Notes: I attended the NBA Yao School in Beijing

A few months ago, SLAM Magazine published an interview I did with former NBA great Yao Ming, the greatest basketball player to ever come out of Asia and still the most respected and powerful man in Chinese Basketball. While the majority of our discussion was a fond look back at Yao's short-yet-effective NBA career and his legacy, Yao was definitely keen to also promote his newest venture in China with the outside world. Earlier this year, he launched the first season of the NBA Yao School in Beijing, a programme to offer after-school and weekend basketball training and fitness programmes for children of a varied age group and at all skill levels.

The 'school' has been in session since February at the Wukesong Basketball Park in Beijing, led by basketball operations heads and coaches appointed by the NBA. Children from ages 6-16 have signed up and now, the first season of the programme is in its tailend as the final days approach towards the end of May.

On Friday (May 9th), I finally got a chance to attend one of the sessions of the NBA Yao School in person to watch the basketball teaching in action. It was the 11th session of its first season. The coaches leading the session were Billy Singelton (former British Basketball League legend) and Greg Stolt (Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations - NBA China and basketball world traveler!).

Children participating in the NBA Yao School have been divided into four age groups: 6-9, 10-12, 13-14, and 15-16. At this point, the school only had male students. The NBA handed the children jerseys or T-shirts representing the Rockets, Knicks, Spurs, and Heat. For the sessions, the Wukesong Basketball Park has been designed to give a mini NBA experience, with banners of several NBA teams on hanging from the rafters and life-size shots of some of the league's biggest superstars like Russell Westbrook, Dwight Howard, or Derrick Rose plastered on the wall behind the basket.

Watching the camp and sessions in action, I was reminded of the interview and conversation I had about the school with Yao months ago. Yao told me of his intentions to encourage Chinese youngsters outside of the classroom and on to the playground. "The education system [in China] has been focused only on academics," said Yao, "I feel that sports are equally important. Sports can provide a social experience before a child steps into the real world. The idea was for an after-school program where kids can relax their minds from school and have a chance to learn to become a team member. Concepts like teamwork, communication, cooperation or leadership can’t just be learned from paper; you have to experience them. And that’s what Yao School is here for. Basketball skills are the strategy to put that experience together."

"This is character education," he added, "For years, kids in China have been isolated. Isolated at home, because of the one-child policy, and in school, where everyone is worried about [grades]. I want to take them out of that element and give them a chance to play as a group. A future career cannot be done in isolation; you have to work with somebody."

From one sense, I could see that Yao's concern of 'isolation' that many of these youngsters might have without siblings was definitely addressed at the session - in action, not in words. With so many peers of their age group around them, it was heartening to see the kids - especially the youngest ones - interacting and having fun with others of their age and with the common interest in basketball. It made me a little jealous too: there could have been so many life lessons such as communication, leadership, or teamwork that I would've learnt much better had they been taught through basketball, instead of through a boring old teacher in a classroom.

Singleton's aim wasn't just to teach the kids on-court skills; he started off the session by tackling basketball philosophies, and on the 11th session, the message was an encouraging call to spend more time at practice. "No substitute for hard work," he said. A little bit of English basketball termanology was taught, too, and translated into Mandarin; phrases such as "post up" or "6th Man".

Fridays are the only days when all the age levels come to train together, but after the pre-game workouts, they are all divided into their groups to focus on various different skill-set training. On this day, Singleton started with the youngest group, who are still only at the age where the training is still mostly concerned with fitness more than specific basketball skills. Stolt worked with some of the older kids on defensive drills first before moving on to other activities.

China loves basketball. This is no secret, as the sport is probably a favourite in the country with the world's largest population, and has especially been on the upswing ever since Yao was drafted # 1 in the 2001 NBA draft and went on to enjoy a multiple-time All Star career. But post-Yao there has been no one from the country to fill his void - on and off the court. China has been searching for a replacement ever since, but it is near-impossible to emulate a star of Yao's physical stature and skills. Yao had made it clear that his school won't be specifically looking to groom the next star player (or the next him); instead, the focus will be on the majority of kids who are being encouraged to take up the sport as a serious hobby, if not necessarily a profession.

