Hoops

Tassie NBL Hopes?

The occasional game that has been played in Tasmania I believe has been very well attended even though they don't have their own team competing. The same goes with the occasional game of Football. This suggests that Tasmanians would like a national sporting team of their own to follow. There is still junior basketball that in itself brings an awareness to basketball. As far as sponsorship goes, as Hayden said, there is no other national sporting codes there so why wouldn't they get sponsorship. With a population of over 500,000 thats more than the Gold Coast and Townsville and they both field an NBL team. With the right owner, I think a team in Tasmania could do well.

Hayden,
To run an NBL club, the budget seems to be around $3M.

The state domestic product of Tassie is around $20,000M. WA is around $146,000M.

While the passion may be there from the supporters, the club would need a substantional sponsorship to survive. Gunns?

If you could persuade Princess Mary to support the team financially, you're on a winner

Agree. They have an ABA Team.(or 2 i think-Launceston and Hobart). That is enough. An NBL requires good crowd levels, good media coverage etc. Tasmania does not have the ability to field an NBL team.

I'm not exactly sure what they are doing in China, messing with radiation, herbal medicines, wasp urine or what, but this guy is a monster..

For the whole article: http://www.the-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050413/APS/504130766&cachetime=5
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7-foot-8 Chinese player trains in Greensboro, hopes for NBA


By KELLIE DIXON

The hoop hangs within arm's reach of Sun Ming Ming.

The 7-foot-8 3/4 center positions himself under the basket and awaits a pass from trainer Keith Gatlin.

Ball in hand, Sun muscles his 350-pound frame into training partner Dshamal Schoetz, a 7-footer who played at Greensboro College who is nearly nine inches shorter. Sun pivots and places the ball firmly into the hoop. Swish.

Sun, who is from Harbin, China, is training in Greensboro for a shot at the NBA. His agent, Charles Bonsignore, paired the prospect up with former client and former professional basketball player Keith Gatlin. Gatlin, a managing partner with 334 Sports, a local firm that trains athletes, has worked with Sun for about five weeks.

"With his size, that intrigues everybody," Gatlin said. "He can really shoot the ball to be that size. The challenge for him now is to get mobile, to get up and down the court."

Sun also can handle the ball and has a sweet outside shot that swishes with the quick flick of his wrist. When it comes to dunking, he doesn't need to leave the ground.