Life’s challenges helped prepare Chong Qui for basketball success

After hitting a last-second long-distance 3-pointer to beat Wright State on Feb. 19, Damian Chong Qui’s shot was #1 on ESPN SportsCenter’s “Top 10” plays of the day. Also noteworthy, it’s the third time Chong Qui has sunk a game-ending bucket on a Senior Night. The first one happened when he was in high school, and he repeated the feat last year against Cleveland State.

Had he known that statistic, Purdue University Fort Wayne men’s head basketball coach Jon Coffman joked he’d have told everyone he designed the play.

But those buzzer-beating moments are nothing compared to the challenges Chong Qui has overcome off the court.

Everything in life and basketball has been a fight for Chong Qui, who grew up in Baltimore. His father survived being shot once and stabbed five times in a 2002 home invasion. Later that year, when Chong Qui was 4, his mother was shot and killed. With limited memories, he knows more about her death than her life.

While walking into a restaurant to pick up dinner eight years later, his father was shot in the back. He'd never walk again, with his son becoming his primary caretaker.

There’s always been so much to fight against, too many things that might have crushed anyone else.

“You don’t think about stuff until people bring it up,” Chong Qui said. “It was just life.”

Because he started high school at only 4-feet, 9-inches tall, playing basketball was almost as challenging. Chong Qui was good enough to start as a freshman in one of the best high school conferences in the nation, but despite a career with more than 1,000 points and 500 assists, no Division 1 schools paid attention because he’d only grown a foot taller by his senior season.  

After a year in prep school, Chong Qui walked on at Mount St. Mary’s, 50 miles from Baltimore. Sitting the first seven games, he forced his way into the lineup and started 24 games, leading the team in assists.

Just before the following season, the coaches only awarded him a scholarship just before Chong Qui was about to leave school. Two years later, he led the Mountaineers in scoring and assists on their way to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Everyone was delighted with his play—everyone but him. 

“I have my own expectations of how things should or will go,” Chong Qui said. “I’ve always felt like I was behind and had to catch up. I’m 5-9, so I’m double behind. I never have the sense that I can relax. I haven’t been relaxed since I picked up a basketball.

“My big picture right now is getting to be a pro. For 24 years, I haven’t had the ideal to say I’m going to college and doing this and that. Mine was I have to get to college, and then as a walk-on find a way to get on the floor, then find a way to make plays, and then find ways to win. It’s never been like I’m here and I’m on track.”

To push toward his dream of becoming a professional player, Chong Qui needed better competition and entered the transfer portal.

Chong Qui’s main advocate during that first season at Mount St. Mary’s had been assistant coach Mike Wolf as they built a brotherhood bond. The relationship continued after Wolf left for a similar role at PFW. Chong Qui’s biggest concern was proving again he was a good player despite his height and earning a new coach's trust.

“Mike being here let me know I’d have him as my backbone,” Chong Qui said. “My first conversation with coach Coffman was about how he thought being 5-9 was an advantage. That was the first coach who ever said that to me.”

Chong Qui started 33 games last season, averaging 10 points and a team-leading 3.5 assists. This year's numbers are 9.3 points and 3.7 assists.

And his father traveled from Baltimore to attend almost every game. The always-stoic dad let some of his emotions show during the Senior Day pregame ceremonies. Then the man who always believed in Chong Qui got to see the ultimate belief-in-yourself shot.

“Growing up with my father, he always wanted me to shoot more,” Chong Qui said. “If there’s one thing he always told me if I might lose and I have the chance, I’m going to win or lose on my shot.”

Remembering that lesson, soon as a Wright State player scored with 2.8 seconds left to give the Raiders the lead, Chong Qui grabbed the inbounds pass and charged up the court.

“I’ve done last-second stuff a lot, but in the moment, it’s almost instinctive,” Chong Qui said. “I already knew if I could get across half-court with nobody stopping me, I was going to shoot it. I was trying to get to a spot where nobody was there so I could line it up.”

As Chong Qui released the shot, it felt right. And it was, starting the celebration.

Ironically, Chong Qui turned off his phone that night and didn’t learn he’d earned ESPN’s top play until the morning.

It's a lifetime highlight that perhaps everything else prepared him for. 

“It’s one shot, and it’s one game,” Chong Qui said with utter calm two days later. “It’s just a little dramatic.”