Cal Poly athletes go overseas
Paso Robles passion for basketball
–For many Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo natives, the name Bob Cantu rings a bell. As a Paso Robles native, Cantu has returned often over the years to host multiple summer basketball camps, with his last appearance in 2018.
Over the years, Cantu has taken flights and long car rides from his various positions as one of the top assistant basketball coaches in the NCAA. He’s a busy coach, as well, having led his teams to 20 post-season appearances at colleges like University of Portland, University of Texas El Paso, and University of Southern California.
However, Cantu began coaching at California Polytechnic University, based out of San Luis Obispo, where top basketball athletes don the Mustang jersey to play in the Big West Conference of the NCAA. Since then, Cantu has returned to host camps for 8,000 students. The Paso Robles locals interested in basketball will notice one key aspect of basketball players from Cal Poly: they often become international athletes.
Mustangs go abroad
From 2006-2011, Paso Robles native Derrick Jasper was a hopeful for the NBA. He played with promise for University of Nevada Las Vegas, but ultimately accepted a staff position at Texas Tech.
Cal Poly alums have fared better in their hopes of finding full-time work on the court. Sean Chambers, who graduated as a Mustang in 1987, went on to play professional basketball in Alaska and the Philippines—he was even asked to try out for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul for the United States Athletics team.
There is a pattern for many basketball athletes to make the move from Cal Poly Tech in San Luis Obispo to the farthest reaches of the world. Another Poly Tech alum, Drake Ellison U’u, went from being a Mustang on the court to being a Wildcat for the NBL in Perth, Australia.
However, a big move doesn’t mean that a former Poly Tech player or basketball fan in general falls out of the loop—after all, 35% of traffic to the NBA website comes from outside the US. Fans worldwide have access to the odds from trusted experts and options for viewing games remotely for both the NBA and the NCAA, no matter if they’ve left central California.
One year after U’u graduated Cal Poly, Chris Eversley helped the Mustangs win their first-ever Big West championship. After graduating, Eversley toured China with the United States Basketball Academy before eventually signing with the Westports Malaysia Dragons.
In an interesting turn, while athletes abroad like U’u and Eversley may rely on an internet connection to stay updated on NBA stats, many back at homestay tuned to the ASEAN Basketball League to closely follow them. It shows the youth of Paso Robles that with a basketball in their hands, anything is possible.
