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There are plenty of reasons why 6-foot-9 Oscar Cheng could have spent his senior year in a comfort zone. At Sacred Heart Cathedral in San Francisco, he was a valued part of a squad that upset top-seeded Witty in the CIF playoffs.
“We had an up-and-down league season, and we made a special run and came together as a team. We upset the No. 1 team in the region, and we went on to win the Open Division sectional title. That was an exciting run,” Cheng said this week. “People didn’t even think we deserved to be in the Open Division, and we surprised everybody and won the whole thing.”
He has friends for life back in the Bay Area. Yet, here he is. Cheng, his younger brother Desmond — who is a 6-5 sophomore — and the rest of their family are now residing in Kaaawa. All for the pursuit of a dream.
“Oscar is interested in UH,” Kahuku coach Brandyn Akana said.
“I’ve been here, and the second you get here, everybody treats you like family,” Cheng said. “You do feel like you fit in right away. Might be a big change for a lot of people, but I felt comfortable right away.”
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 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.”
As a center, Cheng will have his way against most OIA competition. He runs the floor well, can finish in the paint. He wants more, though. His dream is to expand his range to the arc, to be consistent with the mid-range game.
While here, Cheng worked out for hours every day in the BYU Hawaii gym, working to improve his skills. On Tuesday night, he was flying back to the mainland for summer tournament play, which should help him get even better. He and Desmond will play in three tournaments — in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas — with his longtime club team, Bay City Warriors.
“I’ve lived there my whole life. I love it out here, but the Bay Area will always be where I’m from. I miss my friends there. Family is over there. I still miss my teammates. I’ll always have love for them. We had a special bond,” said Cheng, who said he will be back by the end of the month, in time for the start of school.
This new chapter, uprooting to chase a dream, isn’t easy for any athlete, but Cheng is handling it with a lot of maturity.
“It hurts to have to leave my teammates and friends, but at the end of the day, this decision came with my family. They had to move out here and this was best for me,” he said.
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