Studies over basketball for UCLA commit Kobe Paras

Kobe Paras.

Though many see Kobe Paras to be the great Filipino hope in the NBA, the 17-year-old is just taking everything in stride.

With still a year left with Cathedral High School before joining the  UCLA Bruins in college, Paras said he’s just doing everything he can to fulfill his responsibilities as a student-athlete.

READ: Dunk king Kobe Paras says FIBA 3×3 slam contest tougher this year

“Right now, it’s not just about basketball. It’s also about studies,” he said. “I’m focusing on getting my grades right. That’s what you do as a student athlete. You study as well as you practice and you study first before basketball.”

Paras is also tempering everyone’s expectations about making it to the NBA, saying his focus at the moment is with the Phantoms.

READ: Perfect Paras keeps dunk title

“As of now, I just want to focus on my high school first, and then college and let’s just see what happens next. I just want to focus on what I need to develop on,” he said.

The son of PBA great Benjie Paras continued, “I’ll keep on practicing, develop on everything, and not be contented. I want to be better each and every day. Just like in the pros, they’re not contented with what they have and that’s what I want to do, to keep on getting better.” CFC