“Kel-vin Kim! Kel-vin Kim!”
Photo by: KoreamJournal
Kelvin Kim is special not only because he is the third baller that we interviewed. He is more than that.
If you are a basketball fan living in the state of California, then you have probably heard of Kelvin Kim. Kelvin has gained himself some mad fame by becoming the first Korean and Asian to ever play on the prestigious UCLA Men’s Varsity Basketball Team.
Despite having a prolific high school career at El Toro High School in Orange Country California, where he was named 2004 South Coast League MVP, Kelvin has always had his share of doubters. Many judged Kelvin’s game by his height and claimed that he is fit for the Junior College level or prophesized that Kelvin will never play at the next level. But the doubters did not bother Kelvin who kept on playing and proving himself on the court. During Kelvin’s Senior year of high school, he got numerous scholarship offers from the east coast schools such as Boston University, Colgate, Columbia University, and many more. But Kelvin chose to walk on as a freshmen to UCLA to be close to his family.
“I didn’t know if I was ready to move that far and I really wanted to focus on academics [and] basketball. I tried to find a school that fit both of those needs. Kelvin’s parents, co-owners of a small construction business in Orange County, could make the short commute to Westwood to see Kelvin play.
Before transfering to UCSD (He is a junior now), Kelvin was AKA the Chosen One at UCLA. Although playing sparingly as a walk on freshmen, Kelvin’s popularity rose rapidly as the fans started recognizing the 5′10 Asian guy on the team that sat on the bench amongst the 6′6’s. The UCLA student section, a passionate group known as The Den, would chant Kelvin’s name “Kel-vin, Kel-vin” and UCLA Coach Ben Howland would finally bow to crowd pressure and insert him into the game.
This was two years ago.
Last year, Kelvin brought his game to a different University of California School, UCSD. Although he transfered schools, Kelvin continued to electrify the crowd. “I made the decision to transfer from UCLA at the end of last season.” Kim explained. “I just wanted to go to another school where I’d have a better opportunity to play ball.”
At UCSD, Kelvin has achieved his wish. Kindly listed at 5′10 in the profiles, (some claim that he’s 5′2) Kelvin’s name sits in the roster of the University of California San Diego’s Men’s Varsity Basketball Team. His bulky build (alliteration) seems suited for a wrestler’s or a football player’s. Nevertheless, Kelvin is a baller, a very good one. As the starting point guard of the UCSD Men’s Varsity basketball team last year as a sophomore. He averaged 8.8 points per game and led the Tritons in assists (3.8) and 3-point percentage (50).
After having a successful season at UCSD, Kelvin is breaking the sweats and hitting the weights for a marvelous junior year. “My strengths are my shooting and my passing ability”. He also emphasizes the need to use his head in the game to overcome the size deficit. “I can’t dunk. I really can’t”. For a NCAA player to be not dunking is a shame.
Such a sin can be forgiven only in the case of the awesome “Kel-vin Kim”!
Here’s a youtube video of Kelvin. We will soon upload our podcast interview with him on our site so keep checking.