The Brandeis Hoot sat down and spoke with Quron Zene Jr. (Q)—a first-year on the Brandeis men’s basketball team. He spoke with The Hoot about his life as a student athlete and his time navigating competing at the Division III level.
Zene is a six-foot-five power forward from Windsor, Connecticut and attended high school at International Management Group (IMG) Academy in Florida. He told The Hoot “the system there [at IMG] … and the [college athletic style] culture and familiarity with certain plays that we run and terminology we use in basketball made the transition [to DIII] easier.”
Although Zene has been exposed to a college-style offense and defense, he still feels the transition from high school basketball to Division III basketball has been different. He said, “The speed of the game is different, more fast-paced, more physical and I am guarding seniors and 23-year-olds so it is harder from a physicality standpoint.”
When asked about individual success, Zene said, “I want to help the team win as many games as possible and play hard and play my role.” Zene is one of two starting forwards on the team and is tasked with guarding centers and power forwards. In his second collegiate game against Rhode Island College, Zene had seven points, four rebounds including three offensive rebounds and four assists. Beyond the stats sheet, Zene was very active guarding guards on help defense and assisting in contesting interior shots. In addition, he took a charge in the first half that helped the Judges bring momentum on their side versus Rhode Island College.
On offense Zene, a distributor offensively, helped to set screens and handoffs to other plays to get open threes. In addition, offensively Zene shows great court awarenes, knowing when to drop back for an open look, whether that be from mid-range or for a 3-pointer and when to help with interior offense. Zene’s playing time has helped the Judges to start off the year 3-0.
Off the court, Zene is studying psychology. He is interested in sports psychology and social psychology. He said to The Hoot, “I want to help athletes with mental health.” In addition, he hopes to help athletes mentally from coming back from injury which can be a tough time. Outside of the classroom, Zene has been an active member in his community of West Hartford, Connecticut.
In addition, Zene is a podcaster on the podcast “Ghetto Boy Dreams.” The podcast aims to share stories of college athletes and influencers from New England to inspire youth to go for their dreams and goals even if they may be facing challenges. Zene’s personal goal of the podcast is to share his personal story of reaching his goal of being a college basketball player to help youth be focused with their goals even if they face challenges. Also, he is interested in learning about social justice and understanding the lives and movements of influential people like Malcolm X. Zene learns about social justice figures because he wants to help others and make their lives better. Zene has the skill set to be impactful both on and off a basketball court.
