Short in real life, but a giant on the court

During a summer league game this year, a 5-foot-8 point guard from Half-Moon Bay sneered as junior Chloe Fung, standing at 5-foot,  dribbled up the basketball court. Fung studied her opponent for a split second and made her move. The opponents widened their eyes, as Fung zipped past their carefully constructed defense to score a wide open layup.

Fung doesn’t look like a stereotypical basketball player, and her small stature and quiet nature appear non-threatening. Yet for what she lacks in size she makes up with strength, speed and basketball intelligence, thriving in a height-dominated sport.

“Her weakness obviously is her size,” head coach Mike Davey said. “It’s something she has to overcome because she’s going to get posted up by larger guards.”

Even so, Davey thinks she has the strength to fend off these larger players. Davey also views Fung  as “among the best shooters on the team,” and her teammate junior Avni Madhani describes her as “one of the best ball handlers” that she’s ever seen.

With her exceptional shooting skills and ball handling, Fung became a prominent player early in her high school career, collecting award after award in her two seasons of JV including league MVP in her sophomore year under JV coach Danny Wallace.  

“The first time I saw Chloe play I could see that she was here to win,” Wallace said. “One of the things I admire about Chloe is her dedication and how she is willing to train and work hard not just for herself, but for the team.”

Fung’s determination to not let her size hold her back has been  a source of admiration for her teammates, especially for those younger players.  Coupled with her relentless work ethic, her quiet sense of humor has allowed her to develop close relationships with her varsity teammates.

“Most people think she’s shy but once you get to know her, she’s really funny, loud and weird and she has her own brand of humor,” said senior captain Rachel Davey.

Introduced to the sport when she was in kindergarten at a basketball camp in New York, she continued her passion for basketball when she moved to California in second grade, joining the local National Junior Basketball (NJB) team.

It was during an NJB game in seventh grade, when Fung scored a 3-pointer, leading her team to victory, that gave her the confidence to find success on the courts.

“When the shot went in, I felt that I could actually be a good point guard and be able to shoot,” Fung said. “After that I felt really happy and more confident that I could pursue basketball.”

Pulled up to varsity during CCS last year, Fung now faces the challenge of helping fill in the large holes left by the 2016 alumni. She admits that she was intimidated by the intensity and physicality of the varsity level at first, but she soon grew more accustomed to their fast-paced plays during the summer league.

Her role will now be more integral than ever; as one of the point guards, Fung will need to lead the team in setting up plays and adjusting to each team they play.

“Being a point guard is a really important position, managing the team, overcoming setbacks when we have setbacks and not letting them carry over into the next play,” Coach Davey said. “That’s really important for the point guards, if the last play didn’t go well, we’re not going to let it affect the next one.”

He is confident that Fung will be able to step into the shoes of previous players on varsity. However, as with all other players, there is still room for improvement for the talented point guard.

“I think she needs to gain more confidence. Success breeds confidence,” Coach Davey said. “She had success last year on JV and I want her to have the same success this year. I think the world of her and I just really want her to do well.”

As a new player to varsity, Fung is prepared to face her fair share of obstacles.

“Since I’m in smaller and sometimes not able to see over other people, I should really work on my passes and have the power and get it to players that are down low and all the way down the court,” Fung said.

To thrive among her fellow varsity teammates, Fung is determined to learn new techniques and work on her skills as point guard.

“Since I’m on varsity now, I hope to improve on being able to be a better point guard, be aware of the court, be more confident with the ball and not be scared to try new things so I can improve,” Fung said.