At age 10, senior Steven Ning remembers being diagnosed with obesity. Ning was already feeling the effects of his poor health, grappling with breathing struggles and severe mobility handicaps compared to his peers.
That’s about when he began to play basketball, and it turned out to be the best health decision he ever made — one that has given him a sense of purpose all through high school.
“I tried out some other sports like soccer and tennis but they were really difficult for me at the time,” Ning said. “I had a lot of friends that played basketball and it kind of encouraged me to try it out.”
During his fifth grade summer, Ning played on the SHS outdoor basketball courts nearly every day. In doing so, he shed 20 pounds.
After that summer, he was skilled enough to join an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team to get coaching in an effort to improve.
Still, he didn’t make the Redwood Middle School team in sixth grade.
“I was really sad at the time because I was working really hard to get better,” Ning said. “But, I kept on working hard because I knew if I kept at it I would be able to make the next team the next year.”
In seventh grade, Ning made the team, marking his first experience on a school team. Although he didn’t get a lot of minutes in games, he cemented many fundamentals at practice, including shooting and ball handling skills. He also continued playing on his AAU team.
Then came COVID-19 and its restrictions. Ning’s consistency hit a roadblock — practicing only roughly twice a week compared to nearly every day before.
In freshman year, Ning hoped to make the JV team. However, after completing tryouts, Ning only received an offer to become team manager, essentially the 13th man. This enabled him to participate in practices and even get in a few games at the end of the season.
“Honestly, at the time I was really frustrated because I really thought that I’ve been putting in an incredible amount of effort into playing basketball,” Ning said. “I was practicing every day and I played AAU, so I was really disappointed that I wasn’t going to play.”
Ning said he had a big ego at the time, but becoming team manager allowed him to humble himself and focus more on getting better, rather than comparing himself to others.
As a sophomore, Ning made the JV team and had a few strong performances early in the season, though as the season progressed and roster minutes were swapped around constantly, he wasn’t able to keep up with the same level of performance.
“[Basketball coach] Coach Sehij [Dhindsa] had a talk with me one time in sophomore year and it really changed my perspective,” Ning said. “In sophomore year I really wanted to be on varsity and I thought I deserved a spot but I felt that my skill wasn’t being seen. Coach Sehij sat me down and told me about his very similar experience when he was in high school, which made me feel a lot better and more understood. He told me to really focus on improving my game and eventually the coaches will notice and I’ll move up the ladder.”
Ning plays a scrimmage at the Phenom basketball camp in 2022.
In junior year, Ning made the varsity team. Although he accomplished his goal of being on varsity, Ning was practically the last option on the bench at the time.
Though Ning continued working hard, he was still unable to capitalize on any of the opportunities he got on the court, discouraging him even further. Coming into his senior year, Ning was determined to finally make his mark on the team.
“I knew that this would be my last opportunity to really show out and I went into the season with a now or never mindset,” Ning said.
Before the start of the season, Ning was not guaranteed a spot on the starting roster for the team but injuries down the line gave Ning the opportunity to show the coaches his skills — and this time Ning performed and earned more minutes.
With every opportunity in the preseason, Ning was able to play solid defense and contribute to the ball movement and outside shooting on offense.
“I remember I played well in the home game against Lynbrook and I started becoming a win condition for the team,” Ning said. “I was consistently hitting game sealing shots and playing good defense. I remember one of my best performances was 24 points against Homestead this season.”
As Ning felt himself finally showing what he was capable of, head coach Mike Davey took notice and kept Ning in the starting lineup as the league season began.
“Steven better understands his strengths and weaknesses as a player and really leaned into those strengths,” Davey said. “He set aside his personal needs for that of the team and became an integral player on our team.”
Despite this season being his strongest season by far, Ning said he actually spent less time playing basketball as a whole, partially because he stopped playing on his AAU team.
“I think another reason for my success this season was that my mindset improved,” Ning said. “I took some pressure off myself and trusted my own ability to perform, so that mindset really translated onto the court.”
After the end of the season, Ning received news that he made the third team all-league and was named the Most Improved Player (MIP) on the team. For the season, Ning averaged 13 points, 6 rebounds, 28 minutes and 40% 3-point percentage.
“Honestly, I was really excited when I received the news because I wasn’t expecting to get any awards going into the season,” Ning said.
Although Ning will play the sport only recreationally in the future, he sees the crucial role it played in building him into the person he is today.
“It’s a bittersweet type of feeling for me knowing that my basketball career is over, but I know I’ll keep playing basketball for fun and I’ll always have the friendships I’ve made along the way and the memories of our times playing together,” Ning said.
