Fourth-year Yuuki Okubo is a guard for the Oberlin men’s basketball team. Originally from Los Angeles, Okubo was an internet sensation who went viral multiple times before coming to compete on the court for the Yeomen. Off the court, he is a Psychology major with a minor in Anthropology. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

How did you start your basketball career?

My parents got me into it when I was around five. I played in this Asian league, actually, up until around seven. After that I took it pretty seriously, joined a club team, and then it’s been the grind since.

You grew up in Los Angeles, on the other side of the country. What made you decide to come to Oberlin, and how was your high school experience different from here?

I went to Crossroads High School in Los Angeles. It’s actually kind of similar to Oberlin in terms of size and beliefs, so the transition to Oberlin really wasn’t that hard. We probably had around 120–140 kids in our grade.

The previous coaches at Oberlin my first year recruited me. I think they saw me play at one of my tournaments, and they got in contact. Honestly, they just reached out to me the most. I didn’t really have a dream school or anything, so I just felt the most love from them and felt the most wanted here at Oberlin. 

Coming out of high school, you gained a lot of internet fame, with videos of you dominating earning millions of views on SportsCenter NEXT. How did you handle this attention at the college level? 

I handled it pretty well. I feel it was mostly love all around campus at this level. There were just so many genuine, nice people. I didn’t really see any downsides to that here, honestly. At away games, sometimes they’ll be chirping in the crowds. But honestly, I like that, because that just means that they know who I am, or I’m doing something right. It wasn’t the hardest transition, but I enjoyed all the fame. 

One really interesting video from your high school career was your game against Chaparral High School — despite the whole student section mocking your height, you remained composed and played at an extremely high level. Do you feel that same pressure at the college level, and how do you remain composed under that amount of pressure? 

In high school when that was happening, I was a little younger, so it was harder to balance locking in on the game and paying attention to them. But now I feel it helps me. Honestly, the more people there are at games, the more people that are chirping, it just gets me turned up. And then I feel that mindset reflects on the whole team. I am short, so it’s inevitable, but I like the attention on the court especially. If they’re hating on me, it means I’m doing something right.  

How do you deal with the common misconception that you’re undersized for your position? 

I feel like I just get the job done. It doesn’t really matter how tall you are or how you look, as long as you get the job done. On the court, I think I can compete with anybody regardless. Just keeping that mentality of “I’m better than you” makes my size not matter.

With third-team All-NCAC honors, playoff berths, and the most single season wins in Oberlin history, you’ve clearly had a great career here at Oberlin. What would you say has been the highlight of your time here — either on or off the court? 

The highlight of my time here off the court was definitely getting closer with my teammates and meeting everybody here that showed love to me and our team. On the court, I would say just making the jump from my first year where we won six games to my second year where we won eight games, and then to last year where we won 14 games. The different mindsets we’ve had, how we’ve changed, how we’ve grown as a whole, is just crazy, and then we’re hoping to have another great year that yet exceeds last year. So just the change in culture I’ve helped bring is my highlight.

Is there a set goal in mind for you or the Oberlin basketball team as a whole this coming season?

I am trying to break the Oberlin all time assist record. I have that in the back of my mind, but honestly, I guess it matters, but not really. The team’s goal is to be top three or top four in our league, win our league, and make it to the NCAA Tournament.