CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 SPORTS ) -- Imagine venturing over 7,000 miles from home just to chase a dream. STAB sophomore Haoxiang Huang did just that a few months ago.

"My goal is to improve my basketball skills," Huang said. "The level of basketball is in the top of the world, so I'm very glad that I have the opportunity."

Originally from China, Huang's basketball dreams has led him to Charlottesville thanks to the Joe Tsai Basketball Scholarship, a program by the Brooklyn Nets owner that sends Chinese students stateside to learn and play basketball at some of the most prestigious schools in the country.

"It's been a good experience in America," Huang said. "I've made a lot of friends in the United States and my coaches and teammates are very nice."

"He can be at any school in the country and for them to choose St. Anne's in small little Charlottesville was very amazing," STAB boys basketball coach Damin Altzier said.

And the experience has helped his teammates and coaches in their own way.

"It has made us all better as coaches and the players better as teammates," Altzier said. "We talk constantly about nonverbal communication, so even having someone who even if they hear you, maybe it's a little harder to understand. We are always liking to the Lakers and the Kobe years where they were speaking Spanish and Italian and English and all those different things."

Regardless of language barrier, Huang let's his game do the talking.

"He's very even keeled," Altzier said. "When things are going well on the court or if things are going poorly, we just stays about his work. He's very industrious. Whatever we ask him to do, he shows up and he does it."

"They give me some support and tell me be stronger and more physical and tell me don't lose my confidence," Huang said.

And with two more years left at STAB, he's only scratching the surface.

"Right now, he's a phenomenal player and he's done some things in game that we are like man he's going to be something special," Altzier said. "I think the big thing for us is whatever his goal is whatever his ceiling is he's going to blow right through it."