WSN: Welcome back, everyone. I’m Sidney Snider, the Sports Editor at the Washington Square News. I’m here today with Tristan How, co-captain and graduate student forward on NYU’s men’s basketball team. How currently leads the Violets in scoring and rebounding, averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds this season, which has been a historical one for the program.We’ll get more into that in a minute, but thank you so much for joining me today, Tristan.
How: Happy to be here.
WSN: So, you are a grad student transfer from the University of Virginia.
How: Yes.
WSN: And I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the transition from D-I to D-III, from UVA to NYU and how you have clearly found your spot on this team.
How: Absolutely. It’s one that came with a lot of uncertainty for sure. I didn’t know what it was going to be like, but it’s, like you said, it’s been going great so far. Um, I learned so much at UVA. I learned so much. I’m so thankful and indebted to that program. I think the qualities it gave me as a leader and as a human, that has flourished here.
And the goal, you know, coming to D-III to NYU is to have the opportunity to play. As a walk-on at the University of Virginia, I didn’t have the opportunity to play. It wasn’t my role. I had a different, different role. It was one much more service. Um, but now at this level, I knew I would have more of an opportunity to play.
I still didn’t know what it would look like. Um, so, you know, I came on to campus at NYU, didn’t really know what to expect, but really fell in love with the guys and the culture here and just played. And I didn’t really know what it was going to be like, but it’s been awesome so far. We have a great record.
I’ve, you know, had some great individual performances, but most importantly, we’ve won — and I’m really indebted to the University of Virginia [for] preparing me. You know, as a leader and giving me the skills to come, you know, into New York and really have fun.
WSN: Yeah, totally. You mentioned you were a walk-on and you had kind of an interesting start to your career at UVA…if you could get into that a little bit.
How: Yes. So it was very unnatural, I believe. So, there’s a distinction between, like, preferred walk-on and a walk-on. So preferred walk-on is basically someone who comes to be part of, you know, a collegiate athletics team and they’re not on scholarship, but they know out of high school they’re gonna come to the school and they’re gonna be a part of the team. So, that was not me. I was the guy who, like, actually went to the try-outs, and so it’s just like a different path. And so I got on the grounds that UVA, you know, [the] start of COVID happened like [the] March, May before. And I was going to go to the trials in September, but they were canceled because of COVID. So I was like, all right, that sucks.
So, I have to wait an entire year and in that moment when I figured, I learned, they were canceled, I had to make the decision of, like, do I still want to do this? And I decided, yes, like, I want to try this. I want to at least just give it a shot and see where it goes from there. And so the following September I’m back. You know, I would bike that whole first year to, like, an outdoor park and play basketball and work on my game because everything was shut down.
Come back the following September and get the position of a practice player. So, it wasn’t the walk-on, as in, like, I didn’t have the jersey. I wouldn’t travel as much. I didn’t have access to the lifting program, but I was still a part of the team and part of the culture. And I loved it, like, okay, if I can get this walk-on position, I want it. Like, I want to continue to be a part of this team in an even bigger way. So, I worked my butt off that season, did everything I could to serve, and then, you know, by my junior year, I had the spot. I earned the spot. So, my last two seasons at UVA, I was a full walk-on roster member with the jersey, got in some games, scored some points — always fun — and had access to the lifting, [I] was really able to develop those skills that I think are really being actualized here at NYU.
WSN: Totally. I think the perseverance and hard work from those first couple years is really evident in your game here. You obviously have some really impressive stats. I’m wondering what is kind of going into it behind the scenes now that you’re here and you have full access to the program at this level.
How: Yeah, I think one of the biggest things I learned at UVA was just consistency over volume. And, that’s just the truth in sports. Just coming in every day, you know, putting in work, you know, before and after practice, just getting up the extra shots. If some part of my game needs refining, I’ll work on that with the coaches. Just being consistent with it.
Like, I know what it means to work hard and have the opportunity to play, so let’s keep working hard and take it up a notch. Um, definitely putting in the work in the weight room, too. I think that’s — it can be an undervalued part of what contributes to an athlete’s success, but that’s been critical for me. So, just doing everything I can, taking advantage of the resources here. I’ve been doing that from day one and, you know, I’ve seen some good results.
WSN: Totally. So you are leading in scoring and rebounds. I’m wondering which you prefer and what you think goes into each of those parts of your game.
