San Jose Zebra Youth Foundation

In most recent times, many Zebras and Zebraettes have gone on to play and star on many of the prep basketball teams in the county. Many have been named to various All-Star, All-City, and All-Tournament teams as prep stars and Zebra/Zebraette players. Lee Anne Sera played for the two time NCAA champion USC Trojans. Other Zebraettes who would go on to play basketball in college included Shelby Taketa (Cal Poly), Lisa Imahara (San Jose State), and Lori Kozuki (U.C. Davis). On the boys' side, Rex Walters would play in the NCAA Final Four for the University of Kansas Jayhawks. In 1993, Rex would be the sixteenth player chosen in the NBA draft and went on to sign a multi-year contract with the New Jersey Nets. The Terry Maruyama-coached Zebra team on which Rex played would be named the best Japanese-American basketball team of all time in a Nichi-Bei Times salute to Nikkei athletes and sports.Today's Zebras and Zebraettes are the recipients of a torch that has been passed from generation to generation in hope that they will continue the Zebra legacy: the best in athletic performance, sportsmanship of the highest quality, pride in their ethnic background, and adherence to work ethic. In the beginning, the organization had been founded to promote cultural, economic, and social exchange along with equitable ethnic competition. In the 1990's, the organization reflects the changing and shrinking world in which we live, as the ethnic make-up of the organization has begun to change. Regardless of what changes take place or in what direction the organization moves, it will always be an organization whose players and families keep in mind the Zebra legacy to which they all owe a great deal of gratitude, a deep sense of responsibility, and the utmost respect.