In the coming weeks, there will be a few more similar sessions for the first batch of NBA Yao School students, before this year's schedule concludes at the end of this month. Yao, who has occasionally attended and given advice himself, will be in Beijing for the finale. If this year is considered a success, Yao had mentioned that he will be hoping to expand the school to several other cities in China - starting with his hometown Shanghai - and help the philosophies and on-court training reach out to many more kids around the country.

Chinese and European Basketball Leagues can learn a lot from each other – Euroleague CEO Roser Queralto

This article was first published in the 116th edition (2013 - No. 19) of SLAM China magazine. Here is the original English version of the story.

Real Madrid will become the latest Turkish Airlines Euroleague team to visit China when it faces the Beijing Ducks for an exhibition game on Friday, October 11 at MasterCard Center in Beijing. Among the planned activities for Madrid’s visit will be promotional events with Chinese fans, practices open to local players and coaches and, a charity programme at a local Beijing school of course, visiting some of country's famous sites.

The CEO of the European Champions Cup – Roser Queralto – was in Beijing to officially announce the pre-season game. SLAM caught up with Queralto for a brief interview on the relationship between European and Chinese basketball and the future of the Euroleague in China.

SLAM: How is the Euroleague continuing to build their relationship with China?

Queralto: I think that Chinese and European teams play quite a similar game, and that can strengthen the relations of the two leagues. The Euroleague can learn a lot from Chinese basketball and bring a lot of things to teach here. Now we have a Chinese player – Shang Ping – who is joining the Euroleague club Pananthinaikos too. We also had a Chinese junior team take part in an international junior tournament during the Euroleague Final Four last year.

SLAM: After Shang Ping, do you think more Chinese players can get a shot at playing basketball for a European team in the future?

Queralto: I think it’s both ways. We are looking for Chinese players to come and play in European, and we also have many players who have been playing in the Euroleague that will play here in China. This year, Bobby Brown – who was the leading scorer in Euroleague last season [with Montepaschi Siena] will be playing for the Dongguan Leopards in China. So it’s not only one way. We think that European and Chinese basketball are quiet similar in the playing styles, so we feel that we can exchange more players.

SLAM: A lot of the big Euroleague games are broadcast live in China. Are there plans from the Euroleague to broadcast more games in China?

Queralto: Exactly. This is the plan: we are looking forward to more games, to more television shows and in more territories. We are happy to say that the Euroleague Final Four has been broadcast live on CCTV 5 for many years, but we also have games on other channels like Let TV. So, looking ahead, not only the Final Four will be broadcast, but throughout the season, we will show games weekly.

SLAM: Chinese basketball fans of course have a great connection with their local teams – like the Ducks in Beijing – and a lot of fans over the years have also found a an identity with NBA teams. How do you hope to build the same type of connection for Chinese fans with Real Madrid or other big European clubs?

Queralto: We know that there is much to be done and we are approaching it step by step to do it the right way. We think that one of the ways that we can do that is by bringing Chinese fans to Euroleague games, whether it’s overseas, or whether we can bring more and more teams co China. This year, we will have Real Madrid, but in the future we may have two or three teams coming every year so that the fans get to know more about them. Another thing that we are doing is that we are creating several television pieces which can be broadcast during the games in which we explain a little bit about what the teams are, when they started to play, who are their main stars, etc. So we’re trying to explain to people what each of the Euroleague teams is all about.

Basketball Traveller - NBA’s Greg Stolt: “Our purpose in China is to have people go out to play and enjoy basketball!”

This feature was first published in the 109th edition (2013 - No. 12) of SLAM China Magazine. Here is my original English version of the story. 

