A Story on Steven Khoo
by Joyce Lim on The New Paper, joyce@sph.com.sg
Steven Khoo is often asked what he does for living.
“I play basketball,” is his reply. Their response: “Only?” Yes. Only. Khoo is a professional basketball player, and, at 26, is one of the stars of the Singapore Slingers, Singapore’s only Professional Basketball outfit since 2006.
He is also in the national team and is competing in the 26th South East Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang. But he insists that he doesn’t live the bling-bling lifestyle of the National Basketball Association (NBA) pros in the US. “(My friends) are always curious about my job as a basketball player and some of them think that I am like a celebrity as I get invited to social events and media interviews,” Khoo shares.
In reality, his life can be as mundane as any regular day job. He starts his training as 10am every day. Sometimes, he trains at nights and on weekends too. When he is not training, he visit schools to promote the sport.
What about the big bucks that professional basketballers are purported to earn? “I earn a pay that is enough to let me go on a holiday once a year,” says Khoo, who visited The Grand Canyon in the US this year. As he has no annual leave, he is given time to travel during off season.
His only claim to a celebrity lifestyle? He has a publicity manager to help him get appearances in parties and at social events like product launches to improve his profile. Oh, and he is dating a model. Did she date him because he’s a proffesioanal basketballer? Khoo says no, adding that she was introduced to him by a friend.
Being 1.9m tall probably helped. A survey by dating agency Lunch Actually showed that most Singaporean women prefer taller men.
Khoo, who’s 90kg and plays the Forward position on the court, says height is not a factor when it comes to dating. Indeed, the shortest girl he has dated could see only his chest when standing next to him.
Being tall doesn’t just get you the girls, it can get you some fresh air too. “When I go to crowded places, I stand out tall among the crowd and I get to breathe in the fresh air,” says Khoo.
The man couldn’t remember when his growth spurt started, but said that he was still growing when he reached 21. Towering over his peers comes with some problems. While he doesn’t need a custom made mattress to accommodate his lanky frames, he has to make some adjustment to get comfy. “The lenght of my queen size mattress is exactly 1.9m,” he says. “My head would be right against the headboard. It doesn’t bother me because I like to sleep diagonally across my bed.”
His height also means he has to keep his eyes peeled whenever he goes out.
His most embarassing off-court moment was when he hit his head against the door frame of a bus as he was getting down. “The bang was loud that other passengers burst out laughing,” recalls Khoo. But the only time that he has ever regretted being tall was during national service. “My teammate who had to pair with me hated me as we had to dig the fire trench together.” “You see, the taller you are, the deeper you need to dig the trench,” Khoo explains.
Although he is tall by any standards, he admits he still gets a shock when he meets his foreign peers overseas. At the recent Cable Beach invitational in Broome, Australia, Khoo had the oppurtunity to meet China basketball star Yao Ming, who stands at almost 2.3m. He said: “Yao Ming is the biggest human being I have ever seen. He is like a giant towering over me.”
His Trade Secrets:
1 – Most girls will be impressed when you can keep the balling spinning with one finger. Try to keep it up for at least 15 seconds.
2- Drills, which involve running up and down the court, are an important part of our training. Sometimes, it gets boring and stressful for the body, which is why we call it the suicide run. Try to find your own way to overcome such drills. For me, I shout my mother’s name when I run.
3 – You may be born to be tall, but not many are born with the talent to play. Be prepared to work extra hard to play professionally. A strict diet and training regime all year round will help to keep you longer on the game – it’s important as the lifespan of an Asian basketball player is short.
