Chase Budinger Official Website

He sure showed them.   Chase Budinger was a highly decorated high school basketball player at La Costa Canyon whose stock soared after his senior season in 2006. 

When the Houston Rockets miraculously landed the top pick in the 2002 NBA Draft and landed Yao Ming, it was supposed to usher in an era of greatness to rival the career of former Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon. 

Chase Budinger let out one of those laughs that are really more of an exhale when something is not all that funny.

After watching Budinger day in and day out for the last 12 months, the Rockets know precisely what the 22-year-old Southern California native brings to the table. They’ve seen his silky-smooth jump shot and borne witness to his advanced basketball IQ.  

CARLSBAD -- For Chase Budinger, the gym at La Costa Canyon High was the site of many of his greatest athletic accomplishments. But when faced with the prospect of speaking in front of hundreds of current Mavericks athletes and their parents, he said he felt more nervous than any time he wore a basketball or volleyball uniform there. Budinger, who after graduating from LCC went on to a standout college basketball career at the University of Arizona and recently completed his rookie season with the Houston Rockets, returned to his former high school Monday night to speak at its annual athletic awards night. He managed to fight through the butterflies in his stomach well enough to give a keynote address in which he stressed the five keys to his success: commitment, work ethic, humility, resiliency and competitiveness.