Things change. From running alongside Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem and Florida, to playing in the sunny seaside of Spain. From feasting on sushi in Japan to hanging with the surfers in Australia. The smell of spicy curries in India and the taste of spicy Hot-Pot in Beijing. Basketball has taken Greg Stolt all across the world. And as NBA China’s Associate Vice President of Basketball Operations, Stolt is now bringing that wealth of experience to help develop the future of hoops in China.

Things change. But throughout the changes, through the different languages, cultures, continents and lifestyles, one thing brought them all together: basketball.

A former college star with the NCAA Division 1 side Florida in his college years, Stolt has played professionally across the world. But now, he is concentrating on a different role. The NBA has had a formal presence in China for several years now: they opened their first office in 1992 and the NBA has been on air on CCTV since 1987. The league has 300 million fans in China and NBA’s social media accounts in Sina and Tencent have 53 million followers. Their relationship with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) dates back nearly three decades ago. Today, the NBA helps run a state-of-the-art CBA Basketball School in Dongguan which has trained over a 1000 Chinese youth players. Stolt, who is now based in China full-time, has been involved in various different NBA-China activities which includes the school in Dongguan, coaches’ training programmes, and in promoting the NBA’s presence in China with events such as NBA’s preseason ‘China Games’ in the country.

Recently, Stolt – the head of NBA China’s Basketball Operations department – spoke to SLAM discussing his past journeys with basketball, his present involvement with the game in China, and his optimistic outlook about the future of basketball in the Middle Kingdom!

Things change. But the basketball remained the same.

SLAM: How long have you been working in China, and how has your experience been in the country so far?

Stolt: I’ve been here since August 2012. Prior to that, I was working with the NBA in New York for three years, and over those years, I made several visits abroad to places like China and India to work with basketball operations.

China has been fantastic. There have been great opportunities here because basketball is so integral to the culture here. China has good basketball fans and I’ve been able to learn many new things.

SLAM: Talk a little about your role with the NBA in China.

I work with the department of basketball operations with NBA China, and it has a different structure here than in the US. Our product – the NBA – is in the USA. Here, the aim is to support the passionate development of the game. We do that by collaborating with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) in various parts of the country.

SLAM: How do you feel that your background as a college star and your experience playing internationally helps to work with younger players now in China?

Stolt: Yes, I have had quite a unique background with basketball. I’ve been quite fortunate because I was surrounded by great coaches all my life. My father was a coach and player and he played with many great players himself. I had a great coach in college. I lived and played in Europe, Australia, Japan, and back in the USA with the D-League. The experience helped me truly broaden my horizons and show me a world that was very different to my upbringing.

When it comes to working with young players here, I’ve discovered that, up to a certain stage, kids learning basketball around the world are pretty much the same. They want to play, and they love the game, whether they are in China, India, or in the USA. That is the common denominator. Playing around the world has indeed given me an idea on how things in other countries work or don’t work. I’ve had experiences that you can’t get from books. It has given me great practical opportunities and prepared me to have more insight into the basketball world.

SLAM: You had quite a memorable career with the Florida Gators. How did that team prove to be such a good fit for your talents?

Stolt: I have to give credits to my coaches, who were both able to help my development. In my freshman year (1995-96), we had Coach Lon Kruger at the helm. After that, we had coach Billy Donovan – who is still the team’s Head Coach now. Coach Donovan let it be known that I could really get better and move on to the next level. With him, I saw new opportunities in a new system. The three years I spent with him (1996-99) were great. He was a phenomenal coach. He taught me about how to carry myself on and off the court, about conditioning, nutrition, and that teaching helped me be prepared with the building blocks to eventually play professionally in Europe.

1999 was my most successful season there, when we reached the Sweet 16 stage in the NCAA tournament – the only time I got to play in the tournament. We got some good players in my sophomore year like Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem, and we developed together to our full potential by the time I was a Senior. It was a nice nucleus of players and good teammates. The Coach stressed on improving our conditioning. A lot of us could play multiple positions and we shot a lot of threes – it made difficult for opponents to keep up with us!

