“Oscar is interested in UH,” Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana said.
Cheng is well aware of the growing connection between Hawaii and Red Raider nation. Current Rainbow Warrior Samuta Avea was a dominant wing/post at Kahuku during the state-championship season in 2016. His classmate, Jessiya Villa, will enroll at Hawaii this fall after returning from a church mission.
“I want to take this as far as I can go,” Cheng said. “My ultimate dream since I was younger is to play in the NBA, play pro basketball, and obviously the next step, my goal is to play Division I. I just love it here in Hawaii, and I like UH a lot. I heard a lot about great things about the program. They’re on the rise and they have a great culture. Coach (Eran) Ganot is doing great things.”
Cheng may not even be the best big in Hawai'i. He looks like a below the rim 6'9" player. We already have that at UH. I don't even know if Chaminade, HPU, or Hilo would pull the trigger on offering.
Not only below the rim, but moves slow too. He looks like he's slower than all our 7-footers already on the roster. Hard pass on this guy unless he would want to walk-on, but even then I'm not sure if the coaches would offer him a walk-on spot.
Naz wrote: ↑Wed Jul 03, 2019 12:03 pm
Cheng may not even be the best big in Hawai'i. He looks like a below the rim 6'9" player. We already have that at UH.
Yup!....though recent UH players with similar physical limitations have started a large majority of the games these past 3 seasons....but then again the recruiting has stepped up for this coming season.
6'8" Gibson Johnson started for 2 seasons.....while 6'8" Zimars Raimo started last season....and could start again this season.
I don't understand why people are even on UH to offer him sight unseen. His few in-game "highlights" don't even show him dunking. Before this kid was even considered, Brian Washington - formerly of Maryknoll HS - should have definitely been offered. 6'8" rim protector that stuffs everything he can... HARD. Already offered by Oral Roberts, UMKC, and Nevada but undecided. I'm sure he'd love to come back to Hawai'i.
I have to agree that his current skill set doesn't translate to D1 ball. Unless he improves tremendously, I don't see us offering him a scholarship. Prove us wrong young man.
He's only a senior in high school. He's got better mobility than any of the 7' that UH has and should develop into a good D1 player by the end of the season with some leg weights and lots of basketball skills drills like dribbling and shooting the mid-range.
shrek2 wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2019 1:51 pm
He's only a senior in high school. He's got better mobility than any of the 7' that UH has and should develop into a good D1 player by the end of the season with some leg weights and lots of basketball skills drills like dribbling and shooting the mid-range.
He's a 6'9" senior with no known offers. That kind of says something. None of the stud transfers that came to Kahuku going back three seasons improved while they were at Kahuku. They already arrived with their skillsets. Kahuku just gave them all a chance to display them. Look at a guy like Hugh Hogland (2017). He was like a two time state champion, state and Gatorade POY, and was an even better volleyball player. The only offer he had in high school was a preferred walk on spot to UCSB until Portland offered extremely late. One offer. And Portland is terrible. If this kid really wanted Ganot's attention, he needed to get hyped by Ryan Silver of West Coast Elite. Ganot will offer anybody this Silver guy hyped up.
Naz wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2019 9:53 pm
He's a 6'9" senior with no known offers. That kind of says something. None of the stud transfers that came to Kahuku going back three seasons improved while they were at Kahuku. They already arrived with their skillsets. Kahuku just gave them all a chance to display them. Look at a guy like Hugh Hogland (2017). He was like a two time state champion, state and Gatorade POY, and was an even better volleyball player. The only offer he had in high school was a preferred walk on spot to UCSB until Portland offered extremely late. One offer. And Portland is terrible. If this kid really wanted Ganot's attention, he needed to get hyped by Ryan Silver of West Coast Elite. Ganot will offer anybody this Silver guy hyped up.
The way I kinda look at it is every player has to have the desire to be a winner. KD while at Oklahoma and Oakland used to practice a lot more than the rest of the team outside of regular practice. If you go back a few years, George Gervin used to practice 6 hours a day by himself to become the scoring leader in the NBA. Michael Jordan never made the varsity in his sophomore year although he did play in the MacDonald classic in his senior year. So, if the kid has 8-12 hours a day to invest then he'll make it whether in Hawaii or in Utah, California, or North Carolina. The desire's gotta be there.
shrek2 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 5:36 am
The way I kinda look at it is every player has to have the desire to be a winner. KD while at Oklahoma and Oakland used to practice a lot more than the rest of the team outside of regular practice. If you go back a few years, George Gervin used to practice 6 hours a day by himself to become the scoring leader in the NBA. Michael Jordan never made the varsity in his sophomore year although he did play in the MacDonald classic in his senior year. So, if the kid has 8-12 hours a day to invest then he'll make it whether in Hawaii or in Utah, California, or North Carolina. The desire's gotta be there.
This kid has to absolutely obliterate the competition in Hawai'i if UH is going to entertain offering him. I mean win the OIA, States, and be POY. Sweep everything. Otherwise, I don't see UH giving more than a preferred walk-on spot.
rrforlifebaby wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 3:53 pm
I dunno, his fundamentals look pretty solid. He seems to be a non-flashy player that gets good position and is efficient with his movement.
I kinda like his body type too, skinny and mobile. He appears to have a spin move. Couple of things he would have to work on is his dribbling, mid range shot and blocking out of the heavier players.
The jury is still out on this kid. We still need to see what he does on the court. I don't think based off of what video there is of him, you can already proclaim him as the best post player in the state. If he doesn't take Kahuku at least to the state finals like Tolu Smith was able to do (single -handedly almost), then this move from California to Kahuku would have not been a good move. I still feel like if Tolu Smith didn't already have offers prior to coming to Hawai'i, he may not have had a big school like WKU offer him after the season he had in Hawai'i. But this Cheng kid, at 6'9", you're supposed to be tearing that rim down I'm sorry. Nobody wants to see a 6'9" player play below the rim.
Naz wrote: ↑Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:15 pm
The jury is still out on this kid. We still need to see what he does on the court. I don't think based off of what video there is of him, you can already proclaim him as the best post player in the state. If he doesn't take Kahuku at least to the state finals like Tolu Smith was able to do (single -handedly almost), then this move from California to Kahuku would have not been a good move. I still feel like if Tolu Smith didn't already have offers prior to coming to Hawai'i, he may not have had a big school like WKU offer him after the season he had in Hawai'i. But this Cheng kid, at 6'9", you're supposed to be tearing that rim down I'm sorry. Nobody wants to see a 6'9" player play below the rim.
