By Howie Kussoy
Published by New York Post
Dec. 15, 2023, 11:00 a.m. ET

Paige Bueckers was leading UConn to the Final Four as the first freshman to become national player of the year. Haley Jones was en route to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, leading Stanford to its first title in 19 years.

And Abbey Hsu — who as a freshman the previous season led Columbia to just its second winning season in 33 years — was serving miso soup and spicy salmon rolls at Bluefin Sushi in Parkland, Fla. The star guard did it all — deliveries, busing tables, hosting — at the restaurant in her hometown while taking a gap year from school.

"I just needed the year off," Hsu said. "It was the right decision for me."

There was too much to process. Too often, there was something to process.

Hsu faced uncertainty as a high school junior who tore her ACL before committing to a college. About two weeks later, she evacuated Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School during the deadliest high school mass shooting in the country's history.

COVID-19 arrived during Hsu's freshman year at Columbia, abruptly ending the program's breakthrough season. About two weeks later, her father, Alex, became the first South Florida medical professional to die from the new disease.

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