SLAM: After College, you were an international basketball journeyman. In which countries have you played professionally?

Stolt: I played in the Dominican Republic, Spain, Belgium, then back in the USA during the first year of the NBA’s D-League, in the old CBA (Continental Basketball Association) in the States, France, Japan, Australia, and I ended my playing career in Japan. Those who play basketball internationally can play in different countries over a 12-month calendar – for example, I was in Australia during their season and back in Japan the same year. 2003-04 was my last playing season.

I didn’t have a chance to play in China, although I would have loved to do so!

SLAM: So what was your most interesting international basketball experience?

Stolt: They are all very unique, and all were phenomenal. And it is only when you leave a country that you realize how great the experience there was! In France, the level of play is phenomenal – they have the best athletes outside of the NBA. I had some great experiences in Japan, which is a country that I never expected to visit otherwise. They have hardworking players there and an interesting culture. Australia is another unique place to play and to live.

The bottom line is that these experiences are all about the people you meet and work with. And in each place, I met some great people.

SLAM: You have a unique vantage point towards basketball, from the perspective of having played or worked with the NCAA, the NBA, in Europe, in Australia, and in Asia. How do they all differ?

Stolt: For me, there was a little bit of a learning curve required after playing in the NCAA system. In the NCAA, a player is very well taken care of, and there, I didn’t have to worry about little things like where to eat, where to do my laundry, etc. On the professional level, you don’t have the same type of support system. Playing internationally, the general theme was to find one other American in every team, where (like China) usually two foreign players are allowed per team. In most cases, the foreign players stick with each other, but I made it a commitment to get to know my local teammates and coaches too. It helped my understanding of the local culture wherever I was and helped me get the most out of my experience.

The on-court learning curve was different, too. In Europe, for example, teams play a lot of preseason games, so there is a lot of opportunity to learn their style of play together. But in Japan, I had to find my place in the offense on the fly.

Foreign players like me had to do whatever the team asked us to do: in most cases, the focus was on getting statistics and scoring as much as possible. And at the same time, I had to ensure that the team was successful. There is more concern internationally than in the USA for foreign players to find a balance between big stats and winning games.

SLAM: From what you have seen here, how does basketball in China differ from your previous experiences?

Stolt: China is right there with the rest of the world in the level of basketball played and coaching. The CBA as made many great initiatives in recent years. Most importantly, people in China can’t get enough of basketball and are passionate about it! The country has the resources, the interest of the community, which is the total equation to help the game develop further here. In whichever country there is a passion in the people to learn and play more, then basketball will surely become better there.

SLAM: What are the NBA’s future plans in continuing to grow the game here?

Stolt: Our number one goal is to grow and develop the game alongside the CBA. The unique thing about China is that it is the only place in the world where we have a basketball academy – in Dongguan. 130 kids were admitted there this year! Our hope is that the players from the academy can play in the CBA one day or even in the USA.

Growing our relationship with the CBA also helps us to help develop coaches in China. We have an annual CBA Coaches Programme where we work with numerous CBA coaches. In late October or early November, we host 15 CBA coaches in the USA to provide them a look at how basketball coaching and operations works over there. Many of the top CBA coaches like Cui Wan Jun (Xinjiang), Min Lulei (Beijing), Gong Xiaobin (Shandong), and Qu Shaobin (Guangdong) have been part of our Coaches Programme in the past. We are also bringing eight coaches from the USA to China this summer to conduct clinics and camps. We’ve already done such clinics over the years across the country. We are reaching out to college/high school level coaches in our various grassroots programmes.

We will continue to look at opportunities to team up with local basketball stakeholders. Hopefully more exposure to the Chinese people to the NBA can continue to help grow the game here. The NBA’s purpose in China is to have people go out to play and enjoy basketball.

SLAM: Talk about the training Center in Dongguan and how it is benefiting young Chinese players.