How: That’s a great question. Which I prefer — they’re both fun. So actually one of my, like, tangible goals coming into the season — like coach had us do an exercise we would write, kind of, ‘what are your goals for yourself for the team had a bunch of different things — one of them was [to] average a double-double. I think I told coach [Dave] Klatsky. He’s like, ‘you know, that’s really hard,’ I was like, ‘all right, like challenge except the night.’ So I think I got the 15 and 10. Well, I just like — whatever I can do to contribute to winning, like, that’s my goal. I would say, like, maybe rebounds are a little more, like, can be undervalued. If someone really knows the game, they see the values. I’ll pick rebounds. I think that’s a…that’s a great way I serve my team. Um, but anything I could do to help my team win, that’s, that’s the goal. And it just happens to be, you know, scoring and rebounding at a high level.
WSN: I’ve heard players say that rebounding is based off of height — obviously you’re 6’7 — or rebounding is just based on desire — if you want the ball, you’re going to get it. How do you feel about that argument?
How: I think both, for sure. The athletic ability, the stature definitely helps. But it’s definitely like an effort or desire thing, like go get the ball. So I think I, you know, I have the…the height, but I definitely want the rebound. So I think that contributes to me getting an average [of]10 in the game, especially for the offensive rebounding — those you have to work hard for. And I think Emmanuel [Onuama] and I are really good at that.
WSN: Yeah, totally. We briefly spoke after you guys clinched the UAA title and you apologized for the one loss this season. Y’all went 24 [wins] 1 [loss] this season, 13 [wins] and 1 [loss] in conference, with a loss to Emory [University] pretty early on in the season. Can you talk about how that loss affected you guys as a team or yourself personally?
How: Absolutely. I think it was — I apologize for it — but it was absolutely essential, I think, for us to reach the 24-1, the 13-1 mark. Because, it just showed us that we’re mortal. And we had to really know that going into conference play, like, we play great basketball, we’re at our best, we’re the best in the country.
But the reality is, every game, we’re not going to be at our best in some capacity. So, how can you find ways to win, you know, and pick up the slack in other areas? And I think that loss was like, we need to lock in. We need to go a little harder in practice, be more focused, and you know, carry that chip throughout the rest of the season.
You know, we got the win back [at] Emory, which was awesome. But we still haven’t forgotten about that loss. Like, you know, we can lose if we don’t do what we need to do on the court. So I think that’s giving us the motivation now heading into the tournament. We need to bring our A-game [to] each and every game.
WSN: You shoot mainly from inside the three-point line. And I’m wondering, what shots are fun for you? I think I know the answer here just watching you play. But I’m curious if you think of any.
How: I think — I mean — dunking is fun when I’m able to do that. I like some.
WSN: [I thought so]
How: Yeah, yeah, that’s the one. But I like, I have like this little kind of touch shot, like a little floater, sometimes, if I stop on a dime and just kind of like push it in. That’s really fun because sometimes when I, like, [am] going really fast or being explosive, the next time down, to shooting a little touch, I can get the defensive off your heels. So I don’t know. Yeah, I would say, like, probably dunking [is] No. 1, that’s probably when I scream the most. And then the touch shot behind that.
WSN: You’re coming up on the end of your grad year, so…
How: Yes.
WSN: What’s next for you?
How: That is the question. I’ve had some pivots, um, essentially just trying to get into finance. I think my goal is like how, in these, you know, next couple of years to start my career, build career capital and accelerate my learning, knowing, that I don’t know much.
I haven’t had a job before. I just need to get into a firm and learn as much as I can. Um, and I think the finance business world is where the biggest gap in my learning is. And I think I have a lot of skills that will translate extremely well to that industry. So just trying to convince some companies that I’m worth a shot and, you know, hopefully provide some…some of that effort I put into rebounding and on the job.
WSN: Totally. What are your thoughts going into the first round of NCAA postseason play for the D-III Championship Tournament?
How: Um, extremely excited, very excited to go play. I think we’re going to have to elevate our level of focus and effort knowing that [if] you lose, you’re out. And every team’s going to play like it’s their last game, because it is.
You know, we experienced a little bit of that at Brandeis [University]. You know, they cut it to like [a 12-point deficit] with around like five or six minutes. They didn’t go away. We thought we were going to cruise, and that wasn’t the case. So, we need, for a full 40 minutes, [to] grind and get the win and we’ll be on the road, so we’ll probably face some hostility. But I don’t think it’s, you know — it’s nothing we can’t handle.
WSN: Thank you so much for joining me today.
How: Thank you.
Contacted Sidney Snider at [email protected]
