While many freshmen are just beginning their high school sports careers, Junior basketball captain Max Cui has already played at a professional level. Cui has played, and started, on varsity since his first day on the court.
Cui’s professional basketball career started at just 15 years old. Before he came to PVHS, he played for the Chinese Basketball Association’s U18 team, regularly facing older and more experienced players.
“I was playing well on the middle school team and due to my dad’s connections, the CBA 18U coach showed interest in me, so I ended up playing with them for about four months and I decided to take my talent to America,” Cui said.
Cui’s father is a coach for a CBA team, which helped him land this opportunity. Playing at such a high level allowed Cui to develop both his mental and physical game. Not only does he play faster, but he also thinks faster.
“It’s pretty different compared to American play style,” Cui said. “The three-point line in China is a foot farther than the American high school one, and the shot clock only has 24 seconds, not like 35 seconds in America. There are four quarters within 12 minutes.”
But Cui believes the biggest difference wasn’t the technicalities, but rather the basketball IQ.
“Physically, I would say it’s probably the same, but IQ, the Chinese players know a lot more knowledge than American high school players,” Cui said.
When he decided to take his talents to America, Cui came to play at PVHS. He’s a top scorer for the Varsity team, and each year he continues to get better and better.
Cui realized that playing at the next level wasn’t just based on speed or strength.
“I realized I could play at the next level, when I could read the defensive player’s next move easily and make good decisions on and off the court for the basketball team,” Cui said.
Playing on the varsity team, Cui has positively impacted many of his teammates.
Junior Luke Dalis, Cui’s teammate, said “I think the way Max plays and his size on our team really helps with him being in the post, he can kick out and let us shoot, especially when he drives and can find the open man.”
But Dalis thinks that Cui’s skill is what truly sets him apart.
“Max’s ability to handle the ball well, like a point guard at 6’7, is really impressive,” Dalis said. “He understands the game very well and makes plays on the court.”
Cui’s dream is to play basketball at Princeton and continue his education there. To do that, he practices every day and is always pushing himself to be the best that he can be, both on the court and in the classroom.
After playing at both the varsity and professional level, he understands what it takes to get to the next level.
Cui’s career of playing professionally in China to now playing varsity at PVHS is a rare and remarkable story.