http://www.sportsline.com/u/ce/multi/0,1329,3885340_54,00.html China's star Yao won't enter NBA Draft May 11, 2001 SportsLine.com wire reports SHANGHAI, China -- Towering center Yao Ming, one of the most sought after young basketball talents, won't play in the National Basketball Association next year. The 7-foot-5-inch Yao was a possible first round pick in the NBA Draft on June 27 if his team, the Shanghai Sharks, had released him. Instead, said Sharks general manager Bai Li, Yao will focus on playing for the Chinese national team ahead of next year's Asian Games in Pusan, South Korea. Sports officials feared the loss of China's most valuable player could damage its fledgling professional league, Bai said. He held out the possibility that Yao may participate in the 2002 draft. "The NBA said he's welcome next year," Bai said. Yao and a handful of other promising Chinese players have made their country the newest territory tapped by NBA talent scouts. Wang Zhizhi, a 23-year-old former star with the military-owned Bayi Rockets, became the first Chinese-born NBA player when he joined the Dallas Mavericks in April. Both Yao and Wang were members of China's Olympic squad, which finished a disappointing 10th in Sydney last year. Bai said interest in Yao has been intense, with 14 NBA clubs having contacted him about playing. But Bai said the 21-year-old English major at Shanghai Jiaotong University wasn't ready for the NBA. "Before joining the NBA Draft, he must prepare adequately -- both physically and mentally. The club feels that, at this time, Yao Ming is not there yet," Bai said. Yao didn't appear at the press conference. But his mother, Fang Fengdi, said he still hopes one day to play in the world's premier basketball league. "I think that going to the NBA is every athlete's dream," she said. ------------------ When I was Little I call in a local sports show and told them the Rockets should Trade Otis Thorpe for a Lottery Pick. They found me to be stupid.
If the ref counts to ten it is not a technical knockout, it is a regular, old fashioned knockout. ------------------ You can't stick a porcupine in a barn, light it on fire, and expect to get licorice.
This He's Third Time Down for the Count!.. He's Staying, He's Leaving, Now He's Staying, that counts for three... its a TKO! ------------------ When I was Little I call in a local sports show and told them the Rockets should Trade Otis Thorpe for a Lottery Pick. They found me to be stupid.
If it's a TKO, then why is the ref bothering with the countdown? ------------------ You must always give the Dream back his change!
Cause! He's being paid by Don King's Camp! ------------------ When I was Little I call in a local sports show and told them the Rockets should Trade Otis Thorpe for a Lottery Pick. They found me to be stupid.
