In addition to Victor Wembanyama, who “bluffed” everyone with his performance of 37 points, 4 rebounds and 5 blocks, including a splendid 7/11 from 3-pointers, the short American tour of Boulogne-Levallois in Las Vegas also gave met with a wave of unprecedented reactions for Steve Ho You Fat, the veteran winger of the Mets.
With his surname which looks very much like a grossophobic insult in English, he has become the darling of social networks, the commentator of ESPN2 having fun with this unusual name (“Ho You Fat 3-pointer. Yeah, I just said that. That’s that man’s name, don’t message me on Twitter”) and actor Kevin Hart even asking the Guyanese to keep his jersey!
“We didn’t chamber him because we’re used to it”, reacted one of his teammates on the team. ” He knew, coming here, that it was going to create a buzz. We could expect it, but this is crazy! »
Player trained in Cholet, after his debut in Guyana in the same club as Kevin Séraphin, Steeve Ho You Fat spent most of his career between Pro B and Pro A, revealing himself definitively in Evreux then in Roanne, before sign with the Mets in the summer of 2021.
In the Parisian suburbs, he quickly took Victor Wembanyama under his protective wing, and it was he who unlocked the tricolor “unicorn” for his first match against Ignite, a first match that got off to a bad start.
“Victor was in trouble because he was going into the paint on the pick & roll exit and it was hard for him. I told him to stop it because the defense was waiting for him,” explains Steve Ho You Fat on Yahoo! Sports. “You have to ‘pop’, you have to go outside. Stay on the 3-point line and they’ll be in trouble. It took a minute or two. But when he understood, it was magic! »
Victor’s Mentor
Now known worldwide, Steve Ho You Fat is fed up with his newfound fame. To tell the truth, he expected it knowing that all his American teammates, in Cholet or elsewhere, were always amused when they learned his name. Born to a father of Chinese origin, whose ancestors migrated from the Canton region to Guyana, to settle there permanently in the maritime trade, and a Guyanese mother (dance teacher), Steeve Ho You Fat is proud that his surname travels so much these days!
“The Chinese don’t really like mixed marriages. I’m black but I have a Chinese name, so it’s not easy every day. But it’s like that. I am proud of my name, my identity, my father and my mother,” he explains. ” That’s life. I have met many people in my life and understood that there are many ways to live. You have to be open-minded. Everything that happens to me is pure pleasure. Even the negative things. There is always something to learn. I try to learn every day while enjoying life. I’m happy because it’s my choice. I could have stayed at home, in my country. But no, I’m here [à Las Vegas], to travel around the world. Sharing my name is beautiful. »
Sage from the locker room at the Mets, Steve Ho You Fat does not sulk his pleasure, he who was told ten years ago when he had done a summer camp with the Mavs that he could go to the NBA, “nothing only for his name.
Thanks to his 18-year-old teammate, he is living his American dream and, grateful, he thanks him every day by helping him in turn with his wise advice.
“I feel like I have to take care of him like a brother”he concludes. “We have good chemistry. He is very humble and he listens. I find it amazing because he could be an individual player, thinking about his own career and his future. But no ! He listens to everyone on the pitch, and he listens to me. I try to teach him specific things, not a lot, because he’s a pure talent. I can’t teach him what I know because he sees basketball differently. He has a different view. »
