Fun

Words

I have loved basketball ever since I was very little and have had the privilege to write for a few websites that cover the NBA (I'm retired for now, however). In my intramural playing days, I was known for traveling a lot and arguing about it.

16 WINS A RING (rest in peace)

Selected original copy (B/R = featured on Bleacher Report)
- Jan. 2017: Tracy McGrady's Hall of Fame career has been misunderstood
- Jan. 2017: Vince Carter keeps reinventing to stay relevant
- Feb. 2017 (B/R): The NBA hasn't crowned a defensive-oriented MVP since Hakeem in 1994
- Mar. 2017 (B/R): History suggests Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni will win 2017 Coach of the Year
- May 2017 (Google Top Story): Klay Thompson hasn't looked quite right in the playoffs so far
- Aug. 2017 (B/R): Point guards are finally having their moment

Orlando Magic Daily

Author page
Last article (Jan. 9, 2018): How the Orlando Magic rebuild could play out during the rest of the 2017-2018 season

Hardwood Paroxysm (rest in peace)

October 2015: Finding positive value in 2015 NBA title futures bets
June 2016: The Oklahoma City Thunder and the NBA's fragile windows of opportunity

Podcast appearances

Over and Back Podcast - The Stepback (March 3, 2017): The NBA hasn't crowned a defensive-oriented MVP since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994
Locked on Magic (July 27, 2016): Previewing the Magic via FiveThirtyEight's CARMELO player rankings

Also, for what it's worth, I was once consulted by Evan Birnholz (Washington Post Sunday crossword writer) about a basketball-related clue when he was writing the 12/4/2016 puzzle (here's his column on that one).

I served as a columnist at The Michigan Daily, the flagship newspaper of the University of Michigan, for three semesters, and won the "Best of the Daily" award four times during my tenure (best column of the week). Here are some of my favorite columns:

A need for recognition (March 27, 2012)

Jeremy Lin and political correctness (February 21, 2012)

The Type 3 gaffe (November 14, 2011)

A Commander and a President (October 25, 2011)

Music

Music has always been a large part of my life, starting from when I first picked up the violin as a toddler. In middle school, I began playing the clarinet and it became my primary instrument, although I still played violin in youth orchestras. Nowadays, I don't have as much time to devote to music-making, but I still pick up my clarinet every once in a while to play old tunes, and I always think back fondly to the memories I have with my friends from the music world. Here is a musical resume of sorts.

Salut d'amour (Elgar)

I played this song for my wife at our wedding reception (June 17, 2022)!

College

Winner, Eugene Bossart Concerto Competition (University of Michigan)
- Concertino for Clarinet and Orchestra (Carl Maria von Weber)
- Solo performance (video below) at Hill Auditorium on November 16, 2011
Clarinet performance minor
Principal clarinetist (three semesters), Campus Symphony Orchestra
Michigan Marching Band (2008 football season)
Accepted to University of Florida School of Music with maximum scholarship to study with former New York Philharmonic clarinetist Mitchell Estrin

High School

Three-time Florida All-State Band selection (2006, 2007, 2008)
Studied with Dr. Keith Koons (Professor of clarinet, University of Central Florida)
Winner (winds/percussion division), 2007 Winter Park Bach Festival Young Artist Competition
Principal clarinetist in Winter Park HS Wind Ensemble for all four years of high school
Winter Park HS Wind Ensemble and Winter Park HS Park Philharmonic (principal clarinetist in both groups) qualified for 2006 Midwest Clinic
Section leader for two years in Winter Park HS Sound of the Wildcats Marching Band

Music from Green Hill Zone (the first stage of the 1991 classic video game "Sonic The Hedgehog"), as recorded with my brother (Ryan Chen) in three parts: