Prospect Spotlight: Benjamin Cheung (2022 Valley Catholic)
While others were in lockdown this past year, Benjamin Cheung Benjamin Cheung 6'4" | SG Valley Catholic | 2022 State OR had a special opportunity. The shifty 6-foot-3, 175-pound wing from Valley Catholic was able to play in live action…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingWhile others were in lockdown this past year, Benjamin Cheung Benjamin Cheung 6'4" | SG Valley Catholic | 2022 State OR had a special opportunity. The shifty 6-foot-3, 175-pound wing from Valley Catholic was able to play in live action for several months, developing his game while improving his body – all in a pandemic-free environment. How so? Cheung explains.
“I was over in Taiwan for about eight months and I played at an international school in a shortened season,” Cheung said. “After that was over I was able to hook up with a guy that owns a private gym and he basically gave me access to that anytime, so I would just spend hours and hours in there working after school.”
Cheung played for American School in Taichung, which competes in a league comprised of other international schools on the island. Because of the strict protocols in Taiwan, the country was largely COVID free which allowed basketball games to happen normally. It was a special experience for Cheung.
“We ultimately wanted to make the TISA Cup which is the international schools tournament but we ended up falling one game short,” Cheung said. “The competition level there was definitely different. I would say it’s a little bit easier but for me, I just tried to dominate every time. I ended up averaging about 30 points and I’m pretty sure I led the league in scoring. So while it was definitely easier than it is here, it was important for me to build my confidence and work on things I’ve been working on to build up for this year.”
Cheung detailed the things he focused on improving with his game. “Changing the release point was the biggest thing for me from last year to this year,” Cheung said. “Also, worked on my right hand, extending my range, and working a lot on my ball-handling – I dribbled the ball about an hour a day at least. And I definitely got in shape and in the weight room.”
Cheung showed off some of his improved strength and skills in Valley Catholic’s opening game against La Salle. The lefty smoothly knocked down some long range jumpers, was able to create off the dribble, and use a soft touch around the hoop. While the opening game was a tough loss, he’s been looking forward to this year with Valley Catholic, one in which he’d kept in close contact with Joel Sobotka while overseas in Taiwan.
“I’m excited for this season as I’ve played with these guys for a long time – we played JV together my freshman year,” Cheung said. “These are some of my brothers for life. We’ll definitely shoot a lot of threes and we’ll play at a fast pace. We’re at a height disadvantage but we can beat teams with defense, we can beat them with threes, and we can beat them with speed.”
Cheung is hopeful a good season will build up some good film so he can capture the attention of college coaches. A high-academic performer, he’s keeping his ears open when it comes to his college recruitment.
“I’m open to everything honestly,” Cheung said. “For me, the biggest thing is having the trust of my coach because when I have that I play my best. So I just want a college that has a coach that trusts me and I can get a decent education too. If those two work out then that would be the perfect college for me.”
Now that he’s back home in Beaverton, Cheung can further reflect back on his time in Taiwan and the feelings are strong.
“I feel really blessed and lucky that over there they have COVID under control,” Cheung said. “So I was really lucky to have what a lot of kids couldn’t have like gym access and how everything is open there. So those eight months it gave me a different perspective on what the world is going through right now.”
Cheung currently ranks as the #43 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2022 rankings.