An NBA Draft Prospect Out of China… Sort of
Wednesday, 21st May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
With the NBA Draft Lottery taking place yesterday, talk is heating up about which players will go to which teams. While there's no Chinese prospect this year, one player who is getting some attention has a history in the Middle Kingdom. Joe Alexander, a junior who played at West Virginia University, was born in Taiwan and spent much of his youth in China due to his father's overseas job posting.In this run-down of a few emerging prospects, ESPN's Chad Ford says that Alexander could be "the sleeper in the 2008 NBA draft" and projects that he could easily be among the top three small forwards selected. Alexander averaged 17 points and 6.4 rebounds in his junior season and had some big-time performances, with back-to-back 32-point games against Connecticut and Pittsburgh.
Reports about how much time he spent in China range from six to eight years. Alexander returned to the United States at age 16 to play high school basketball in Maryland, Ford's report says. The fact that he spent so much time in China seems to have contributed to his under-the-radar, late-bloomer status. He has had the last five years to impress NBA scouts, but in the insane recruiting atmosphere of college basketball that has seen middle school players get scholarship offers, entering the system as a high school junior is pretty late.
Ford's first mock draft projected Alexander as the 13th pick, joining Greg Oden at the Portland Trailblazers. But there's a lot of maneuvering to happen between now and the actual draft.
Tags: basketball, Joe Alexander, NBA
China Defends Major Badminton Titles
Wednesday, 21st May 2008 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
China's men's badminton team celebrates after winning the Thomas Cup.
The Chinese women swept Indonesia, winning three matches to none. Xie Xinfang beat Maria Kristin (21-8, 21-15); Yang Wei and Zhang Jiewen defeated Lilyana Natsir and Marissa Vita (21-15, 19-21, 21-16); Lu Lan clinched the title with a win over Adriyanti Firdasari (21-12, 21-10).
The Chinese men notched a 3-1 Thomas Cup victory over South Korea, with singles wins from Lin Dan over Park Sung-hwan (10-21, 21-18, 21-8); Bao Chunlai over Lee Hyun-il (28-26, 21-11); and Xie Zhong Bo/Guo Zhengdong over Lee Jae-jin/Hwang Ji-man (21-12, 19-21, 21-12). China's one loss came in doubles, with South Korea's Jung Jae-sung and Lee Yong-dae beating Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng (25-23, 21-16).
The Thomas and Uber Cup wins are a good sign for China's hopes for Olympic medals in badminton. China boasts the top male and female players, Lin Dan and Xie Xinfang, and expects multiple medals in August.
"Anytime you win an important tournament like this it gives you a boost," Lin was quoted as saying by the International Herald-Tribune. "The first goal was this tournament, now the next goal is the Olympics."
Image: Xinhua
Tags: badminton, Lin Dan, Olympics, Xie Xinfang