Stolt: The CBA Dongguan Basketball School – An NBA Training Center, opened in 2011. It is very much like a full-fledged High-School for kids aged between 8-17. We have academic staff there to handle 130 children in five different grades. We have split them up by their basketball skill level. The whole curriculum has been brought together by Bruce Palmer, who is the technical director at the school. We have also been able to run numerous clinics for national and international teams over there.

It is a special place. Anyone who enters will feel like picking up a basketball and start playing!

The NBA’ basketball operations work to select kids for this training center with camps all across the country. We have camps in eight Chinese cities last year, and pick kids not only on their potential basketball skills, but also on their academic strengths and personality.

SLAM: And finally: what do you foresee for the future of Chinese Basketball?

Stolt: I think that the sky is the limit for basketball in China. China has enthusiasm and interest in playing the game amongst the fans. I think we will surely see more success stories of Chinese players who eventually make it to the NBA and the WNBA. And back here, we will see more Chinese who will become interested in playing basketball. It won’t be long before more young players from China can take help take the game to the next level.

CBA Webchat: T-Mac, A Retooled Guangdong Offence and Jianbings

A few days ago, I took part in a web-chat with two of the best English-language basketball writers in China - Andrew Crawford, the writer Shark Fin Hoops, and Jon Pastuzek, the man behind NiuBball. This was the first time that I have participated in a webchat with them, and as a relative newcomer to Chinese hoops, it served as an important introductory conversation. The chat was first published on Shark Fin Hoops.

The Chinese basketball season is about a month away from starting and in anticipation of this, cash has been flashed and some well-known NBA players will be plying their trade in China this season.

Andrew Crawford: Karan, as its your first time talking CBA hoops with us, why don’t you give people an idea of who you are and your writing background?

Karan Madhok: Well, I’m a basketball writer from India and have worked with the Basketball Federation of India, NBA.com/India, and SLAM Magazine. I keep a blog about basketball in India called ‘Hoopistani‘. I moved to China just over 3 months ago so I’m still new to the CBA and Chinese hoops.

AC: Great stuff. Do you think you’ll chose a team to follow this year or are you going to stay neutral the whole time!

KM: Oh, I’m definitely choosing the Beijing Ducks for 2 obvious reasons. 1) I live in Beijing and I’m already a fan of the city and 2) Call me crazy, but I’ve been on the Stephon Marbury bandwagon for over a decade now, following his career through its ups and downs, vaseline eating and championships. Oh and 3) The Ducks and have the coolest name in the CBA!

AC: That they do. Well, you’ve picked a fine time to arrive in the capital- I was hoping to get you on the Sharks bandwagon but alas. Since you brought up Stephon Marbury, lets neatly segway into another NBA player whose been around for a while- Tracey McGrady has signed with the Qingdao Eagles. Guys, do you think T-Mac can still do it or is this more about both sides making money off this?

KM: Well, this is definitely about the money first and foremost. Qingdao benefits, McGrady benefits, everyone’s happy. But for McGrady, I think there is still some (very) faint hope that this stint will give a him a chance in the NBA again once the CBA season ends. I don’t expect him to be a Marbury-type loyalist to basketball in China – at least not yet, anyways. Whether or not he gets a shot with the NBA again (and I’m not sure he will), McGrady will be using Qingdao for the stats and the money, and Qingdao will use McGrady for the money and the fans.

Still though, this is a logical next move for him. McGrady has definitely been very popular in China since the Yao days, and a star like him will no doubt bring some more excitement to the CBA.

Jon Pastuszek: Obviously, money plays a big factor when these big name NBA guys sign in China. But, whereas last year there were some players making well into the seven figures, T-Mac’s contract this season is reportedly quite reasonable by CBA standards. This is more of a long-term thing for him. McGrady, a la Stephon Marbury, will aim at building his brand inside the Chinese market. He’s already hugely popular among fans and the belief is that if he can stick around and build Qingdao into a winner, he’ll become an even bigger name out here.

About his play, there’s a few questions: Can his body hold up to 30+ minutes a night? Is he explosive enough to get to the basket consistently? How is he going to handle the pressure of having to score 25 to 30 points a night?

