Word: star
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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...
...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 and outreach programs," says Ichiro Shigeta...
Seeing a budding star first, though, doesn't mean he's a lock to sign. The next year, in 2003, Nike invited Yi to its annual, one week "Big Man" camp, where again he impressed scouts who, as the NBA has gone ever more global, watch these camps with intense interest. Reebok had signed Yao - a huge coup in the global marketing war - but by the fall of 2003, Nike struck back and signed Yi to a six year promotional deal for an undisclosed...
Once the NBA draft is held in New York, that investment will start to pay the dividends. And that's why, back in Shanghai late last month, the search for the next star from China went on. At the Shanghai University of Sports, Adidas again held its annual camp. The University is a classic product of the Communist system, its campus full of students identified by the state who are there because of their skill and potential in a variety of sports, from gymnastics to Taekwando. But what was taking place on the fourth floor of a steaming...
...good defense. But more than anything, it was about a huge global company trying to mine a market that it believes, justifiably, has almost limitless potential. Asked during one of the work- outs whether there was anyone in the current crop as good as Yi had been, former NBA star Schrempf answered bluntly - and honestly: "No." When he saw a public relations executive standing nearby cringe a bit, Schrempf smiled and added: "but there will be, don't worry about that. If not this year, maybe next, or maybe the year after that...