Aside from Yao, two other Chinese hoopsters2 already play in the NBA: Mengke Bateer, a muscle-bound 6 ft-11 ins reserve center3 with the Toronto Raptors, and Wang Zhizhi, a lithe, 7 ft-2ins sharpshooter with the Los Angeles Clippers. Another player, a rail-thin center named Xue Yuyang, 20, was chosen in the second round in June s NBA draft, but Beijing rankled by his decision to enter the draft without official permission has refused to let him test his mettle in America. So instead NBA scouts and agents are focusing on the crop of younger players, ranging from Tang Zhengdong, 19, to prodigy Chen Jianghua, 14, a 6 ft-1in ball handler whose dunks look like something out of a Jet Li movie.
Nobody, though, seems a safer bet than Yi Jianlian. Yi was discovered in 1999 on a playground in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen. Barely out of grade school, he was already 6 ft-4 ins tall, a behemoth in a region known for its diminutive people. By the time he joined Guangdong s professional Chinese Basketball Association team last year, he was an astonishing 6ft-11 ins and he could leap and touch a spot more than 11 ft-6 ins off the ground. As Yi mastered new skills the midrange jumper, the baby hook, the reverse slam he attracted the attention of Adidas. Eager to loosen Nike s hold on Chinese basketball, the shoe company flew Yi to New Jersey for its ABCD Camp in the summer of 2002 . He was the only Chinese player there. It was an eye-opening experience for him, says Guangdong junior coach Zhang Zhenming. He came back with a very clear vision of where he wanted to go: the NBA.
【英语四级阅读理解的精炼50篇09:谁是下一个姚明?(含答案)】相关文章:
最新
2016-10-18
2016-10-11
2016-10-11
2016-10-08
2016-09-30
2016-09-30