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Quinton Webb
Quinton Webb BY OLIVIA KIM
Varsity basketball captain Quinton Webb and his teammates are wrapping up the winter basketball season at Loma Linda Academy with a bang. This year, Webb and his co-captain Nate Sitanggang are seeking to lead their team to victory in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Championships.
Webb values the bonds he has with his teammates, saying, “I definitely value their encouragement, and I know they’ve always got my back. I usually value my teammates that push me a little more because when you are the best, you tend to get comfortable, and then there’s a whole lot of people coming for your spot, coming to surpass you. So people who push me to stay on top and stay getting better help me more than people who try to let me get comfortable with where I am right now. I need someone to really push me and keep my skill-set sharp.”
At 6’5, Webb is taller than most 15-year-olds. But even though his height serves as an advantage on the court, the sophomore still puts in a tremendous amount of work to hone his basketball skills. On average, Webb practices four hours of basketball everyday, choosing to put in an extra two hours of training after his regular basketball practice. On his weekend training, Webb says, “On Sundays, I’ll get up around 6-6:30 AM, be in the gym by 7 AM, and then I have a two hour workout. I’ll go get food, have another two hour workout, and then have practice. So some days I’ll be playing six hours, on other days, on average, about four. So it’s a lot, but it’s what it takes to be great, so you’ve got to do it.”
As for his off-season training regime, Webb is aiming to balance his weight-training with his cardio to build both muscle and speed. He’s seeking to get in top shape before he begins travel basketball, in which he
plans to play in China this August. Both of Webb’s parents played basketball as well, and his mother played her high school senior year in China.
Just this last summer, from August 6 to 11, Webb snagged a spot on the Boys West basketball team to play in the 2019 Jr. NBA Global Championships in Orlando, Florida. The championship featured the top basketball teams from all over the world, and just being able to participate in such a huge competition is a feat in itself. But Webb went above and beyond, leaping over three people in an insane slam dunk trick and securing a win in the Jr. NBA Global Championship Dunk Contest. Webb’s team also went on to ultimately win first place in the boy’s championship after winning the title game against the Boys Africa team, which consisted of all the best young basketball players from the entire continent of Africa.
Now that Webb’s basketball talents have been broadcast live on televi-
sion, he’s gained new opportunities and watched his hard work pay off. Throughout the championships, Webb was able to show his abilities and get his name out there, and the experience has really helped him during this year’s basketball season.
Webb’s life has also experienced significant change now that he was both part of the team that won the Jr. NBA Championships as well as the slam dunk winner. “I would say when I came back, there were a lot of people you could tell weren’t really friends with me before, that wanted to be friends with me. And I knew it was going to happen, but then you really start to notice when you know people don’t even really like you, but now all of a sudden they want to be your friend. And now it’s kind of hard to find people who want to be my friend for me. It’s the same thing in basketball, coaches or teams know about me and want to get me on their team so they can get other people to join their organization. It’s tough sometimes, if I’m being honest, but it’s just a side-effect, I guess. Besides that, my day-to-day basis is basically the same. Like, I’m not going out and I’m not a celebrity, just people know me a little more now.”
Webb also receives a lot of misunderstandings about himself, saying, “I guess most people think I’m scary
or mean. I feel like people kind of just judge me because I’m taller, bigger. People say they’re scared of me, and I’m like, why are you scared of me? You’ve never even talked to me. There’s a lot of people who’ve never talked to me, never even played basketball with me, and they think I’m scary. They think I’m mean, but I’m not that mean, I’m just trying to be nice to everyone else.”
In the future, Webb aims to play basketball at the collegiate level. “Maybe I’ll play for two years, and then if opportunity knocks on the door, go to the NBA and play professionally for as long as I’m able to.” Right now, his dream college would be either University of Southern California or Michigan State University. After college, Webb is aiming to join the Lakers in California so that he can stay close to his family.
Webb says his role models are “players like Michael Jordan, because when he was younger, he didn’t make the A-cut basketball team. But then there are a lot of players that nobody really knows about who put in a whole lot of work, like Jimmy Butler. He’s not as big, but when he was younger, he was homeless, so he didn’t have those things. And also Pat Beverly, who had to pay to get in the NBA to even start his career. There’s a lot of NBA players who are overlooked but had to put in even more work, and nobody really notices the unseen hours behind Lebron James, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo--like the big players. But there’s a lot of little players who are overlooked that are doing really well right now but just don’t have the hype or the clout.”
Webb leaves aspiring basketball
players with this piece of advice-- “Just to stay in the gym, that’s the one thing. Everyone wants to be the best, but nobody wants to put in the work to be the best. You could see me go out and I could go score 20 points, 30 points, get all these rebounds, assists, blocks, but the thing they don’t realize is that I’m in the gym four hours a day, every single night. If it’s not a game day, I’m practicing. If I’m not practicing, I’m in rehab trying to make sure my body stays right for the next game. It’s just a lot, a lot of work. You have to be dedicated.” Photo Credits: Noah Hernandez
