Wong is locked in

Mills High point guard Kyle Wong was feeling a wide range of emotions, from shock to relief to unmitigated joy. Last Friday, the Vikings beat their nemesis, Burlingame -- finally -- for the first time in Wong's stellar three-year varsity basketball career. Afterwards Wong, who scored 14 points in the victory two days after scoring 29 points in a win over El Camino, couldn't contain his excitement. After all, the 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior had waited three long years for a moment like this. "It was an amazing feeling that's hard to explain," said Wong, the Daily Journal's Athlete of the Week. "Getting beat by Burlingame for two years straight was a bad feeling, and to finally beat them was great because we had really never come through in a big game like this." Wong has set a high standard for himself, but even he had to be pleased with his performance last week. Last Wednesday, he poured in 29 points -- one shy of his career high -- in Mills' 66-49 drubbing of El Camino. Wong finished a remarkable 13 of 15 from the floor in basically three quarters of action. He probably could've hit the 40-point barrier had he not been late for the game. Wong started the game on the bench and didn't check in until there was a minute left in the first quarter. At the time Mills was trailing by six. Wanting to redeem himself, Wong did that and more. "I felt (Mills) coach (Rich Hanson) benching us (Wong and the two other starters who were late) was the right decision, and I was mad at myself for putting our team in a position like that," Wong said. "I came out wanting to play with a purpose since I put our team in danger of maybe losing that game." Instead, Mills pulled away midway through the second half after another superb performance from Wong, who showcased his array of skills time and again. Wong hit pull-up jumpers in transition, connected from long range and relentlessly drove to the basket. In other words, it was one of those near-perfect games where everything he put up felt like it was going in. "The couple of shots I missed felt good, too," Wong said. "The rim looked big and I felt like I couldn't miss." Two days later, Wong was in a greater state of euphoria after his team's breakthrough win against Burlingame. The victory earned the Vikings a co-title along with Carlmont and in the process snapped Burlingame's seven-year Peninsula Athletic League title run. Wong is simply the engine that makes the Vikings go, a relentless competitor who attacks opponents in much the same way he approaches his workouts -- with vigor and determination. Wong is so driven that Hanson has to constantly remind his standout not to overtrain. "We almost have to slow him down when the season gets going because he'll go work some more after a hard practice," Hanson said. "Kyle is constantly working to get better, whether it's conditioning-wise, lifting weights or practicing shooting or dribbling. He's got it all covered." Especially at the free throw line. In an era where it seems like more and more high school teams have woeful percentages at the charity stripe, the opposite holds true for Wong, who is shooting 92 percent from the line this season. "You can tell when he gets to the free throw line, he really locks in," Hanson said. The same can be said about every aspect of Wong's game. Wong loves to watch film, especially games in which his team loses and he doesn't play well. He pored over video tape of Mills' earlier losses to Carlmont and Burlingame, then went out and broke down both of them as the Vikings won the rematches. Wong's ultra-competitive nature drove him to do some extra studying in the film room. "What drives me (to work hard) is my love for the game," he said. "I know there might be someone working harder than me, so I'm going to put in as much time as I can. I'm going to use basketball to get a (great) education. I know in the end it won't get me to the NBA, so I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can." Talk about having the right perspective. Wong, who carries a 3.5 GPA, went through some serious adversity last year regarding -- of all things -- academics. In a six-week progress report, Wong failed two advanced placement classes simply off two failed tests. The unfortunate turn of events made Wong ineligible right about this time last season. He could only watch helplessly as his team made its push to the Central Coast Section playoff quarterfinals. The setback only pushed Wong to get even more disciplined with his studies this year. "Looking back on that, it made me stronger," he said. "It gave me the drive to make me even more focused with school and with basketball. Last summer on days when no one wanted to go out there (and practice), I'd be running up hills." Wong hasn't stopped running since.