“Who’s not here?” said Canton Boys varsity basketball Coach Jimmy Reddy.

 

“Yeah, he’s right there,” responded the boys.

 

“Haha, clever, guys,” responded Reddy. Zhending Hu was unamused as usual, but the rest of the team is anything but.

 

“The boys will never get tired of that one,” Reddy added later.

 

So, who is Zhending Hu? Aside from being the pinnacle of a year-long joke, he is a forward for Canton High School’s Varsity Basketball team, and a pretty good one at that. However, you wouldn’t know that if you saw him as a freshman.

 

Basketball wasn’t always easy for Hu, and many obstacles were in his way. As a freshman, he was still the tower you see today, patrolling the halls at a confident 6’4. But when you’re 280 pounds with chubby cheeks and some baby fat, getting up and down the court poses a challenge.

Most people in his position don’t become successful in the game; there’s not a lot of demand for slow, non-athletic guys even if they happen to be tall. Hu was left with a choice: be a big gump forever, or transform his body into a well-oiled machine.

 

“Freshman year was hell,” said Hu. “I’d wake up, watch my weight all day. Have a salad. Work on my game and my body and nothing else.”

Despite working harder than most of the competition, Hu was devastated to be cut from the freshman team that year.

 

“I felt ashamed, like everything I did over the summer was for nothing. I didn’t know if I would ever pick up a basketball again.” Hu was faced with another choice: give up, or work even harder.

 

Heading into sophomore year, Hu was ready to take another stab at basketball, so he kicked everything up a level. His diet was that of a professional athlete.

 

“I sat with him at lunch for the entire first semester,” said fellow teammate and classmate Hamoudy Turf. “He would get a salad and a water bottle every day, no cheat days either.”

The discipline instilled in Hu dropped him to a svelte 245. His hard work was rewarded when he was given a spot on Canton’s Junior Varsity Basketball team. Hu was delighted to be on the team, but unfortunately, his game just wasn’t where it needed to be and he spent a lot of time on the bench.

 

“He was an excellent teammate and helped the team in a lot of ways, but he was not skilled enough or in good enough shape to make an impact on the court,” said Canton Junior Varsity Head Coach, Ryan Waidmann.

 

Another factor working against Hu that makes his day-to-day life difficult is a substantial language barrier. Coming to the United States as a freshman and not speaking a lick of English poses enough challenges on its own even without being combined with such high aspirations on the court. Hu had to learn on the fly, and basketball provided him with an escape from the harsh reality that he understood no one except on the court, where everyone spoke the same language.

 

“Hu and I didn’t talk much – well, he didn’t talk at all – but we could play basketball together and we don’t need to speak English to understand each other on the hardwood,” said fellow teammate Chris English.

 

With junior year approaching, Hu carried over his impressive habits and work ethic. Now weighing 225, Hu was in the best shape of his life and ready to put his years of hard work to the test where it really mattered. Varsity tryouts were grueling, and he wondered if he had the tools to be on the team. After three days, the team was decided, and Hu snagged a spot.

 

“I wasn’t sure if he would make it, but after day three it was clear he wasn’t just the hardest worker anymore; the big fella could play,” said returning Varsity forward, Jalen Cochran. The team acquired their first player fluent in Chinese.

 

Zhending Hu’s story is miraculous for all people in need of a little motivating. Here’s a guy who wasn’t popular, barely spoke English, and waddled until his fifteenth birthday, but had one goal and worked harder than anyone. Now, he has something only 10 other people will have next year: a Canton Boys Varsity Basketball letter.

Who made the team? Yeah, he did.