Hoops

Examining Asian-Australian participation in hoops

Read my post Demo guy, #1 would be the most significant factor

This is actually very interesting. Although i'll be honest I didn't read much of the above posts/I might be deviating.

When we're talking elite level in many sports there are significant influences:

1. Natural genetics (height, stature, athleticism, speed, coordination) - These things can be improved and refined but only to a certain extent, reality is the limitations are largely natural no matter how much and how hard you work.

2. Socio-economics - This goes to the above point about improving and refining, we see particularly in the Olympics the difference between two unbelievable athletes can simply be coaches and technology in getting every last bit perfect. Asian nations tend to be developing nations and don't have the development tools of our AIS or the US or UK. With that being said, we're seeing great improvement in India's athletes and China has been focusing more resources into their talent. Smaller Asian nations don't have the resources quite yet.

3. Geography - Of less importance when it comes to basketball, but in some sports you see serious advantages where those who live up high above sea level in mountain areas tend to do quite well in sports that require endurance (ie Kenya and marathons). From a slightly different aspect of this point, somewhere like China or Japan might struggle to have the space for track & field, or basketball courts or football fields which again deters talent from coming out of these places.

4. Sheer population stat in terms of overall population, figure of population which participates in sports and figure of population which participates in a particular sport. For instance, Australia is unlikely to rival the US or China in sheer number of talented athletes because we've got a population of 23ish million. Further not a great amount historically played basketball at elite levels because of the transfer to AFL which values similar skill sets (although the Americanisation/globalisation of society and the fact it is easier for Australian talent to find college bball spots is starting to increase our NBA/talented basketball numbers instead of going to AFL).



I gather Asians (whether it be Filipino, Chinese, Australian-Asians etc.) are pretty enamoured with basketball which is great, so the question why they aren't really all that successful or prominent in regards to Australian-Asians probably falls under the four points above.

Ironically, the Asian basketballers in the NBA have been very, very tall (hello Yao and Yi). With that said as a natural populous genetically they're traditionally too small for elite (NBA/International) basketball. For lack of African.... or even Caucasian height, there's also a lack of a Caucasian type broad body (probably one aspect as to why Australia is so good at swimming).

They struggle with height factor, physicality and i've noticed this tends to make them very erratic. Watching the Chinese National team is an ode to this, they've never really been a solid clean-skilled and coordinated bunch, they're forced to rely too much on effort. There's every reason for Australian-Asians to have the same problems associated from a genetic aspect.

Given that there is such a large Asian population, they're developing and starting to pump in more resources - and they're very basketball focused, I think statistically we're bound to see an increase in basketballers whether it be from Asian countries or Australian-Asians. This can only be a good thing in terms of talent associated with the sport and the spread of this world game.

Would someone care to translate for DAZZ?

@Anon 477 your post was in my opinion quite analytical and sophisticated with a high level of non judgemental, politically correct objective criticism of the article, which may in fact be warranted.

Perhaps, however, there isn't enough international data to support a more accurate or less superficial argument because there just isn't enough Asian born or Asian heritage players at the level we are discussing.

Which likely supports the more simplistic view point that some of us less educated posters love to banter...

What the hell is wrong with people?
Now we're not even allowed to say that Asians are short?
And if we exclude them from our basketball teams we must be racist?

The article is a bit shallow, fair enough in part due to a lack of available data. But if you want to examine Australian outcomes specifically, you need an international context. So how many elite (for ease of reference, let's say NBL standard or higher) basketball players do the Asian countries produce directly? How many elite players of Asian descent come out of programs in the US and Western Europe? Because if the question is as specific as "Why don't we see Asian-Australians in the elite ranks of Australian basketball?" without the international context, it's hard to reach any conclusion other than that Asian participation in the elite ranks of basketball internationally is low, and their representation in the NBL and Boomers programs is no proportionately lower than in the NBA or Euroleague.

I'm also not sure the terminology of the article is correct, or being interpreted correctly. Sri Lanka is part of Asia, right? Which immediately means the ACT reporting is wrong, because they have boys and girls involved in their u18 programs of Sri Lankan heritage. Chantella Perera has certainly reached the elite ranks.

Anecdotally, I've seen a reasonable representation of kids with Filipino ancestry in high levels of junior basketball. I coached one incredibly talented Vietnamese kid whose only limitation was size. And realistically, I'm not sure of the heritage of a whole bunch of players who - probably like Jonny Lee's nephews - don't look Asian enough and don't have obviously Asian surnames but may well have some Asian heritage.

I think the article is in many ways a disservice to the question. By raising the issue broadly but framing it in single-person case studies and anecdata, it invites exactly this kind of discussion. Which pretty much adds up to "I played with some Asians and they were mad skilled but their parents wouldn't let them play rep and they were short." And while there's probably plenty of cases where that's true, summarising the issue that way is a vast oversimplification that the article fails to discourage.

@Anon #445 the original post suggests the 'Race Card' as you put it is in fact what the discussion is about. It isn't being racist, it is just stating some facts and considered opinions about Asians and their prospects to play elite level basketball.

By the way, how many Sudanese immigrants here or in the US college system appear to be dominating ping pong, martial arts, dance/gymnastics or have the capacity to make the next Dean's list?

Horses for courses until the gene pool and cultural shift take hold for our little brothers and sisters from Asia I'm afraid, at least where bigger numbers for elite hoops is concerned...

I think it depends upon access to central basketball resources (coaches, skills/teaching, camps etc). I know here in NZ and being of Asian descent, there are plenty of Asian players within the local rep teams if they've grown up in the local basketball environment, and some have played at national age group level and above.

But without that access (which would be the case for many first-gen migrants), those players' end game will be streetball and unstructured basketball in the rec center.

Height is a concern - self-explanatory. Study is also a factor - sports will always be secondary to academics in the minds of many parents and that will hinge on the hours of practice and time required to go from good to great to elite.

disagree with Me re the asian players not being athletic. I played in Malaysia and Singapore and they are athletic, fast and great jumpers, but size makes it hard to compete against us.

Too focused on streetball rather than the real deal

I am always reminded also of the fact that as we continue to be more and more multi-cultural by mixing our racial blood lines I am sure the tables will turn in favour of Asian heritage players.

In the end though, they will all be among our much loved Little Aussie Battlers, bless them...

The article examines a question it pretty much self-explains, however it was an interesting read and as such thanks for sharing again @LC.

It isn't so much that players of Asian origins are excluded from basketball at elite level here I am sure of that, however as we have all observed these days, the ceiling as it stands right now is higher (taller) than it has ever been!

The gene pool has something to say in all of this, unfortunate as it may be, the genes of our Asian neighbors favour other sports far more than hoops, so while the numbers game may be in their court it isn't quite the same as it is for traditionally taller athletic types from other regions of the world...

They don't tend to be very good. Take a look at Chinese basketball; they have participation numbers bigger than the population of entire continents, yet their national teams are easily dispatched and they've only ever made a few NBA players. They are usually short and not particularly athletic and sadly, the ones who are athletic or skilled are usually under 6 feet tall and playing in lower divisions because of this. It certainly isn't due to biases

I'd say it's a height and size thing.

Give in another generation with more ethnic mixing we will start to see more athletes with Asian backgrounds make it to professional sports.

Apparently 1 in 5 Americans, or 18%, think the President is muslim. Interestingly, 34% of conservative Republicans think he is muslim.....