Beijing’s 2008 hoops dream

There's a great read in the April 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine (sorry, no link to the story) on the Aoshen Olympians, a Chinese basketball team transported to Los Angeles last year so that the Chinese players could play here in America against tougher opponents, in the American Basketball Association. The ABA isn't exactly ...

There's a great read in the April 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine (sorry, no link to the story) on the Aoshen Olympians, a Chinese basketball team transported to Los Angeles last year so that the Chinese players could play here in America against tougher opponents, in the American Basketball Association. The ABA isn't exactly top-notch, but it's better preparation than the Chinese hoops league.  

There's a great read in the April 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine (sorry, no link to the story) on the Aoshen Olympians, a Chinese basketball team transported to Los Angeles last year so that the Chinese players could play here in America against tougher opponents, in the American Basketball Association. The ABA isn't exactly top-notch, but it's better preparation than the Chinese hoops league.  

As the team's name suggests, the players are here to prepare for the 2008 Olympics:

Besides a few American regulars (mostly in the backcourt; Aoshen is short on ballhandlers), the team is full-on Chinese. Recruited Yanks learn the priorities quickly: 1) facilitate the growth of Chinese players, and 2) win.[…] To keep up with the team's progress, [team owner Winston Lee] has its home games broadcast on one of China's CCTV networks. At away games, his courtside assistant relays the blow-by-blow over a cell phone.

Very intense stuff. The team finished the season last month, and it'll be interesting to see how many of these players make China's olympic squad and how much improvement the team shows in this year's World Basketball Championship. In the Athens Olympics, they finished eighth.  

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