With his height and versatility, he will find ways to effect the game beyond scoring the ball, but in the CBA, imports are expected to put the ball in the hoop… and with seven Chinese players leaving the team this off-season, including Li Gen, he won’t have much help around him to alleviate that pressure.

AC: Absolutely- the Li Gen point is crucial in my books. I know last season, Qingdao were happy to let Lester Hudson call the shots but they always had a solid Plan B in Li. Cai Liang was also a decent player for them too and he’s gone as well so it really is all about the star player this season.

After the K-Mart/Patty Mills/ Wilson Chandler drama last season, how do you think T-Mac will handle his debut year in China. Qingdao is obviously a very nice city but it certainly isn’t Orlando or Houston!

JP: While not Orlando or Houston, or even Beijing or Shanghai, Qingdao is actually a very pleasant city by the coast and one I think McGrady could get used to. He’s been to China several times before and he says he is aware of all of the issues he’ll have to face, so I don’t think living here will be an earth-shattering adjustment for him. Unless his body chooses not to cooperate and his play suffers as a result, I think he will adapt just fine.

KM: I have never been to Qingdao, so it won’t be fair for me to comment on how McGrady can fit in. But I believe that if guys like JR Smith and Kenyon Martin can go to the hinterlands of China, then McGrady will be okay, too. In the end, if the money is good, he’ll be good. Plus, he’ll enjoy the type of popularity here that he has never experienced in his career. That will be worth it all.

AC: Just behind T-Mac in terms of the wow factor is probably Yi Jianlian coming back to China and playing for his home team, the Guangdong Tigers. The fact that the Tigers now have an already strong local roster that is now reinforced by getting a Chinese NBA caliber player as well as still having room to add two overseas imports has to make the favorites going into the start of the season?

KM: From what I’ve been able to gather in my short time here, it seems that Guangdong are primed to be the favourites again. The NBA imports may get all the hype but it will be the familiarity of Yi coming back to his old system that will really propel this team.

JP: I’ve almost always been a subscriber to the belief that the reigning champions come into the season as the favorites. And with a Beijing team that made a big addition themselves with Li Gen, I still think they’re the favorites.

But, Yi is obviously a massive signing for them. Not only is he an NBA-caliber seven footer, he’s one who has no playing time restrictions because he’ll be registered as a Chinese player. Yet, while he’ll be force this year, Guangdong didn’t play well in the time that he was with the team last year during the NBA lockout, and I think there will be an adjustment period as his team gets re-adjusted to playing alongside him. Having too much talent is one of those good problems, though, and I think Guangdong is certainly the odds-on-pick to get back to the Finals.

AC: The third and final ‘ big’ name we should talk about is Gilbert Arenas- again with Guangdong. That signing looks to be all but done and Agent Zero is on his way to Guangzhou. On paper, this is an excellent move- a scoring PG like this will be an asset on any team but he’s a little crazy to say the least!

KM: This is a high risk/high reward move of course: either Arenas just shoots them out of contention or he somehow manages to play with Yi and build a championship.

JP: Like T-Mac, the issue with Gil will be his body’s ability to deal with 30+ minutes a night. If he really is healthy. like some reports have suggested, and he has some of that explosiveness he had a few years ago, he’ll be a problem for opponents. I question if this is really what Guangdong needs right now, especially with Yi coming back. Historically, this is a team that thrives when they get “system foreigners,” like Smush Parker and Lester Hudson, ones who understand that the team doesn’t need their imports to dominate offensively. Last season, they had a similar import in Aaron Brooks, and while he played very well, he struggled to run good offense and get his teammates good looks in the Finals against Beijing. Critics of this argument will say that Arenas is bigger and stronger than Brooks and will be able to effect the game in more ways than just scoring, but I don’t believe its ever been within Arenas’ nature to be a distributor. There’s a lot of potential for Guangdong to be an explosive offense, but whether the pieces fit together is something that I’m not too sure on.

