There's a new generation of influential voices shaping New England basketball, and Vinh Bui is among the leaders.
Bui is the coach of the Shooting Touch program, a small, independent team that has slowly risen to be a formidable force among the local grassroots organizations. He's an assistant coach on back-to-back reigning NEPSAC Class AA champion Nobles, and he has previously been the head coach for the New Mission girls team an assistant on the title-winning New Mission boys side. His social media accounts (@hardwoodjungle on Twitter/X and Instagram) are among the most active in local online discourse.
But Bui also grew up in Dorchester and is proud of the city that has shaped him. He shares a special relationship with his niece, Christina Pham, who has become one of the top talents in the region's 2025 class.
Bui joined the HoopWise podcast for a broad conversation. He discussed the challenges of building up an independent AAU program, the secrets to Nobles' success, his lessons learned as a coach and parental figure, his unique bond with Pham, and more.
Watch the video
Highlights
What about the culture at Nobles makes players want to buy into not being individual stars?
Bui: "That's one of the recruiting pitches from Alex (Gallagher). He literally tells you: If you want to come to a school where you're going to average 25 points a game, don't come here. Like, he tells them straight-up, and he told us that when Christina was 11 years old.
So the big part about it is, if you want to be part of something greater than yourself, you come to Nobles. If you want to be about yourself, then maybe this is not the best place for you. And that's not to say you don't get some shine. My lens is my lens and I see what I see, but like — talent-wise, there's obviously other kids, but like what's a more recognizable face than Christina Pham right now in New England basketball that's currently in high school basketball, right? What's a bigger face than Jasmyn Cooper right now, as far as a kid coming out of Massachusetts? So you get your shine through the success of us, versus what you just do individually, and then everybody keys in on a role."
What do you think is the ceiling for Christina?
Bui: "Her superpower is literally her ability to work. She got the same recipe as Tahira (Muhammad): three workouts a day, every day, in the summer. Six days a week, one rest day. And it's not just like the on-the-court stuff. It's what she eats, how much she sleeps — like, the kid can sleep. And then obviously the work she puts in. ... I mean, I think sky's the limit. She will eventually play on the Vietnamese national team at some point. That's gonna be cool."
Listen
The HoopWise podcast can be streamed here and on major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
