Windermere Prep’s Fanbo Zeng in cautionary quarantine

Windermere Prep boys basketball standout Fanbo Zeng is back in his home country of China, and with his arrival comes a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

Following the closure of Windermere Prep due to the coronavirus outbreak, Zeng decided to return home to be with his family, but just like everyone who is flying into the country he must be placed into quarantine, said Windermere Prep head basketball coach Brian Hoff. 

While he doesn’t get to see him on the basketball court around campus at the moment, Hoff does get to see Zeng two times a week online as he instructs the team sports class over Zoom that Zeng is a part of. He also communicates with Zeng regularly through other means as well. 

At the moment Zeng is doing well, but is stuck in a hotel room as he waits out the rest of his isolation period. To say Zeng is ready to get out and get back to his sport is an understatement, Hoff said.

“I talked to him yesterday evening, and he said the first thing he wants to do when he gets out is go to the gym,” Hoff said. “He’s just itching to get back to playing and working out. He’s anxious to get out and get back to training over there in China.”

For someone like the 6-foot-9 sophomore, staying still is not something that is easily done. 

Since Zeng first arrived on campus in the fall of 2018, he’s been a constant presence in the weight room and in the gym, and it has paid off tremendously. This past season alone Zeng averaged 15.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocked shots and 2.1 assists per game — he also shot 47% from deep as well.

His stats and play have drawn interest from numerous Division I schools, and has landed him spots at some of the country’s biggest camps — like the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp and Pangos All-American Camp. He also holds a spot on the Chinese Junior National Team.

Though the camps are still on at this current time, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what happens next for Zeng, but Hoff said that he expects Zeng to be back by the start of the next school year.

“He’s planning on — at least for the next couple of months — staying over there and finishing his classwork, and workout and train with the junior national team,” Hoff said. “He might be able to get back over here for any summer camps or AAU events if they take place. The possibility is he’ll just wait until the fall and come back for the fall semester.”