring mistake, and we had witnesses, so hopefully we can change that. If not, we're still in the playoffs. But there was something else that stood out to me...

32. That number, 32. That's the number of points I had in that game. That is my career high, and a number that I look at and can't believe it's real. Now many people who don't know me, and watch the NBA all the time would say, "oh, 32, yeah, like 5 guys scored that tonight in the NBA." But 32 just shows me how far I've come in basketball. 

- Just 2 and a half years ago, I was playing school ball, averaging a measly 3 points a game, with a horrendous less than 20% of my shots made. And that was as a starter. My ball handling was horrible and I was not an athlete or a gametime shooter. 

- The following year with Eden, I became a pure shooter, making about 38% of my 3 pointers, and averaging 6 points a game. I was inconsistent in my scoring output, and I was not a point guard on that team. I ended the season showing some improvement, but I was still unathletic.

- I came to college knowing I had to become a better basketball player (especially at point guard) to hang with the players here. The competition was the same as with Eden and on the Varsity level. I started lifting weights, playing a lot of pickup games, and working on my ball handling into the late hours of the night. I started to see improvement in myself. I played in the Middle Earth Tournament, and had about 14 points a game. That wasn't bad, but it was just a little fun Tournament.

- I joined the Chinese Association and played my first recreational intramural game with them. The first game was horrible, I had only 2 points and 5 turnovers. The next game however blew my mind. I had 28 points, the most ever in an organized game for me, and it was against a fairly legit team. As the season progressed I had 15, 8, 25, and 6. Still very inconsistent, and I knew I had to work harder than ever.

- Winter quarter came, and I decided to create a team, Rominstar, with several people I knew from the dorms in Middle Earth. We weren't sure where we stood against other teams, but we decided to enter into the Intermediate level (players with experience, many had former High School Varsity players on them.) This would be a breakout season for me, and it's not even over. We played our first game and lost, although I had 19 points and about 4 assists. I went 13-15 at the freethrow line, the most for me, ever. The closest to that effort was 4-6 freethrows when I was playing in High School and with Eden. The next game we won, and I had 19, along with 4 clutch 3 pointers in the final minutes of the game, which was a huge confidence booster for me. I slowed down with 13 and 10, in a blowout win and a blowout loss (lost to the best team in the league, hands down). Coming into this game, wanting to win to have a .500+ record, I was prepared. I was prepared to help my team win, I wasn't prepared for the scoring output I was about to produce.

- The game was intense. We were head to head with them. I hit a few three pointers in the first half. I was winded, and I came out. The lead went from 4, to us trailing at halftime by 12. I knew I had to step up. We went in with a lot of intensity. I was playing with a bruised hip, and later I caught a dead leg hit to my thigh. But I never gave up, and neither did my team. We hustled, dove on the floor for loose balls, came up with steals. We cut the lead down to 1, and I felt like I couldn't miss a shot in the second half. I was hitting threes in the faces of defenders, making fadeaway and pull-up jumpshots, and even hit a nice bank shot from about 15 feet out (which I called by the way). In the end, we lost by 1 (not enough fouls, we had to foul 5 times in 15 seconds to put them on the line, so they ran out the clock. on top of that, the score keeping may have cheated us out of a win). After the game, we had some good talks with the other team about what a great game it was. We had a few laughs, a serious talk, but everyone was pretty satisfied with our improvement over the season. After the game, I looked at my stat sheet. I started counting... I added the numbers up... and it came out to 32 points on 12-19 shooting. I was astounded. I never thought about getting into the 30 point range this year in an organized game (against a legit team, 2nd best next to ASA, they were 4-1). I also have been taking good shots and making them as it shows in my over 50 percent shooting percentage, and over 54% from 3-point land. This game really has shown me my improvement as a player. It gave me confidence, and I am now going to continue to work harder. Not necessarily to get to 40 or anything, but to help my team win, so that one day, we can play in a higher level, and to do that, I must play on a higher level, we all must play on a higher level. 

- Even 2 days after that game, I still look at the number 32, and can't believe how far I've come. My dad always told me that if I worked hard enough, I would make drastic improvements. He is my true idol in becoming the best you can be. I've seen what hard work does now, and I won't stop here.

Update

Ok, so I haven't blogged in a while, so heres an update.

Just got back home today for the weekend. Our flight almost got cancelled because of weather (stupid rich people and their "quiet hours" law in the OC. You would never have that happen back here at home.) I also had my cosmology midterm today, which I don't know how well I did (because of the math. It hasn't been a good quarter of math for me. I also got a D- on my pre-cal midterm.) Overall, I just have to work a little harder in the second half of the quarter, especially with a heavier workload.

On Thursday Andrea and I had an early Valentines Day celebration. It was fun. We had In n'Out and watched a movie, or at least part of it. Then we went to the PAIR night talent show. That was good. Then we went back to the dorm, and I got back to studying.

Ying also came down on Wednesday for Nicoles 19th birthday, we went to eat at Steelhead Brewery, which was ok (overpriced fish). That night I had an intramural game against ASA. We didn't meed our goal (which is embarrassing to say), and we came out with a loss, to say the least.

Right now, I'm back at home, talking to Andrea online, and about to eat some good home cooked food, so that's it for now. I'm hungry.