Hsieh uses Merritt College as a steppingstone toward dream

After graduating from St. John's High School right off a high school championship basketball run in 2018, Tony Hsieh packed his bags to pursue his dream of playing college basketball for an NCAA Division I program. His journey took a slight detour, however, after Hsieh found out his school of choice, California Baptist University, did not hold open tryouts for basketball. 'I actually almost gave up on basketball my first semester of freshman year,' said Hsieh, describing the feeling of despair after traveling thousands of miles to find out he would not be able to play for California Baptist University. While many may have called it quits, Hsieh resorted to what he does best. He went to work - playing, training and building a basketball network in the states. 'I got pretty close with the players on the team and trained with some of them as well. I was able to learn a lot from them, mainly about how basketball works in the states,' he said. It was at this point some of the guys encouraged Hsieh to keep playing and even consider going to a community college. 'I ended up at Merritt College and, honestly, it was all luck and great timing,' he said. Hsieh happened to be wearing shorts from California Baptist University at a pickup game at University of Southern California and was noticed by a former CBU player who was playing professionally overseas. 'We talked and he connected me with coach Derrick Jones at Merritt College in Oakland,' Hsieh said. Hsieh took the opportunity and ran with it, flying to Oakland a week later to work out with Merritt and earning a spot on the team. 'I really liked the atmosphere and I felt it was a good fit,' he said. 'I also have family in the Bay Area so that played a factor as well.' Hsieh said it took him nearly a year to make the connections he needed to get on a team where he could play, an element almost as important as training itself. With Guam being 'in the middle of nowhere,' as Hsieh described it, there is a gap in knowledge with how basketball and sports in general work in the states. To overcome this gap, Hsieh recommends athletes on island start getting their games filmed and putting themselves out there as soon as possible. 'Contact as many coaches and send as many emails out as you can. That's one thing I wish I did more in high school,' he said. Even though playing for Merritt College was not a part of his original plan, Hsieh is using the opportunity to play against tougher opponents than those he would normally see on Guam. Fred Peters, Hsieh's coach from St. John's, said he thinks the fact Hsieh will be able to play is the most important thing for him at the moment. 'The level of competition at Merritt is fantastic for Tony's game. It forces him to play quicker and be more mentally and physically prepared to compete at the next level,' said Peters, who had seen Hsieh's evolution as a player since he was five years old. 'When he got back to Guam in March, I could immediately tell his shooting range had increased and he was quicker.' At 20, Hsieh said he has had some ups and downs while working toward his dream of playing basketball at the highest level, but he is just getting started. 'My goal is eventually to get a scholarship to a four-year program and ultimately play professionally overseas and do what I love for my career,' he said.
Courtesy of: postguam.com