Sun Zhe stands 7-foot-3 and played for the Dongguan Leopards in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) last season. The 20-year old behemoth underwent training in Australia back in 2007 under the guidance of the legendary Brian Goorjian that dramatically improved his fundamentals. Sun is renowned for his speed, coordination and ballhandling skills. Besides, what makes him more dangerous especially on the defensive end is his long wingspan measuring 7-foot-7. Scouts have coined him to be the ‘next Yao Ming’ but  has yet to prove it in the international arena especially that his toughness is a big question.

Photo Courtesy: Azstarnet.com

Zhang Zhaoxu is an incoming junior at the University of California in Berkeley. Like Sun, he is 7-foot-3. More popularly known as ‘Max Zhang’, his stint as a Golden Bear the past two seasons were not as impressive as in his international career. Playing limited minutes for the NCAA Division I school, Zhang normed 3.1 points, 2.4 rebounds ,1.4 blocks per game. This is a sharp contrast while playing for China in the 2009 World University Games in Belgrade, Serbia where he recorded outstanding figures. Zhang averaged 18 points, 17.3 rebounds and 5.6 blocks in the tournament that impressed a lot of scouts. Moreover, he is mobile and athletic for his size. Born on November 18, 1987, Zhang is a native of Yantai, China.

Xu Zhonghao was Wang Zhizhi’s teammate at Bayi Rockets in the CBA last season. Xu averaged 9.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks an outing. The 7-footer showed a lot of promise for the Rockets but his team was swept by the eventual champion Guangdong Southern Tigers in quarterfinals. At present, he is part of the national pool but lack of speed and athleticism may cost him from making it to the final roster.

Photo Courtesy: DraftExpress.com

I admit that I didn’t care much about how Jeremy Lin has been buzzing the United States college hoops. It was not until I went through the forums and I found out that this young fellow of Taiwanese descent deserves all the accolades he enjoys. This kid can play real basketball.

Surfing through ESPN’s website for college basketball, I’m really impressed to find out Jeremy’s impact on his team Harvard Crimson. In fact, he leads the team in scoring this season with 17.3 per game. What makes him extra special is the fact that he has descent numbers in almost all categories. Last season, he was cited by basketball purists for being the only player in the NCAA Division I to rank Top Ten in his conference in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocked shots, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and 3-point percentage. Whew! That’s more than just amazing considering he is only 6-foot-3. Words from scouts all over North America come out that Lin is a ‘shoo-in’ for the NBA. If that makes sense, he follows the footsteps taken by Ed Smith in 1953. Smith was the last NBA player to come out from Harvard. Besides, Lin will join elite Chinese players who have played in the NBA like Wang Zhizhi, Mengke Bater, Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, Sun Yue and the first one to come from the province of Taiwan.

Born on August 23, 1988 to Taiwanese immigrants in California, Jeremy has been the pillar of Harvard University basketball squad.

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Wang Zhizhi of Bayi Rockets currently leads the locals in scoring early in the season in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). Wang averages 28.3 points in four games so far.The seven foot sweet shooting big man had his best game against the Beijing Ducks scoring 37 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

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Danai Udomchoke and Paradorn Schrichaphan of Thailand will have the time of their lives early next year.  Udomchoke will play alongside with Maria Sharapova while Schrichaphan teams up with Venus Williams in a mixed doubles exhibition match Hua Hin, Thailand. The match will be the highlight of the event to mark the centennial of Hua Hin.

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South Korean Lee Chun-soo’s career with Al-Nasr is in peril. The 28- year old native of Incheon has been put in the clear-out list of the Riyadh based club. Lee joined Al-Nasr in the Saudi Premiere League last July but has struggled offensively that led to Al-Nasr’s disappointment.

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Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho of Portugal expressed his desire to be back in the English Premiere League. The 46-year old native of Setubal used to handle Chelsea from 2004 until 2007. He was then one of the highest football managers in the league. He is now on his second year of his three-year contract with Internazionale in the Italian Serie A.