The Quiet Man

The 2007 U.S. Open victory cemented his status as America's best player.

TIMI BLOOMBERG wasn't nearly as calm in that moment. Watching via live Webcast, she poured herself a drink and took frequent smoke breaks between racks.

But she's not at all surprised that her son would become the best in the U.S. "I said that when he was little," she said.

Despite clobbering Alcano at the U.S. Open - twice, actually, including an 11-4 pasting in the seventh round - maybe it's too rash to declare Van Boening the best in the world. It's a tough title to bestow when your subject has only been playing tournaments consistently for a year. And at the World Pool Championship in November, Van Boening finished tied-for-17th, losing to eventual semifinalist Vilmos Foldes.

At the Mosconi Cup in December, Van Boening was the best that the U.S. had to offer, finishing with a 4-2 overall match record. (Teammate Earl Strickland, one of Van Boening's early pool heroes, had the same record.) His teammates regarded him with a mixture of admiration and restraint.

"I see him being maybe Player of the Decade, like myself [in the 1990s], or winning three or four Players of the Year," said Johnny Archer, who was Van Boening's final victim at December's Sands Regency Reno Open, his third major title of the year.

"He reminds me of me when I was that age," said Archer. "I was a little cocky. More confident than cocky. I just didn't think I could be beat when I was his age. And he has that - not arrogance, but he's confident. He has that nonchalant attitude. He has a lot of good things happening for him right now. He breaking and getting shots. He's making the tough shots. The guys he's playing against are making bad mistakes. I've been there too. But it ain't going to be like that forever."

"He's the hot one right now," said Rodney Morris. "He's playing good, and he's getting lucky. That is what it takes to win tournaments. But winning is not always going to come. Losing is going to come more often than winning, so you have to know how to deal with it. You have to be able to forget. And it seems like he has that."

His real strength is his single-mindedness. He had it when he was 18 months old, scrutinizing the balls and tables and players at 8-Ball Express. He had it in middle school, when he strained to understand his teachers. He had it in high school, when he pushed the other kids out of his mind and reveled in pool.

"He has the tunnel-vision more than anybody else, because of his hearing loss, which really is a benefit for him," said Timi Bloomberg.

For now, he only cares about succeeding. He might not bark about it, but behind the smooth facade and sly smile, he believes that he can beat anyone.

He remembers the moment he won the 10-Ball Championship in May. "I said to myself, 'This is just the beginning, and this is how it will be for the next 20 years."

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