AC: Have there been any other moves that have caught your eye? I really like the Hudson move to Dongguan and the Elijah Milsapp signing by my Sharks is also a nice bit of business. Millsap’s got that unknown quality to him but everyone’s excited about him in the city and he’ll hopefully provide a ton of dynamism between the 2 and 3 spots.

JP: I’m with you on Hudson, he should be a great fit with the Leopards. But I’m surprised you didn’t mention D.J. White, who if healthy is going to have a huge season in Shanghai. I like what Xinjiang has done, burying the hatchet on James Singleton and whatever beefs were there from two years ago, and bringing Von Wafer to play alongside him. I think Wafer is going to shred the nets this season and Singleton, as always, will do all of the little things in between that has made him such a good player in this league over the last three years. And I’m totally buying the culture change in Foshan: New coach, three good imports and a complete Chinese roster overhaul. Maybe they’re not a playoff team, but they’ll be much improved.

AC: I think for me, White’s NBA resume implies he’ll be a strong signing so I’m more instinctively drawn to the ‘what could be’ of Milsapp rather than the ‘what we know’ about White. This could easily be a case of preseason optimism but he’s quick and can make shots from all over the court so I’m hoping he could be Shanghai’s own Marcus Williams but time will tell on that one. Viz Foshan- any sort of culture change within that organisation can only be for the better because they’ve been nothing but mediocre for several seasons.

Is there a team in the league who is desperately screaming out for a certain individual/kind of player to help them in the upcoming season?

JP: Jiangsu needs bigs like I need jianbings in the morning, which is why they signed one of the bigger centers on the market, Garret Siler, and I’m looking into buying a jianbing skillet to put in my house. OK maybe just walking three minutes outside my house will do, but you get the point. Siler will help, but he is not a 36 minute a night kind of guy and I don’t think their Chinese are good enough to play consistently well when he’s off the court. I like Siler if he’s in shape, but I think they still are lacking in that area. I think Pooh Jeter will be solid for Shandong, but with Sui Ran already there at point guard, I’m surprised they didn’t go with a ball-handling wing. Maybe they’re committed to developing Ding Yanyuhang this season.

AC: Jianbings for life! That said, I don’t think even those delicious turnips ones I get on the corner of Wuding Lu and my apartment over in SH are going to help out Jiangsu this season. They were truly, truly bad and even my love for Meng Da’s oddness and Nanjing as a city can obscure the reality that the Dragons bouncing back to anything respectable this season is going to be tough.

Alright gents- There’ll obviously be a preview before the the first round of games starts but with the CBA season now a month away from starting, how excited are you about Chinese basketball in 2012/13?

JP: think it’s going to be a great season. For once, there’s actually some parity in the league — not just at the top of the league, but also in the middle part of the standings. Overall, I think the quality of the league top to bottom is as good as its ever been. The CBA is getting better and better every year: The level of foreign players, Chinese players and coaching continue to be on the upward. And as we saw last year during the Finals, fan interest is at an all-time high. Excited to see how it all plays out this year.

KM: I’m really excited obviously since this will be my first time to witness the action first-hand in China. The CBA is becoming one of the most-hyped leagues in the world. Of course, there can be a lot of criticisms and drawbacks of the way certain things are done here, but coming from India, the CBA model is a good one to follow to see how a league should be built and developed. This season, Yi is back, McGrady and Arenas are on board, and I live in the city of the Ducks and Marbury. What’s not to love?

AC: Indeed. I’ll gladly second Jon’s point about the upcoming season. There is so much to get excited about. For me personally, its been a massively long offseason and the sooner I get my three nights of basketball the better. Now I’ve got a season under my belt from last year, there’s a whole range of teams I want to see the Sharks crush, players I want to see crossed up and fourth quarter shoot-outs I want us to sneak out off by a point. Can’t wait. Thanks for your time guys- we’ll have to do this again before the season starts in late November