Word: jianlian
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...impact was evident at Thursday's 2007 NBA draft in New York City. After much-hyped college stars Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were selected as the top two choices this year, the Milwaukee Bucks used the sixth overall pick in the draft to snap up Yi Jianlian, another seven footer from China - albeit a more athletic one who has been compared to NBA all-star (and German import) Dirk Nowitzki. And like Yao before him, he is already surrounded by a sense of intrigue and anticipation. Web sites from Hooplah... Nation-a blog dedicated to the New Jersey Nets...
That's why five years ago this month, as Yao prepared to become the NBA's number one pick, Yi Jianlian, then either 15 or 18, sweated through drills and games in a Shanghai gym, one of an elite group of players from all over east Asia. He was participating in an annual Adidas all star camp. He was a revelation, "the best player in the camp that year by far," says former NBA all star Detlef Schrempf, who now works for Adidas (which took over Reebok in 2005). These all star camps are "very important parts of our marketing...
Nike is determined not to repeat the mistake. It has already signed China's next NBA prospect, the 7-ft. Yi Jianlian, 18, who plays for the Guangdong Tigers. And the company has resolved problems that dogged it a few years ago. Nike has cleaned up its shop floors. It cut its footwear suppliers in China from 40 to 16, and 15 of those sell only to Nike, allowing the company to monitor conditions more easily. At Shoetown in the southern city of Guangzhou, 10,000 mostly female laborers work legal hours stitching shoes for $95 a month--more than...
...Jianlian is the first to admit he's not ready for prime time. "I'm too young and skinny," he says, his baggy denim shorts and triple-XL Nike shirt only reinforcing his point. Yi has played only one season, most of it riding the bench, in the CBA. But his final regular-season game last spring offered a tantalizing glimpse of the future. With the game heading into overtime, Yi came off the bench to score 13 points in five minutes to seal the victory--and secure Guangdong's place atop the standings. Two weeks later, when Guangdong played...
...when might Yi Jianlian don an NBA uniform? That depends on the biggest mystery of all: his age. The national junior-team roster says Yi was born on Oct. 27, 1987, which would make him just 15--and not eligible to enter the NBA draft independently as an international player until 2009. Several well-placed Chinese basketball experts say he is 17 or 18. Dates are manipulated, they claim, to give Yi more years of eligibility for junior competitions, which China counts on to increase its international prestige. (Age shaving is endemic in international junior competitions. It even affected...